Chopin was, I think, the first composer to publish a set of preludes
without anything to follow, but so successful is his set that others have
followed his example. They are none of them long – the longest is less than
five minutes – and many are less than a minute duration. More than a few are
in ABA form with a contrasting middle section but some are brief
uncomplicated statements with a repetition. Several of them are technically
quite simple and within the grasp of amateurs who seize them eagerly, but
some are as virtuosic as the Études. They are very varied in their moods.
Some seem to be evocations of other composers’ styles, for example 18 of
Schumann and 21 of Liszt. They work their way through all the major and
minor keys, in a manner modelled on Bach’s 48, but it is not clear whether
Chopin intended them to be performed as a set. The pianist who does so must
be adept at establishing the different mood and world of each piece
immediately and also at taking us on a convincing journey through them.
At this point we come to Maxence Pilchen. He has won various prizes and
comes garlanded with praise. You can read about him on
his own
website. He is said to have a vast repertoire and to be interested in
historic pianos. This is his first recording and is on a normal modern
piano. Obviously he has the technique for these pieces, and I liked his
playing of the virtuosic ones best. So 5 has a pleasant chunky kind of
touch, and in 8 the whirl of notes surrounds the main theme without making
the texture heavy. 10 is tossed off lightly, as it should be. 12 is vigorous
– it made me think of Albeniz or Granados rather than Chopin. However, 14,
which is like a capsule version of the finale of the B flat minor sonata,
seemed heavy rather than demonic and 16 took off like a rocket but rather
lost impetus in the middle. 18 was fluent rather than violent and savage and
22 got lost in a blur of pedal without a clear sense of the piece as a
whole. 24 was not at all clear, though I liked his cascade of double thirds
at bar 55.
I was less convinced by his playing of the slower and simpler pieces. 2
was prosaic and in 4 both the rubato in bar 12 and the stretto in bars 16 to
18 seemed exaggerated. In 13 he rather lost the line in the middle section.
21 was efficient rather than songful. However, in compensation I should
praise Pilchen’s playing of the passages of filigree ornament which occur in
several of the pieces, such as 15, and his account of 7 was charming and
delicate.
If you heard this performance in a concert you would be well satisfied. As
a recording this is up against the many fine pianists who have set down
their versions of the set. Argerich and Pollini are among the mainstream
contenders and Sokolov and Olsson among the outsiders. Add to that that they
usually include several other works while this CD plays for less than 35
minutes and you have an issue which is frankly not competitive. The
sleeve-note is an interview with Pilchen about the pieces. The recording is
good.
Stephen Barber
