Album

When this reissue of Claudio Arrau's 1973 recording of Chopin's preludes was released by Philips, it was the third reissue of that particular recording released that year. PentaTone, the astoundingly clean Dutch label, had released a disc coupling Arrau's 1973 recording of Chopin's preludes with his 1974 recording of Schumann's Papillons, and Philips, the great Dutch label itself, had released an eight-disc set of all Arrau's postwar Chopin recording for them. Of course, Arrau's preludes are uniformly ineffably beautiful, perhaps a little slow sometimes, but with such effortless technique, such tonal opulence, and such poetic soulfulness that it only serves to grant the listener more time to contemplate the heights and depths. The sound from all three issues presents different aspects of recorded perfection: the PentaTone may be somewhat clearer, but all three incarnate in their zillions of zeros and ones in breathtakingly real representations of a real piano in a real room in real time and real space.

So, which of the three to get? It depends on the coupling: this Philips disc presents Arrau's preludes plus his 1980 Impromptus—giving the listener a concentrated dose of Arrau's way with Chopin—while the PentaTone includes Papillons—giving the listener a broader view of Arrau's art—and the Philips set duplicates the program single disc and adds seven more discs full of Arrau's Chopin—giving the listener the core of a great Chopin collection. But whatever the incarnation, any listener interested in the music of the greatest solo Romantic piano music ever composed should hear Arrau's preludes.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 24 Preludes, Op.28 Work Recorded 1973 40:04 Claudio Arrau Piano
1	1.Agitato in C	0:44			$0.49
2	2.Lento in A-	1:50			$0.49
3	3.Vivace in G	1:04			$0.49
4	4.Largo in E-	2:01			$0.99
5	5.Molto allegro in D	0:41			$0.49
6	6.Lento Assai in B-	2:19			$0.99
7	7.Andantino in A	0:53			$0.49
8	8.Molto agitato in F#-	1:59			$0.49
9	9.Largo in E	1:26			$0.49
10	10.Molto allegro in C#-	0:34			$0.49
11	11.Vivace in B	0:41			$0.49
12	12.Presto in G#-	1:08			$0.49
13	13.Lento in F#	3:14			$0.99
14	14.Allegro in Eb-	0:48			$0.49
15	15.Sostenuto in Db ('Raindrop')	5:32			$0.99
16	16.Presto con fuoco in Bb-	1:10			$0.49
17	17.Allegretto in Ab	3:27			$0.99
18	18.Molto allegro in F-	1:00			$0.49
19	19.Vivace in Eb	1:21			$0.49
20	20.Largo in C-	1:44			$0.49
21	21.Cantabile in Bb	2:10			$0.99
22	22.Molto agitato in G-	0:54			$0.49
23	23.Moderato in F	1:01			$0.49
24	24.Allegro appassionato in D-	2:23			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Prelude in C#-, Op.45 Work Recorded 1973 Claudio Arrau Piano
25	Prelude in C#-, Op.45	5:25			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Prelude in Ab ('Presto con leggerezza'), CT.191 Work Recorded 1973 Claudio Arrau Piano
26	Prelude in Ab ('Presto con leggerezza'), CT.191	0:57			$0.49
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Impromptu No.1 in Ab, Op.29 Work Recorded 1980 Claudio Arrau Piano
27	Impromptu No.1 in Ab, Op.29	4:42			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Impromptu No.2 in F#, Op.36 Work Recorded 1980 Claudio Arrau Piano
28	Impromptu No.2 in F#, Op.36	6:04			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Impromptu No.3 in Gb, Op.51 Work Recorded 1980 Claudio Arrau Piano
29	Impromptu No.3 in Gb, Op.51	6:21			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Fantaisie-impromptu in C#-, Op.66 Work Recorded 1980 Claudio Arrau Piano
30	Fantaisie-impromptu in C#-, Op.66	5:46			$0.99