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 [log in to unmask]