When faced with recording the complete solo piano works of Chopin Ashkenazy was scrupulous in leaving nothing out—however insignificant. Perhaps a little too scrupulous, in that the Contredanse recorded here is of questionable authenticity, and the Bourrees are merely dutiful transcriptions of country dances. Sorting through all these pieces it is safe to say that the only ones that are characteristic of Chopin's mature style at its best are the Tarantelle, the Berceuse and the Barcarolle. Nevertheless, in general Ashkenazy takes considerable pains to present the others in the best possible light.
We launch into the Sonata in C minor with expectations that it could have some embryonic ideas that might hint at the later two masterpieces in this form, but in this performance the work sounds awkwardly written. A more classical approach would have helped; it is only the Hummel-inspired finale that is memorable. Of the four rondos it is the lesser-known two, the Rondo a la mazur and the one in C, that receive the strongest readings with notes flashing by in a spirit of charm and gaiety. The Op. 1 Rondo and the E flat, Op. 16 are rather rushed. The latter was recorded to great effect by the late Anatole Kitain (Columbia) and by Horowitz (CBS).
It is to Nikita Magaloff's disc of the Allegro de concert (Philips—nla) that one must look for the most successful modern recording. This piece, almost certainly designed as the first movement of a third piano concerto, used to be played by such artists as Rosenthal, Backhaus and Bulow, and so it deserves attention. It gives Ashkenazy technical problems in places and emerges as blustery. He makes no effort to explore the potentialities of the work.
All the smallest pieces are played with a directness and sincerity that makes them appealing, but it is only once the questionable Galop marquis is out of the way towards the close of the second CD that we come to the Berceuse and Barcarolle, two of Chopin's most sublime inspirations. Ashkenazy rises to their poetic demands and the readings are beautifully paced, thoughtful and executed with a loving piano tone. The quality of these only serves to demonstrate to what degree Ashkenazy plays below his potential in a large quantity of the recordings that he has produced over the past few years.
The recorded sound varies considerably over these two CDs. Whilst it is really excellent in the Rondo in C, with vividness and bloom, in the Variations on a German air and the ones for piano duet it is more reverberant. Chopin's Fugue in A minor, with its rather economical use of notes, has a ridiculously full sound. But on the whole, the piano tone is highly acceptable.'