Notes and Editorial Reviews
CHOPIN
Polonaise: in A?; in G?; 3 Polonaises,
op. 71;
Rondo in c; Mazurkas: in B?; in b?; Rondo à la Mazur;
Souvenir de Paganini; Casta Diva
from Bellini’s
Norma
•
Costantino Mastroprimiano (fp)
•
BRILLIANT 94066 (71:45)
These early Chopin works, including the composer’s op. 1 (the Rondo in C Minor), are all played on a Graf pianoforte from 1826, an
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instrument with a mellow but still sufficiently penetrating high end, a light tone in the bass, and evidently an easy action. I am not sure that the young Chopin was an innocent, but his music, such as the perky Mazurka in G, or the Rondo in C Minor mentioned above, certainly sounded that way. Chopin did not himself publish the mazurka or the one in B? or, for that matter, the three polonaises. The mazurkas are pleasing, formally stiff works, with none of the pathos and little of the formal interest of the later works. There is something of that pathos (our annotator calls it sentimentality) in the Polonaise in B?-Minor, but it must be admitted that these pieces are the works of a genius, but a very young one. That said, I find this recording of unusual, even unlikely, Chopin works pleasing. Costantino Mastroprimiano never seems to be straining after Steinway grand effects; his playing of the fortepiano makes the most of the instrument’s capabilities. Many listeners will be interested in this disc.
FANFARE: Michael Ullman
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Works on This Recording
1.
Polonaise for Piano in A flat major, B 5 by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1821; Poland
2.
Rondo for Piano in C minor, Op. 1 by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1825; Poland
3.
Mazurka for Piano in G, B 39 by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1829; Poland
4.
Mazurka for Piano in B flat major by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
5.
Polonaise for Piano in B flat major, B 3 by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817; Poland
6.
Rondo for Piano in F major, B 15/Op. 5 "à la Mazur" by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1826; Poland
7.
Polonaises (3) for Piano, Op. 71 by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1825-1828; Poland
8.
Variations for Piano in A major, B 37 "Souvenir de Paganini" by Frédéric Chopin
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1829; Poland
9.
Norma: Casta diva by Vincenzo Bellini
Performer:
Costantino Mastroprimiano (Fortepiano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1831; Italy
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