Chopin: Waltzes

by Bill Heck

Chopin: Complete Waltzes. Sir Stephen Hough, piano. Hyperion CDA 68479

What’s this, a new recording of the Chopin Waltzes by Sir Stephen Hough? Certainly an event to be celebrated, right? Well, not exactly, but I’m celebrating anyway. The first 21 tracks, the waltzes that have been known for years, were recorded and released in 2011, but never reviewed here at Classical Candor, so I’m celebrating the opportunity to hear and comment on this set. In addition, though, 2024 brought the news of a newly discovered waltz clearly written by Chopin, and that work is the 22^nd track on this new release. I don’t know that this very short piece is sufficient cause for major celebration, but hey, we’ll go with it.

Sorting all this out a bit more, the performances here are, as we’ve come to expect from Hough, thoughtful, technically impeccable (of course), and personal while being true to the music. In the interesting booklet notes, Jeffrey Kallberg stresses the tension or contrast that Chopin found between the popular elements of the waltz as dance music and the deeper musical interest and values that could be added by the composer, a contrast that provides just one area for interpretive differences by a performer. 

By way of example, such differences are immediately apparent in comparison with the celebrated performances by Arthur Rubinstein (the later RCA recording in this case). In the very first waltz, Hough adds more personal touches, such as more frequent rubato, while at the same time using subtle emphasis to make the rhythm, at least as I hear it, even more dance like. (An imperfect comparison might be the way that different players syncopate in jazz.) I must emphasize that, in this case, it’s not that Hough’s approach is either better or worse than Rubenstein’s; both are faithful to the scores and both reflect true artistry. They’re just (a little) different. Of course, there are plenty of other interpretations and performances out there; I mentioned Rubenstein’s only because it’s so well known, but we could just as well listen to Lipatti, Perahia, Ohlsson – the list goes on.

And naturally, the differences among performances are hardly confined to the first waltz. In general, Hough brings a wonderful artistic sensibility to all these works. Throughout the series, Hough plays expressively but never in ways that detract from the music, over-sentimentalize, or make the performances about him rather than about Chopin. I might also remark on the articulation of notes from both the left and right hands, often with the left playing simple chords that provide the “dance” waltz rhythm with the right getting all the good parts, so to speak.  

 

I should mention the recorded sound. It’s good, but the recording seems just a little more distant than I would like, leaving the sound just a little more clouded than optimal. I don’t mean to say it’s bad, I just wish it were a little closer and clearer. But that’s just me nitpicking.

But back to the release. Regardless of which of many recorded versions of Chopin’s waltzes may be your favorite, if you would like to hear another wonderful set, you should hear this one. Indeed, if you only want one such set in your collection, this would be a good one – but why would you want only one? Admittedly, for those who already have the 2011 CD, only the most avid Chopin collectors need feel obligated to grab this new release to hear that newly discovered work. But for the rest of us, this one comes highly recommended.