The Consensus Best Chopin Nocturne Ever Recorded | Ep. 2 The Chopin Podcast

[@finnmeldrum7264]

this is very quickly turning into my favourite series on youtube...

[@MrInterestingthings]

Same here. Ben Laude means so much as does Jed Distler!

[@kopperbunny]

Maria João Pires also has an absolutely gorgeous recording of the complete Nocturnes.

[@TheRobyMann]

Whew - my first time hearing that Friedman recording… that is incredible. Almost brought me to tears. I have a soft spot for Ivan Moravec’s recording of the nocturnes. He takes an extremely slow and somber approach that just suits the “night music” side of the pieces so well I think. Thanks as always Ben for your amazing content. Hard to believe it’s free on KZbin for us all to enjoy. Merci ❤

[@Chopin1995]

Not a single mention of Rubinstein, who is my personal favourite. His simple, unpretentious approach is always wonderful to listen to. And Friedman is just other-worldly.

[@benlawdy]

@@Chopin1995 Rubinstein is mentioned at the very beginning of the full episode!

[@Chopin1995]

​@@benlawdy Allright, I guess I need to listen to that now :)

[@jpage99999]

I was going to say the same thing. Rubinstein is my absolute favorite as well .

[@seusenhortobi5237]

Fiquei emocionado com o reconhecimento do Grande e saudoso Nelson Freire.

[@vitorrodrigues2980]

Também fiquei!

[@jaimeochoa7256]

I love learning about my favorite composer, and thank you for sharing your passion for Chopin....What a treat!❤

[@Zympans]

Always have loved Freire's warmth, empathy, and sincerity, his egoless approach to music is the ultimate refinement - counterintuitively as it may sound at first - I'm looking for most of the time when listening. And that Friedman... definitive. No better recording of the piece.

[@ericyu2104]

I love how almost half of the video is dedicated, appropriately, to the treasured Friedman recording

[@Andrew-sw1cv]

ok funyun

[@chazinko]

Freire's compatriot, Guiomar Novaes has her own wonderful rendition of the Nocturnes. Although the sound is a little dated, the poetry of her playing clearly comes though - Chopin playing well worth knowing.

[@MrInterestingthings]

Novaes has long been in my heart. Freire will continue to grow in respect now that hes dead. He is a sensitive marvel capable of fire. Here his Brahms2nd concerto!

[@justdoitsolutions269]

the Friedman recording of op 55 no 2 is a legend

[@benjaminseppey4034]

I LOVE Rubinstein. it hits me almost like a prophecy

[@jtandy]

That Friedman recording is special. I hadn’t heard it before. He plays it as if he wrote it himself. He is a true pianist/composer/musician!

[@peterectasy2957]

ok and so about Claudio Arrau ?

[@LagartoChicloso]

@@peterectasy2957 my favourite claudio arrau recording its beethoven sonata clair de lune

[@gregoberski5897]

That Friedman, wow! Talk about laser precise pedal work and phrasing. You've heard of the third hand illusion, he takes it to the next level with "second piano" illusion

[@teraz76]

No word can describe how beautiful that starting bflat is in this piece. A note that can reach one’s soul.

[@dennischiapello7243]

Hearing that cements Op. 55 No.2 in my mind as Chopin's most melodically and rhythmically complex. It calls for the utmost in subtlety and spontaneity. Incredible!

[@pianoredux7516]

The Friedman is justly celebrated, but for me equally astonishing is the live March 1945 performance of Josef Hofmann in Op. 48 No. 1, where Hofmann plies all his dark arts of nuance into an almost occult blend of sonorous magic and deeply felt expression. The Lipatti Op. 27 No. 2 is also an all-time great.

[@Blaqjaqshellaq]

Was Josef Hofmann related to ETA Hoffmann?

[@pianoredux7516]

@@Blaqjaqshellaq No. Did you notice their different name spellings?

[@brozors]

YES! This has my vote as well.

