Frederic Chopin(1810-1849)
       Preludes, Opus 28

Jeanne-Marie Darre
Vanguard Classics 8092
Recorded 1965

Anna Malikova
RS(Real Sound) 028
Recorded 1999

Jeanne-Marie Darre, born in 1905, studied with Marguerite Long at the
age of 10 at the Paris Conservatory; at age 13 she won the Conservatory's
First Prize.  Subsequently, Darre was regarded as one of the great French
pianists and attained a professorship at the Conservatory.  In the 1960's
she began concertizing in the United States to rave reviews and eventually
ended her public appearances in the 1980's.  The noted critic Harold
Schonberg wrote of one of her Chopin recitals - "She left her audience
limp.  Her playing is full of fire and passion.  A pianist with her
power, originality, and musicality cannot be heard enough".

Darre's recorded legacy currently includes three other discs from Vanguard:
Chopin Scherzi, Chopin Waltzes, and a Liszt recital including his famous
Sonata for Piano.  Also, there's a 2-cd mixed recital set on the VAI
label with performances ranging from the 1920's to 1940's.

Anna Malikova is a young Russian pianist who has become a frequent artist
for the Italian RS label.  She has recorded other Chopin discs for RS
in addition to discs devoted to Prokofiev, Shostakovich, and Schubert.
Malikova studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Lev Naumov and
has taught there as well.

Just like you can't tell a book by its cover, you can't possibly get a
good idea of Malikova's playing by her photographs.  Every photo I've
seen presents her as the most wholesome looking young lady in the world
who could only have nice and pleasant thoughts.  I already knew what I
was in for from her Shostakovich disc which is thoroughly of industrial
strength.  Her Shostakovich is brutal, bleak, and into total upheaval.

Malikova's Chopin Preludes are also brutal, bleak, and primitive.  As
in Shostakovich, Malikova rarely concerns herself with beauty, always
striking deep into the underbelly; she sticks the knife in and twists
it to maximize her pleasure.  Malikova is definitely not for the timid.

However, you might reply that a fair share of the preludes have nothing
to do with the horror of life.  That's where Malikova reins in her bitter
remorse and presents some very compelling interpretations.  What she
does with the tender-spoken preludes such as the 7th is quite engrossing
and hypnotic; she seems to make time stand still through her pacing,
inflections, and intervals.

My only complaint about the performances is a stilted 24th Prelude which
has some odd coordination among the voices.  This prelude always makes
me think of Scriabin, and I don't feel Malikova has a clue about the man
at this point in her career.  Although her bass line has some strength,
it is ineffectual as it doesn't ever connect to the upper voices.

I do have another complaint which involves the sound quality.  Bass
lines can go muddy at times, and that's another reason for the less than
rewarding 24th Prelude.  On the plus side, it's one of the infrequent
recordings which sounds better and better as the volume is increased.
This is definitely a disc to listen to as loudly as your ears can handle.

Ultimately, these two complaints don't carry much weight when everything
else about the performances is superlative.  Malikova's is a unique
offering which you need to hear for yourself.  She reminds me some of
Argerich in that both artists are so distinctive in the wild and crazy
preludes; Argerich streaks wildly through space, while Malikova is
pounding her way down to the center of the earth.

Here are some highlights of Malikova's performances:

In the 1st Prelude, Malikova's swells and upper voice are very effective
and excellently detailed, creating a strong sense of urgings.  The 3rd
Prelude finds Malikova offering a most interesting bass-line foundation
perfectly balanced with the upper voices.

The 4th and 6th Preludes are bleak affairs given the totally hopeless
treatment by Malikova whose inflections are second to none.  In the 7th
Prelude, she suspends time with her hesitations and tender touch.

The 8th Prelude swirls incessantly, and Malikova churns better than I've
ever heard before.  She starts out strongly and goes about tightening
the coils until it sounds as if a tidal wave is upon me.

Malikova gives the ceremonial 9th Prelude the full regal application,
while her 10th Variation conveys streaking and stark runs with firm and
rich responses.  In the 11th Variation, the urgency of her reading reminds
me of Alfred Cortot.

If any of Chopin's Preludes thrives on beauty, it's the 13th.  Although
I never find that Malikova places top priority on beauty, her success
in locating the core of human emotion certainly results in a thoroughly
gorgeous reading of the 13th Prelude.

The 14th Prelude thrives on the power-play, and Malikova's crushing
performance is analagous to a tornado ripping through your home.  The
15th Prelude has the greatest contrast in the set between the first and
second sections, and Malikova makes the switch effortlessly.  However,
she conveys the tremendous effort of the second section's hero to claw
his/her way to higher ground.

In the 16th Prelude, Malikova's upper voice is about the most energetic
and exuberant I've yet to hear.  The 17th Prelude is a great example of
Malikova's stunning vertical expressiveness primarily created by her
right-hand emotional depth.

The satisfactions of life are on full exhibit in Malikova's 19th Prelude
as she again displays a fantastic right hand.  The 20th Prelude is all
about the total depletion of hope with a sinking and inevitable despair
created by Malikova's upper voice.

Ever think of using the 22nd Prelude as your early morning wake-up music?
If you take a stab at it, you won't find any version better than Malikova's;
at the same time she pounds you into the bedding, she's also speeding
up your heart rate to dangerous levels.  You won't know whether to get
up or hide.  "Heavenly" is the word that best describes Malikova's
conception of the 23rd Prelude; this is pianist who traverses the distance
from the bottom of the pit to the heights of subtle joy in transcedent
fashion.

I won't linger over the Darre performances.  They are certainly excellent
creations; aside from a couple of questionable decisions such as the
one to shorten upper-voice notes in the Prelude, Darre gives us highly
enjoyable interpretations.  Yet, she doesn't really stand a chance when
compared to Malikova, and I end up feeling that I've heard it all before
and heard it better as well.  The competition is fierce, and Darre's
fine version does not distinguish itself from the crowd.

She does best in the joyous and relatively serene preludes such as nos. 11,
19, and 23.  Problems creep up in the very powerful/serious preludes
including the 8th Prelude and the second section of the 15th where Darre
simply is not sufficiently intense.  Surprisingly, where Darre surpasses
Malikova is in the mighty 24th Prelude where the bass line has admirable
tension.

Don's Conclusions: I suggest you use all your dedication and persistance
in finding the 'one-of-a-kind' Malikova performance of Chopin's Preludes.
Brutal and primitive, she also covers all the other emotional themes in
a fully idiomatic manner.  Essentially, Malikova gets to the heart of
each prelude excepting for the 24th.  She has a fantastic right hand in
terms of expressiveness that demands to be heard, and I end up thankful
that I had the good fortune to obtain this stimulating disc.  Malikova
deserves a commanding reputation, and I hope she gets it in the near
future.  Based on these performances and the others I have heard from
her RS discs, I am thoroughly convinced that she is one of the pianistic
giants of our time.  Just keep in mind that this wholesome person has
venom to throw your way, and she loves every minute of it.

I can recommend the Darre for its general excellence, but those who eat
up the 'extreme' Chopin will not be very impressed.  Concerning sound
quality, it is quite good for the time period except for being a little
bass-heavy.  My final remark is that Harold Schonberg may find Darre's
Chopin playing "full of fire and passion", but I don't detect much of
those qualities in her performance of the Preludes on this Vanguard disc.

Don Satz
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