Review: EMI's Alfred Cortot Edition Reissued by Warner

[@leestamm3187]

Looks like a fine collection. Speaking as an old geezer, I think it's important for younger listeners to hear the great old school pianists like Cortot, Hoffman, Backhaus, Haskil, Rachmaninoff, and many others. Their performance styles are often much different than is heard these days and I think provides a fuller understanding and appreciation of the pianistic art as a whole.

[@loiccery1419]

Alfred Cortot was a great French pianist and pedagogue. It is only right that all his contributions should be recognized today. He also founded the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where I myself was a student for several years. Nevertheless, we must remember Alfred Cortot's attitude during the Second World War and the German occupation of France. He was a collaborator, a member of the Vichy government in charge of musical matters. At the Liberation, he was put on trial and punished for his behavior, in particular his concerts in Germany at the invitation of Wilhelm Furtwängler. All this needs to be said, and of course has nothing to do with his talent. But it should not be forgotten.

[@davidaiken1061]

This one was definitely "Ripe for Reissue." Thanks, Dave, for this good news for pianophiles. Warner seems to be doing right by its back catalog these days, though I find their "new style" documentation (with track listings and performance details printed almost illegibly on the back of the cardboard sleeves) to be very user-unfriendly. I obtained the EMI Cortot box when it first came out, and the booklet was extremely helpful, with track listings and all relevant performance data legible and easy to find. Warner's reissue of the Cortot box gives hope that they will give us, at last, a comprehensive Schnabel box containing not only his famous Beethoven sonata cycle, but all the rest of his Beethoven, plus his Bach, Mozart and Schubert. Here's hoping.

[@emtube9298]

NHK Radio here in Tokyo played Cortot's earlier recording of Schumann's Symphonic Variations when I was trying to write my Master's thesis, and it absolutely put me under the spell of his Romantic vision. At that time, EMI was only releasing Cortot's later (but not too late) versions of Chopin, Schumann et al., probably because they cared only about audio quality rather than interpretive quality, so I spent literally decades trying to track down the recording, which finally appeared on one of the smaller "boutique" labels. When Cortot was "on", his otherworldly emotional/spiritual poetic interpretations could really carry one away. According to Schonberg's The Great Pianists, Cortot was so busy with other facets of the Classical music sphere (conducting, teaching, etc.) that he failed to keep his technique into shape, and he was known to have a faulty memory in live performance (Beecham shared a witty anecdote on this), which often marred his performances in later years---however, there are some rare films of his master classes after WWII that show him apparently drifting into some kind of trance state as he explains the poetic vision behind Schumann's and others' music...the force of his personality really carries one away to a Romantic era long past. Dave, I was under the impression that you blanket rejected less-than-audiophile pre-LP recordings, so it is kind of a surprise to see you gushing over Cortot, whose technique was already starting to decline in the late 1930's... Good on you! Cortot's best work should be heard by all fans of Romantic classical music. Back in the day, even young lion Horowitz was trying to cajole Cortot into showing him how he played the Saint-Saens etude so well.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

I don't blanket reject anything. As I have said many times, I have much less of a problem with solo or chamber music recordings from the pre-LP period than with orchestral ones, for obvious reasons. I would also point out that those special, personal touches that we treasure in older recordings are far more evident in solo and chamber performances (and vocal music, obviously) than in orchestral music.

[@emtube9298]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Thanks for the clarification, as pure audio experience, that makes perfect sense. I listen to old orchestral performances and try to extract style info, while imagining better sonics, because as you also have said, nowadays we lack the regional/national differences that were exhibited in orchestras around the world (also, the old guys [pre-Toscanini especially] were more flexible in tempo in many cases). But, yeah, I see your point and agree.

[@robertdandre94101]

I am happy that you are talking about this box set that I acquired when it came out....Cortot was a musician, writer, teacher.....I didn't say pianist. His interpretations, for me, are pure poetry. great interpreter of Chopin, (he gave titles for each prelude of Chopin) and Schumann but also of Debussy and Ravel, they knew how to give each note an importance, each passage an importance. a great romantic, and This box set reveals almost the complete Beethoven sonatas that he stopped so as not to obstruct the complete set by Arthur Schnabel.....in short, every music lover should have this box set, anyone who loves music... .thank you

[@murraylow4523]

Rush, rush rush! I have this and your general appraisal is right, some uneven things but then some things if you haven’t heard you haven’t quite lived, so to speak. The chamber works, oh man. That Schumann first trio for example. Most of the Schumann, the Papillons and Symphonic études, not sure anything is better. Some of the Chopin, particularly the earlier things. And those Debussy songs with Maggie Teyte - they’ll spoil you for anything else :) La Faune, where Cortot stuck bits of cardboard between the piano strings to create a drumming effect, well, it’s like a prepared piano. Unforgettable.