[@pianoredux7516]

I do have one slight reservation about the Friedman Op. 55. To me he plays it so improvisatorily that his interpretation seems unbound by any through-line, as if it were a daisy-chain of exquisitely beautiful noodling moments without a culmination. It lacks a driving sense of musical inevitability of direction. But it is still incredible piano playing.

[@bluepearl4806]

Nelson Frere and Ignaz Fredman are absolutely amazing!!!I love their interpretation their playing...Beautiful....❤Most beautiful Chopin interpratations I have ever heard so far (after Artur Rubinstein).....thank you🙏🍀💐

[@robinaustin4087]

Thank you, Ben! Your podcasts are extraordinary!

[@sonholee5769]

Man... I'm gonna need more room on my shelves for all these recordings I've never heard of

[@lucaspgsanti]

My favourite version is also Nelson Freire's nocturnes... I absolutely love it

[@이름-x4s8d]

Peter Serkin’s 15-2, 55-2 and 62-2 are amazing! Elizabeth Leonskaja too.

[@andrewgregg3617]

Love these! and don't forget Ivan Moravec😇

[@StuartdeOcampo]

I had the fortune of being the artist driver for Ivan Moravec, when I worked for the Hollywood Bowl during Summer 1994: it was Moravec’s very first, and definitely his very _last_ performance, _ever_, at that venue. 🙃

[@benlawdy]

@@andrewgregg3617 I love Moravec. I wondered if Jed would pick his nocturnes, but it turns out he’s saving him for another genre, coming soon…

[@Architravsky]

@@benlawdy Preludes?

[@benlawdy]

@@Architravsky preludes already happened. It’ll be the next episode (coming out this evening) on the ballades

[@Zympans]

@@benlawdy there is Requiem played on erard by Kholodenko right at the moment streamed live from Basilica of the Holy Cross in Warsaw kzbin.infoaRXSLSJN1-c?si=SXmC4KYB58jlBkUn

[@LukeSchneiderEWI]

To me... Opus 9 No. 3 is THE BEST OF ALL !! 🎹👍

[@iianneill6013]

My nominations (feel free to ignore if you hate Golden Age pianists): - Op 9, No. 1 - Raoul Koczalski (1940s) - Op 9, No. 2 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1920s?) - Op 9, No. 3 - Josef Hofmann (1938) - Op 15, No. 1 - Grigory Sokolov (1973) - Op 15, No. 2 - Raoul Pugno (1903) - Op 15, No. 3 - Sviatoslav Richter (1960s?) - Op 27, No. 1 - Grigory Sokolov (1990) - Op 27, No. 2 - Josef Hofmann (1945) - Op 32, No. 1 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1925) - Op 32, No. 2 - Grigory Sokolov (2019) - Op 37, No. 1 - Claudio Arrau (1978) - Op 37, No. 2 - Sviatoslav Richter (1950) - Op 48, No. 1 - Myra Hess (1948) - Op 48, No. 2 - Grigory Sokolov (1990) - Op 55, No. 1 - Vladimir de Pachmann (1920s?) - Op 55, No. 2 - Ivo Pogorelich (1990s?) - Op 62, No. 1 - Leo Sirota (1963) - Op 62, No. 2 - Claudio Arrau (1978) - Op 72, No. 1 - Leo Sirota (11/16/1952) - Op. Posth. in C sharp minor - Maria Yudina (1940s?) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWnWhntpiph2itE&ab_channel=OzanFabienGuvener

[@andrewzhang8512]

who would hate golden age

[@iianneill6013]

@@andrewzhang8512 You'd be surprised! There's a cohort of lovers of modern piano practise who consider Golden Age pianists to be basically hacks or drunkards.

[@benlawdy]

@@iianneill6013 that’s unfortunately very true! But they’re missing out, and there’s a growing wave of influential pianists (both young and old) who embrace and champion the golden age style.

