Album

Although there is some lovely playing here, there is more in Chopin's music than can be found in most of Rafal Blechacz's performances. It isn't that the young Polish pianist lacks the technique. Blechacz can rip through the rippling filigree of the D minor Allegro appassionato that closes Opus 28 Préludes as quickly as the best pianists of the past. And Blechacz surely has soul. His sustained Lento in the A minor Prélude from Opus 28 is beautifully phrased and pedaled. But listeners who know these pieces may find themselves wanting more. There's a lack of tempo rubato in the rising and falling lines of the C sharp minor Prélude, Op. 45 that makes the work seem oddly inflexible, and a want of depth in the sonorities of his E major Nocturne, Op. 62, that shows the performer's youth. Yet Blechacz clearly has it in him to be a great Chopin player. The controlled pacing of his E minor Prélude, Op. 28, and the affecting simplicity of his A major Prélude from the same set are remarkably poised and poetic. Captured in clean but evocative digital sound by Deutsche Grammophon, this disc is worth hearing more for what it promises than for what it delivers.

© James Leonard, All Music Guide

CD 1
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 24 Preludes, Op.28 Work 39:04 Rafal Blechacz Piano
1	1.Agitato in C	0:38			$0.49
2	2.Lento in A-	2:12			$0.99
3	3.Vivace in G	0:58			$0.49
4	4.Largo in E-	2:08			$0.99
5	5.Molto allegro in D	0:35			$0.49
6	6.Lento Assai in B-	2:08			$0.99
7	7.Andantino in A	0:56			$0.49
8	8.Molto agitato in F#-	2:03			$0.99
9	9.Largo in E	1:37			$0.49
10	10.Molto allegro in C#-	0:32			$0.49
11	11.Vivace in B	0:42			$0.49
12	12.Presto in G#-	1:17			$0.49
13	13.Lento in F#	3:13			$0.99
14	14.Allegro in Eb-	0:39			$0.49
15	15.Sostenuto in Db ('Raindrop')	4:54			$0.99
16	16.Presto con fuoco in Bb-	1:09			$0.49
17	17.Allegretto in Ab	3:15			$0.99
18	18.Molto allegro in F-	0:57			$0.49
19	19.Vivace in Eb	1:22			$0.49
20	20.Largo in C-	1:56			$0.49
21	21.Cantabile in Bb	1:51			$0.49
22	22.Molto agitato in G-	0:41			$0.49
23	23.Moderato in F	0:57			$0.49
24	24.Allegro appassionato in D-	2:24			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Prelude in Ab ('Presto con leggerezza'), CT.191 Work Rafal Blechacz Piano
25	Prelude in Ab ('Presto con leggerezza'), CT.191	0:49			$0.49
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Prelude in C#-, Op.45 Work Rafal Blechacz Piano
26	Prelude in C#-, Op.45	4:36			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 2 Nocturnes, Op.62 Work 13:12 Rafal Blechacz Piano
27	No.1 in B	7:33			$1.49
28	No.2 in E	5:39			$0.99