Let us first of all deal with the instrument: Peter Katin plays a Collard & Collard square piano of about 1836 with a span of six octaves. He chooses works from each end of Chopin’s creative lifetime – from the juvenile Polonaises to the Mazurka, Op. 68 No. 4, believed to be the last work Chopin wrote (the disc is subtitled “First and Last”) – which he believes stylistically suit the instrument. It is important, when approaching a recording like this, to attempt to suppress the expectations associated with a modern Steinway. The sound is quite different, and while each class of instrument has its particular strengths, there is a danger that early pianos can sound like an old upright in need of tuning. Sadly, I found it difficult to shake off that impression with this disc. The ear does adjust to the slightly twangy sound, and some of the more introspective pieces work well with the thinner tone and the colouristic possibilities of the instrument, particularly of its soft pedal.
Regardless of the instrument, however, the most important details involve the playing itself. In Katin’s hands the smaller works have a good sense of scale and intimacy, but the more virtuosic pieces lack fluency and bravura; the Rondo, Op. 1, for example, seems to me quite inadequate with no virtuosic sweep or dramatic impulse. The playing evinces an understated poetry, especially in the C sharp minor Nocturne and the Op. 64 Waltzes, but is generally uninspiring. For style and elegance, for charisma and personal insight, one is best returning to time-honoured favourites: Cortot and Lipatti in the Waltzes, Friedman (on a four-disc set) in the Mazurkas. Such comparisons are clearly at Katin’s expense, and in presenting his Chopin on the fortepiano he to some extent negates their relevance.
Overall, this has a value of historical curiosity; I remain, nevertheless, unconvinced both by the playing and by this particular instrument.'