[@iianneill6013]

@@benlawdy That gladdens my heart. There are so many treasures amongst those late 19C and early 20C pianists. And some jaw-dropping feats of pianism, and styles that have inexplicably disappeared. The jeu de perle technique of Raoul Pugno and Busoni, for example, is a wonder ...

[@jtandy]

Was just reading the Wikipedia page on Friedman. Interesting to note the he was heavily criticised during his day for the romantic “excesses” in his playing. Feels like the classical music world is really starting to come back full circle and reevaluate these older beautiful traditions and values. So nice to see!

[@tom6693]

I'm never going to give up my allegiance to Maria Tipo or Claudio Arrau in the complete Nocturnes--their very characteristically inflected views irresistible to me. But Freire has some of the same personalized approach, along with an extraordinary poetic lyricism that he brought to all his playing, especially in those later recordings. Not for nothing did he frequently cite Novaes as one of his piano ideals: she too had a very personal and almost inimitable way of making music (though oddly her complete Nocturnes strike me as nowhere near her best playing).

[@dpact4201]

John Browning playing Op. 27 No. 2 made me interested in the nocturnes and introduced me to the Brunhoff recording. It’s the only one he played

[@Mercy_Pants]

Op27 No2 has been my favorite Chopin composition forever, followed by Etude Op10 No1

[@nickk8416]

I always thought Horowitz performance of 55 #2 on his "Last Recording" was sublime. I always thought he got it from Cortot who he loved but I was wrong. He was inspired by Friedman!! As soon as I heard Friedman I knew it. Friedman and Chopin are a match made in heaven.

[@ddgyt50]

Sublime.

[@AaronDao]

I have never heard of Kgnaz Friedman’s recording of my favorite Nocturne Op.55 No.2 before,but listening to it makes me wonder if there’s any recording as unique as his.Thanks for introducing a new recording of my favorite Nocturne for me!!!

[@Architravsky]

Some people claim that Cortot's rendition of this nocturne is just as good as Friedman's.

[@carpediem7286]

Besides Friedman, who is my personal favorite, Cortot’s recording is no less amazing. Special mention to Rubinstein op. 48 n.1 and Cherkassky op. 27 n. 2.

[@nerrdinho]

I know mentioning Chopin’s Barcarolle is out of place here but I’m really i terested in Sofronitsky’s interpretation of it, I feel its worth mentioning once we reach the solo works category of the podcast!

[@scottpilgrim5638]

I just wanted invite anybody who hasn't heard the 1937 complete nocturnes set by Rubinstein to listen to it. The famous 1965 Rubinstein recording is very cautious, lukewarm, and reserved. While there is some beauty in more simplicity, 1937 set is everything the 1965 is x1000 in terms of raw emotion. Once you hear that, you get a sense that Rubinstein is holding back in 1965. IMO it is by far much more beautiful and my favorite complete nocturne set recorded. I also wanted to mention how it seems like Rubinstein started playing differently while recording around 1950. It seems like he himself wanted to set a better example for the youth by playing more cautiously and straightforwardly to avoid inspiring anybody of distortion. You can compare his Nocturne op 27 no 2 from the 1965 to his live performance of it in Moscow in 1964, the live performance feels like the recording on steroids (in a good way!)

[@peterectasy2957]

i think that Chopin himself played nocturnes differently than we play it todays

[@scottpilgrim5638]

@@peterectasy2957 I have no doubt that Chopin played differently than all our naive imaginations. The descriptions can't accurately portray his playing and I bet someone who has read every description of his playing would still be surprised to hear him

[@ASKAJAIMES]

Bartok's (albeit incomplete) recording of opus 27 no 1 deserves a mention, at least in the comments! I've never heard anyone achieve that haunting resonance and selection of overtones by way of the pedal, the way he does. Not to mention the rubato...

[@RobertoGoulart-y7s]

Wonderful performance! I love Nelson Freire!

[@kzelmer]

I knew Friedman's recording would be in this list.