[@tom6693]

I couldn't agree more, especially about the Schumann recordings. His performances had such a transformative power, making me hear these beloved (and I thought familiar) works seem marvelously new and full of special "events" at every turn--like some spontaneous and revelatory improvisation. To be honest, they can make versions by even celebrated Schumann pianists seem oddly plain-spoken, predictable, almost flat-footed by comparison (always excepting the brilliant Reine Gianoli, who studied with Cortot!). Everything is so imaginatively phrased and colored, so rhythmically arresting (that inimitable sense of rubato). And the way he can shape a melodic line or emphasize a harmonic point--it's a unique kind of artistry. His playing's often called "poetic," and I suppose it is, in the sense that poets see the world differently from the rest of us, so when they express what they see, think and feel, it surprises us with its freshness and insight--we can only respond with something like, "Oh, I never SAW it that way before." Corot's performances have that kind of delightful surprise to them. It's hard to explain. What I know is that when I was learning to play Papillons I kept listening and listening to Cortot's recording, marveling at how someone would think to weight the sound JUST that way, stress the bass figure JUST that way, hesitate JUST that long--dozens of interpretive decisions that would never have occurred to me (and would have been appalling if I'd attempted to reproduce them) were to Cortot as natural as breathing, simply how he heard the music. Long way of saying there was no one like him, and in his best recordings all you can do is sit back in wonder and enjoy.

[@murraylow4523]

Totally agree re Reine Gianoli - her Schumann really needs reissued and I’d have thought would delight and surprise many people - and your general drift. Yes, that recording of Papillons just has that “how could this be better?” quality which is, of course, impossible to explain analytically. Luckily for me, and not for you, I can’t play the piano, so I couldn’t even try to reproduce the ineffable qualities there :) @@tom6693

[@gavingriffiths2633]

Perhaps you could review the re-release of the Cziffra box? - he's a pianist whose reputation has really taken a mega-dip in recent years....and I don't know why.....

[@jeffreylevy1108]

Just got the set. And, I heard the most amazing rendition of Bach's (vivaldi) organ concerto no 5. Cortot TOTALLY changes it by rearranging the dynamics of the voices...so it is unrecognizable...... Extremely inauthentic and WONDERFUL. I wish he did more Bach keyboard works.

[@michelangelomulieri5134]

The reference for Chopin and schumann!

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

Always enjoy seeing Finster, and Mildred when she gets up the courage. Do the kitties ever use the CDs on your shelves as a scratching post? I have a buddy with cats and he's had to box up CDs to prevent that.

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

They don't, but then I turned my house into cat scratch heaven. They have tons of stuff to amuse themselves with.

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

@@DavesClassicalGuide Haha. OK, thanks.

[@socratez]

As good as I’m sure he is, I have multiple versions of all this stuff already so I can’t get too excited about it. By the way, can you explain what a “concert paraphrase” is?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Sure. It's a free fantasia based on themes from a familiar work for performance by a soloist in concert.

[@4menno]

That's still way better than the EMI release, where all the discs were in blank paper sleeves.

[@josecarmona9168]

Greetings, David! This is not related with the review, so I apologize, but I can't imagine other way to ask you. This weekend I entered in the BIS website and saw a communication by mr. Von Bahr announcing Apple has bought Bis. Did you know this? Have you any idea of how can this affect the quality of the label?

[@DavesClassicalGuide]

Yes, I know about it, and I don't care about it at all! Nothing is permanent, in this business especially.

[@josecarmona9168]

@@DavesClassicalGuide well, that is really true!!

[@richardfrankel6102]

​@@DavesClassicalGuideVery true...but what does it mean in this context? Did you mean, "Well, let's wait and see how the sale effects BIS's product line,"? Or, "Well, BIS was great while it lasted; but now let's turn our attention to other labels,"?

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

@@richardfrankel6102 I don't presume to speak for Dave, but I think when he says he doesn't care, I think he means he literally doesn't give a sh*t. lol.