Ignaz Friedman: 4 Chopin Mazurkas (vol. 1)

Ignaz Friedman flings his suit jacket into the corner, removes his dress shoes and joins his fellow Poles in the national festivities. Nobody does it better... Friedman danced the mazurka with Polish peasants in his youth, venturing beyond the urban intellectual circles of most classical musicians. (Allan Evans just wrote Friedman's bio: "Ignaz Friedman: Romantic Master Pianist".)
Chopin Mazurkas:
op. 7 no. 1 in B flat
op. 7 no. 2 in a minor
op. 7 no. 3 in f minor
op. 24 no. 4 in b flat minor
(all recorded Nov 13, 1930 for Columbia)
from the Pearl 4 CD set IF 2000. (ARBITER will release a 5 CD Friedman set including hitherto unpublished material, and all new transfers in 2010)

[@fredericchopin7538]

How is it even possible to play like that? Is he an angel?

[@metteholm4833]

He was a Mazurka-dancer himself, so he had it in his spine.

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

8:45 and this, and this ....; a delirium of pure beauty .... right hand unbalanced rythms, left hand mystic octaves

[@pianopera]

The beauty of tone, the colorful touch, the vivid infective rhythm, the suble accents, they are all irresistible!

[@alanmadeira-metz1380]

pianopera- thank you for all of the wonderful performances you have made it possible for us to listen to, thus enriching our lives.

[@CarmenReyes-em9np]

Si es un ángel. 🇲🇽❣️🎶🎶

[@keybawd4023]

For me, this is exactly how the Mazurkas should be played. They are folk dances and not polite concert pieces. I am not surprise to learn that Friedman danced the mazurkas with peasants. His playing has freedom, passion and you can see the dancers. Pure Magic.

[@newyorkguy158]

I agree, he plays them likee dances rather than concert pieces.

[@keybawd4023]

@@suonilatromba50 Do people dance to a metronome???

[@alombredeslava2468]

Quelle élégance, quelle finesse, quel merveilleux artiste!

[@CarmenReyes-em9np]

Ozen Fabian .Braviiiiiisimo México. , 🇲🇽 🎶🎶🎶🎶👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@pianoyos3631]

This is amazing...I wish I had come across these recordings earlier. Thank you, they're quite a revelation.

[@MR-we2rq]

Full of charm, life and grace , whimsical and in the same time very natural

[@_PROCLUS]

op. 7 no. 2 at 1:53 op. 7 no. 3 at 4:23 op. 24 no. 4 at 6:13

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

8:02 the SUPREME , SUPREME ELEGANCE of Friedman here ...... !!

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

6:14 ..... ............. this is incredible .... unbelievable .... haunting ...

[@camaysar222]

Yes, definitely... one of Friedman's finest mazurka recordings.

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

The voice of Friedman's piano will never come back ....

[@alanmadeira-metz1380]

@@Fritz_Maisenbacher It will through these wonderful recordings and thanks to individuals like camaysar222 and pianopera.

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

@@alanmadeira-metz1380 I meant : coming back with pianist of "our time" ....

[@alanmadeira-metz1380]

@@Fritz_Maisenbacher agreed

[@truecrypt]

There are many (though not too many) great mazurkas' interpretations, but Friedman GOT IT! For me his playing has always been a "lighthouse" - great help to find a direction to *real Chopin*. Thank you so much for posting!

[@CarmenReyes-em9np]

Mazurca Chopin. ❣️🎶🖐️🎶🎶🎶🎶🎶

[@angelobonacci461]

Sinceramente devo ancora sentire un pianista che esegua benissimo le mazurke di chopin, forse occorreva essere ai tempi di chopin dio...

[@uhartchristian]

I studied in Graz/Austria in the early 80ties and went many evenings to a music lover who had a collection of shellaks and among them we discovered the Mazurkas of Chopin by Friedman, in fact Friedman did record quite a lot of Mazurkas. I listened at least to 20 Mazurkas. It was like a new world was opening.... Did influence me a lot and in the meantime I did study all the Mazurkas and also performed them all one time in a recital....

[@keybawd4023]

Performed all the Mazurkas in a recital? Good heavens that must have been a three-day marathon!

[@firephilosopher7645]

@@keybawd4023 Or like 2.5 hours

[@harryeyres1960]

Freedom and fantasy - wonderful

[@BWV846]

The nature of music...

[@Johannes_Brahms65]

Awesome!

[@zbigniewwendorff4989]

To jest najpiękniejsze wykonanie mazurków . Na następnym miejscu postawiłbym wykonania P. Blechacza oraz Artura Rubinsteina .

[@francoismoreau6863]

Friedman' s mazurka 4 op 24 (last one) is definitely the pinnacle of this piece

[@elijahj9902]

the great Alfred Cortot plays op. 24 no. 4 like magic

[@Fritz_Maisenbacher]

9:20 This end ..... this end .......

[@meredith218461]

Friedman played these gems with a true slavic spirit. OK there are academic details which can be argued over nowadays such as his frequent added bass octaves which are inclined to distort what are essentially miniature creations, plus his capricious sense of rhythm. All being said Friedman conveys the vital characteristics contained in within short masterpieces.

[@ricardomintz3791]

IGnaz Friedman y Moritz Rosenthal inigualables en las mazurkas de Chopin

[@peterchan6082]

Exactly. 'Refreshing' as they indeed are he literally altered most of the texts especially in the LH and used most shocking rhythms and rubatos. Frankly I'd like them played the way as Chopin had written them way more than with Friedman's extreme eccentricities.

[@polonaise]

8:45

[@jankawiorski]

Friedman was much better than overrated Hofmann.

[@camaysar222]

Don't you really mean that you prefer Friedman over Hofmann? To put it as you have just done is a sign that you (pardon me) do not fully understand the nature of music.

[@jankawiorski]

@@camaysar222 Sorry that I dared to comment. I didn't know that here is the highest school of music. Good bye.

[@alanbash2921]

I had the Tremendous good fortune to have been a friend of the Great Vladimir Horowitz While studying for my Masters at Juilliard and would often take walks with him back in the 1970s, and ask him endless questions about Pianists.....to make it brief ...he did not think much of Hofmann yet Rachmaninoff felt that Hofmann was the Greatest Pianist Of The 20th Century ......but that was around 1910 to 1925 when Hofmann was at his full powers. Friedman is a rare combination of superhuman Technique and a Wonderful imagination. He was Pure Gold ! ...unfortunately No living Pianist today possesses the imagination required to become a true Legend.

[@tuxedomoon]

Most do... Friedman is way better.

[@John-thinks]

Not sure I can totally get behind the general approach he's taken to the rhythm. It's untrue to the spirit of mazurkas imo. Beyond that, though - it is tasteful in a very energetic and free way.

[@alanmadeira-metz1380]

But don't you think that Friedman knew the spirit of the mazurkas as well as anyone else? Did you read the comment elsewhere here that he danced mazurkas with peasants? Friedman's roots are deep in the 19th century. His Polish teacher was born in 1830 and Friedman was his best pupil. Music is soul, not just notes on a page. I can't help but believe that Chopin would have loved his playing.