[@dorfmanjones]

Two terrific substantial sets of nocturnes, not absolutely complete, are those of Jan Smeterlin (Decca Eloquence label), and Vitaly Margulies, (if you can find him.) Everybody agrees on Friedman's legendary recording, but the Hofmann Db nocturne op. 27, no. 2 is on that level, as is Arthur Loesser's BM noctune (live) op. 9, no. 2, both on the Marston label.

[@barnhillec]

I can't quarrel with Friedman but many would say Lipatti's 27/2 is in a class all its own

[@Iamwisewoman]

Yes!

[@ronl7131]

Good vid

[@MSchrei]

I've been enjoying Luis Fernando Perez's recording...

[@leonardodelyrarodrigues3752]

Nelson. 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@iampracticingpiano]

2:08 Who knew the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz was an ace pianist!?!

[@mhermarckarakouzian8899]

The Friedman recording just seemed like wild gymnastics in voicing (albeit super impressive). And at times, with no logic (just for the fun of it). Not to mention how rushed it was!

[@benlawdy]

@@mhermarckarakouzian8899 Interesting. I hear the “rushing” as *sweep*. It feels like lovers being swept off their feet by each other.

[@LeonardHeussComposer]

The Frere Recordings are great, rather amazing really. But the Friedman recording I know since I was a kid, always considerd it unmatchable. Horowitz comes close with the ones on his last recordings album though.

[@silver_c1oud]

for Me Yundi Li for Op.9 no.2 and Op.27 no.2

[@apoorva_i]

Hi ben, in one of your videos you mentioned someone you considered to be great at improvising like Chopin but I couldn’t get the name correctly. Could you please mention that person’s name again? I’d love to give them a listen 🙏🏻

[@andre.vaz.pereira]

RIP Nelson Freire. He was a good friend of my former piano teacher... Loved the Op 55 nº2 by Friedman. My TOP All Nocturnes are by Maria João Pires, Samsons François and Daniel Baremboim. As a single nocturne i would recomend Op. 9 nº3 by Samsons François (the touchet and nuances in the runs are amazing and the lircism of the middle part is great). kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5qYdnmBobmHrLM

[@mdandrews44]

Decisions on piano playing artistry are highly subjective. To this listener, Rubinstein's interpretations and unmannered playing of the Nocturnes excel several of the examples used in this video podcast. I suggest one listen to his Op.55, No. 2 in comparison to the one used here. Just my subjective opinion of course.

[@chasekimball5999]

I own complete nocturne sets by Novaes, Rubinstein, Francois, and Wild. Maybe some others But the only set I ever listen to is Moravec, and it is the only set I ever expect to listen to again.

[@benlawdy]

@@chasekimball5999 moravec has been my favorite too since college. Jed will be recommending Moravec in a different episode very soon…

[@chasekimball5999]

@@benlawdy Supraphon (somewhat) recently did a remastering of the Moravec, which is significantly superior to the earlier Nonesuch CD release, I hope you have the Supraphon. After I bought the Supraphon, I sent the Nonesuch to Mark Ainley, who didn't have the set at all. Also, I love your channel!

[@ml-ei3nz]

5:00 could it be that it’s played not on a steinway? To me it sounds more like a Bechstein which was richer in sound and very different in character between the registers. Steinway is very even, so such effect (of two different pianos) is much harder to produce.

[@pdxUser1411]

I think that the Thierry de Brunhoff recording is a Bechstein. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqOyc6SmobufhpY

[@Sunicarus]

I rarely listen to Chopin but I play his music at the piano more than any other composer.

[@Joelw123]

op 48 no.1 Vadim Chaimovich

[@iggyreilly2463]

Friedman's articulation is, to my ears, fatiguing, although his pacing is unique and mesmerizing. Interesting how seldom Zimmerman is mentioned in the comments! And satisfying to see Freire get some love!

