Louis Lortie’s earlier recordings in his Chopin series have received mixed reviews in these pages, ranging from enthusiastic (BM and me) to unconvinced (HS). This fourth volume finds me split down the middle. The running order is odd. Though the idea seems to be to present all the Waltzes in chronological order of composition starting with the earliest (posthumously published), the two Waltzes of Op 69 are separated by 11 tracks, while the sequence of the three Waltzes of Op 64 is broken by the insertion of a couple of Nocturnes left over from previous sessions, which are, moreover, much more satisfactorily recorded. Curiously, at least two of the works presented here (the Waltzes in E flat, B46, and A minor, B150) are, by the booklet’s own admission, now generally accepted as not by Chopin.

The sound and the piano bother me. The combination of Potton Hall and a Steinway nearly always achieves a well-nigh perfect balance and atmosphere; Potton Hall, a Fazioli and a microphone placement favouring the resonant bass makes the listener a distant, uninvolved spectator. Lortie, that most eloquent and tasteful of pianists, sounds often uncharacteristically heavy-handed – the last thing you want in Chopin. Of course there are many things to admire – the exquisite rubato in Op 69 No 1, the chattering middle section of Op 18 and the insouciant playfulness in the little posthumous A flat Waltz are among a string of delightful successes – but overall I’m afraid this collection doesn’t compete with Stephen Hough (Hyperion, 10/11) and Ingrid Fliter (EMI, 12/09), to name but two recent surveys.