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ps. Check out Arrau under the "Great Pianists of the 20th Century" series that's available here on Amazon if you want to further sample his enormous repertoire.

38 of 38 found the following review helpful:

The summit (forgive me, Rubinstein)Jun 10, 2005
By John Grabowski
If anyone wanted an introduction to the late Chilean pianist Claudio Arrau, and why I think he's one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, I'd point them to this set. This is some of the most distinctive Chopin playing I've ever heard, beautifully-recorded. I've been comparing this to Rubinstein's set all week and Arrau comes out on top almost every time.

Some people may find his push-pull rubato a little too much, but I like it here. Listen to how he never repeats a phrase exactly. Each time he plays it he caresses a different note, a different part of the phrase, accents a different beat ever so slightly. There's no such thing as "passage work" with Arrau. He has said that every note in a piece is equally important, and he plays these works that way, rather than as just light dreamy moonlight pieces, and thus brings out demons in them I've never heard before. For just one of many examples, listen to the pedal just before the coda in the Second Nocturne, Op. 9. No one does moments like that like Arrau--he makes a very special statement effortlessly, without flash or drama. His recordings reward careful, repeated listening, and bore those searching for surface flair.

It's interesting to note that he considered the Nocturnes to be the peak of Chopin's output, an extraordinary view. Most other pianists--Rubinstein is a fine example--handle the Nocturnes as small parlor pieces, but Arrau gives them a big-scale treatment. You could argue they lose some of their intimate charm, their old fashioned quality, this way, like listening to Mozart chamber music through a bullhorn, but I think Arrau's view has a lot going for it. He brings out a certain agitation in No. 2 in Op. 37 in G-major, that other pianists miss. He finds moonlight and mystery in the constantly changing figurations of No. 1 in B-flat minor--again, no such thing as passagework. And just wait till you hear the volcanic fury pent up in the C-sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 1. I find these larger-than-life readings to be very satisfying, and despite Arrau's approach he manages to find plenty of small-scale charm in, say, Op. 15, No. 2. But what makes this set special to me is the extra material he mines from works like Op. 15, No. 1, here played more disturbingly than ones normally hears it. And, if you're in the mood for the drawing room approach, you should also have your Rubinstein set handy. (While I am a great admirier of Pires, I find her set, beautifully-played, to be a little intellectually lightweight compared to these.)

Don't listen to those who say either 1) Chopin played his works without a lot of rubato, or 2) there is heavy breathing here that makes these unlistenable. No one knows what Chopin played these works like--there was no recording then, obviously, and a verbal description is not reliable since everything is relative--what was considered "not a lot of rubato" in 1840 could be a lot today, just as meat that was "not very salty" in 1840 would probably assault our tastebuds today. Chopin's direct descendants were recorded, however, or many of them were, and they played his works with great freedom, rhythmic and otherwise. This fact, coupled with the knowledge that slavish workship of the printed note did not take effect until the second half of the 20th century, makes me suspect anyone who says Chopin did not want his works played this way or that way. As for Arrau's "breathing," I don't find it particularly bothersome. Anyone saying this makes the discs "unlistenable" must be a child of the electronic music age, and probably could not keep his concentration in a concert hall surrounded by people who are all, we hope, breathing.

24 of 25 found the following review helpful:

A desert island discJan 09, 2000
By Roger Townsend
This is a marvelously conceived and executed version of the nocturnes. The word that comes most to mind is "poetic." Arrau is a master of incredible sensitivity to phrasing and dynamics. The remastered recording, while not so pristine as an all digital one, is still a major improvement over the original version. If you love Chopin, if you love the piano, or if you simply love human excellence and genuis in any endeavor, you will adore this recording.

26 of 29 found the following review helpful:

Breath-taking beauty but distracted by the heavy breathingFeb 01, 2004
By travispicker
This is an absolutely beautiful performance of Chopin's Nocturnes. I listened to several other samples of the other pianists who have released this same collection. Most of them seemed to be flat and sterile compared to this recording by Arrau. In my ears, they seemed to be missing something that this artist had captured in the pieces.

Still, I was hesitant to buy it due to the reviews I had read about the heavy breathing being too distracting to enjoy the music. I decided to take a chance that the reviewers were just being over critical and purchased the cd.

After I got it, I listened to it immediately on my home stereo. Absolutely beautiful and I didn't hear any of the breathing they were talking about. I was relieved and felt great about my decision to purchase the cd. However, the next day I decided to take it with me in my car. There was the breathing loud as could be! Sometimes it was louder than the music! Very distracting and not just on 1 or 2 tracks. The entire cd is riddled with pockets of constant panting as if Claudio were working out on a stairmaster while playing.

Some would say that this is just the mark of a man passionate about the pieces and we should be thankful that so much energy went into his performance. I whole-heartedly agree! My issue isn't with Claudio Arrua's magnificent interpretation but with the poor microphone placement technique and engineering quality of this recording. Even though this a recording from 1978, there is just no excuse for it.

That all being said, I'm still glad I chose to purchase this recording. Even with the breathing I still would rather have this one than the other less soulful recordings we have to chose from. I listen to it often and every time I notice the breathing less and less as this truly beautiful performance of this truly beautiful music unfolds.

14 of 14 found the following review helpful:

You must, among others, have this set.Nov 23, 2006
By A. Rocheleau "Al from Orlando"
Arrau's playing is unique, a throwback to the age of the romantic virtuoso of a century long gone. This set is rightfully famous, and is, with the 60's collection by Rubinstien and the 90's set by Pires, the three I have always most loved and recommended, though each is very different in its approach. Of the three, Rubinstein's is the most faithful to the "letter" of Chopin's score, but even then, Rubinstein's indomitable personality shines through. Pires takes some liberties with speed and dynamics-- so she rests nominally in the middle.

Then there is Claudio Arrau, and I agree with another reviewer that the pianist indeed treats each note as if matters. Does he dwell too much, slide into notes, take different dynamic turns, play with a rubato just this side of Paderewski or Busoni, and bathe the music in pedal at times?--yes, all of that. But let's face it, there is no "right" Chopin, and no recorded collection that is the be-all--because if so, it would sell Chopin's genius far short of its due. I and others choose to listen to all the above sets on their own terms and love all of them-- likewise the Cortot, and available selections of Horowitz, Godowsky, Friedman, Hofmann, etc. (Not to mention more recent, sublime interpretations in the concert hall by Tzimon Barto.) In any event, this 70's Arrau set holds its own,in its own way, with any and all of the above.

For years, this was the set I listened to on LP, both at home and transferred to cassette to play in the car. Rubinstein's later became a favorite for me, finally Pires's. For purposes of sound, either of the latter two are preferable, but sound is definitely a secondary issue. Regarding that, I must say that the CD remastering of the Arrau has heightened not only the breathing issues, but also the too-close miking of the keyboard, so that, especially in one channel of the stereo mix, the sound the piano mechanism itself is often heard. That's close miking, too close really, but so what. I can live with it and with Arrau's exchange of breath for the individual quality of his music.

In summary, this set should be in every collection, but so should the others, and perhaps three or four more that could be mentioned-- Cortot, perhaps Ashkenazy and Zimmerman too. Why so many? These pieces are part of the bedrock of romantic pianism, and far deeper in intellectual and spiritual intent than they are often credited with. On that, I agree with Arrau, that Chopin starts here, and should, after a wide foray, also finish here.

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