[@Murmur1796]

I wonder how much the Friedman recording benefits from the recording technology of the time. They recorded with gramophones in mind. That singing melody, the 2nd voice coming from another room... I wonder how it sounded live, and if he performed it differently for live audiences. Gramophones kinda punch out those trebles and the lower voices get a bit muddy, how did that factor in?

[@benlawdy]

@@Murmur1796 it could have an effect, but also you can hear things proportionally with his sound (so, not just a matter of absolute recording quality) that are nuanced and breathtaking, so I’m willing to bet it sounded pretty spectacular in the room with him.

[@joaocorreia524]

I dont know if you answered this before but statistically/stylistically, how many ways there are to play a Chopin piece(or by other romantic composer)? And could you recreate the breathing and rubato of, say, one of those early Josef Hoffman recordings?

[@benlawdy]

@@joaocorreia524 infinite? Haha I don’t know. I guess there are only a small finite number of interpretive traditions, but the ways individuals make Chopin their own is infinite. As for imitating Hofmann, I wish I could and many have tried, but he’s a singular artist. You might check out Stephen Hough’s Chopin Waltzes - there are plenty of Hofmannesque moments in them.

[@joaocorreia524]

@@benlawdy thank you!

[@joaocorreia524]

@@benlawdy thank you!

[@uriahkremer_piano]

Hofmann recordings of the nocturnes are comparable to Friedman's.

[@jorislejeune]

I know these things are extremely subjective, but no Youra Guller?

[@GustavoMartinez-tx5cr]

Pogorelich's 2022 Op. 48 No. 1, for God's sake

[@bifeldman]

Dinu Lipatti, Db Maj.

[@Daniel_Zalman]

Can't argue with Mr. Distler's selections in the slightest. Those are desert island recordings. Of complete sets, Arrau's recording for Philips is my favorite. Garrick Ohlsson's splendid recording is also of that ilk. As far as recordings of individual nocturnes, there are tons of breathtaking performances. I like eccentrics, so I'll go with Afanassiev in Nocturne No. 1, Op. 9, clocking in at a profound 8 minutes and 17 seconds: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r5PQZZKGm82hiNE

[@benlawdy]

@@Daniel_Zalman how about Ohlsson’s late *slow* op48/1? Not so many pianists can pull it off like that. I’ll have to check out the Afanassiev.

[@Daniel_Zalman]

Ohlsson recorded that one again after the Arabesque/Hyperion release? Didn't know. Afanassiev is eccentric. I don't know your tastes, but just be forewarned. The ADGO KZbin channel has some nice life performances.

[@benlawdy]

@@Daniel_Zalman there’s the angel/emi nocturnes form 79 and then the ‘95 arabesque/hyperion. The earlier has a fast doppio section and the later one is slow

[@Daniel_Zalman]

​@@benlawdy The earliest recording of Garrick that I've listened to is the late 80s Debussy. I'll need to take a listen to Garrick as a young whippersnapper. Thanks.

[@Architravsky]

Just for curiosity's sake: in communist Poland (People's Republic of Poland), Chopin's Nocturnes were something to be ashamed of, because, as musicologist Professor Zofia Lissa wrote, they were an embarrassing offshoot of the bourgeois aesthetic in his work.

[@classicalalways]

While a fascinating recording, the idea of this video is off. Quite simply - there is no consensus for the best Chopin nocturne ever recorded. Which nocturne in itself is "the best" and which performance of a nocturne is the "best"? Is Cortot's recording or Hofmann's recording any less significant a performance on recording of the same work? And what about Lipatti in the op. 27 no,. 2? One never discussed and not a consensus pick - but oddly should be considered one of the best is Ashkenazy's op. 9 no. 1 nocturne? And is Horowitz's op. 72 no. 1 a lesser performance that the "consensus" pick here? And let's not forget the most famous Chopin competition winner currently playing - yes, Martha Argerich has one of the great performances of a nocturne from Warsaw. But, headlines sell and stir interest - it is how one creates attention.... and there always today needs to be a best or someone who thinks they know what everyone thinks is the best. There is a guy with 4,000 youtube videos who has a series just focused on best ever or consensus pick. Maybe I miss Dave Letterman's top 10s.... flawed, but at least a better approximation.

[@militaryandemergencyservic3286]

Whilst Seymour Bernstein has the best modern recorded nocturne (number1) or maybe Pletnev's c sharp minor one. Or Ashkenazy's c minor one or e flat mj one op 55. everyone knows that the best of them all is the d flat major one. Maybe the Rachmaninov one he recorded number 15 (?) or op 15 - is the best golden era one - or cortot's version of the e flat maj one.Tiffany Poon does the best recording of that one.

[@tomarmstrong1281]

It is still an opinion when everyone has had their say and shared their opinions. Music, if anything, is the definition of subjectiveness. Attempting to categorise music as 'the best' is just a touch too mercurial for me. Others obviously feel differently.

[@TPhunkay]

Have you ever been... lauded... for your youtubing efforts??

[@Manfred-nj8vz]

Not even a word about Chopin's metronome marks for (some of) his Nocturnes and if they've been followed, more or less, by Freire. How can one be a serious music critic without taking in consideration every single one parameter of any given score? But what am I talking about? Who's concerned with what the composer actually wrote, right? However, if anyone is interested on this so-called "hot" or "controversial" topic of metronome marks and Chopin, then please do read the article «Tempo and Character in Chopin» written by Thomas Higgins. Even if all "great" or "less great" pianists unfortunately ignore Chopin's instructions considering tempo, please do inform yourself about this issue before ignoring them too. Then you can decide for yourself. A performance I know that takes them somewhat seriously, is the one by Stephen Hough.

[@ijskålleter]

My 3 favourite recordings of the nocturnes: - op 27 no 2, Khatia Buniatishvili - op 48 no 1, Brigitte Engerer - op 72 no 1, Maurizio Pollini

[@EmptyVee00000]

Could not disagree more.

[@iianneill6013]

I humbly submit my own playlist of best recordings for each Chopin Nocturne. Before you run in the other direction, I should point out there are some great pianists on the list spanning 121 years of recording ... 😁 kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWnWhntpiph2itE

[@jerrys88]

Arrau

[@jmft]

Claudio Arrau wins most of them.

[@bpat74]

Claudio Arrau... 'the recording of the century'...Nothing comes close..

[@boriswaissbluth9774]

In my opinion Claudio Arrau has no equal when it comes to Chopin’s nocturnes.

[@thefritz123]

I beg to differ. Hard to judge what role the lackluster recording technique might play in the Friedman recording, but his interpretational concept sounds to me like "melody with accompaniment". I despise it, to be honest.

[@pdxUser1411]

For me it's Thierry De Brunhoff. Always. Bechstein Piano. He gave up public life to become an Benedictine Monk in the south of France. It will make you weep. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mqOyc6SmobufhpY

[@pinzer-b6c]

Any comments, without even mentioning the late Sviatoslav Richter are just useless. And yes, Nelson Freire was a great Chopin interpreter. Richter never played the full catalogue... he plays only those pieces, he liked. And these pieces are equalled only to those, played by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

[@benlawdy]

@@pinzer-b6c in his segment Garrick mentions Richter’s op15/1, which is wondrous. I confess I don’t know richter’s nocturnes partially well.

[@pinzer-b6c]

@@benlawdy You must listen Richter often. Not Horowitz. Rachmaninoff about Horowitz - " Colossal octaves.He swallow the whole Concerto in once. But Pinchie (that way Rachmaninoff calls Horowitz) lacks musicality. I wish to him to obtain her by the passing of the time". Richter about Horowitz "Great technician, but what vulgarity".

[@alany4202]

@@pinzer-b6cI prefer Arrau over Richter, especially in the Nocturnes.