Frederic Chopin(1810-1849) Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op.66 Shura Cherkassky....Ivory Classics 72003(1940's - 4:49) Alfred Cortot.......EMI Reference 61050(1933 - 4:31) Janina Fialkowska...Opening Day 9318(1999 - 5:26) Garrick Ohlsson.....Arabesque 6642(1993 - 5:08) Of the above pianists, Cortot and Cherkassky are legendary while Ohlsson has the complete Chopin piano works for Arabesque under his belt. The relative 'unknown' is Janina Fialkowska. She is a Canadian, born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and Polish father. Her career took off after a prize winning performance in 1974 at the Arthur Rubinstein International Competition in Israel. Since that time, she has made many recordings for CBC, Opening Day, and Naxos. Fialkowska has also appeared with most of the leading orchestras in the world. To top it off, she is the founder of "Piano Six", a group of Canadian pianists committed to bringing recitals to areas of Canada where classical music performances are infrequent. Although timings can be quite deceptive, the average recorded performance of Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu is in the five minute range. Of the four performances being reviewed, only Fialkowska extends well beyond the norm; Cortot is well below the norm, but that was typical for the time period. The Cherkassky performance is part of a 2-cd set offering his historic recordings from the 1940's. The list of pieces is quite long, so I won't go through the program contents. However, major works covered include the Brahms Piano Sonata Opus 5, four Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies, and seven other Chopin pieces in addition to Opus 66. The two discs are well-filled with over 140 minutes of music. The price is premium, but so is Cherkassky. Cortot's EMI disc is all-Chopin and includes the Opus 28 Preludes, Prelude Op.45, Berceuse, and Barcarolle. Needless to say, you don't want to be without these vintage performances. Fiakowska gives us the Four Impromptus and the 2nd and 3rd Piano Sonatas, while Ohlsson's 2-cd set covers the Four Impromptus and all 16 Polonaises. As I continued listening to these four readings of Opus 66, three features kept occupying my mind: tension, primitive human urges, and desperation. Their significance was most clear when comparing Ohlsson's account to Cortot's. Ohlsson is certainly louder and more powerful than Cortot who has the additional disadvantage of aural debris and a slightly recessed sound. Yet, Ohlsson's version just bounces off me, and the Cortot penetrates my core. Why? It all starts with tension. Ohlsson offers power but with little tension; I had to use my equalizer and some very odd settings to get any decent tension from Ohlsson, and those results were still not close to being compelling. Of course, if tension is low, primitive urges are low, and desperation is just a fleeting thought. But Ohlsson is certainly loud if that means anything to you. Turn to Cortot and we have an interpretation that is permeated by a tightly coiled tension, primitive urgings just busting to take over one's being, and a strong dose of life's desperate elements. Yes, the sound isn't good at all, and there are plenty of times when the piano tone becomes recessed. Through it all, Cortot rises to the top with one of the best versions on record and joins Arrau, Ashkenazy, Francois, and Moiseiwitsch at the elite level. Cortot even manages to instill the gorgeous 2nd section with an impressive degree of tension. The Cherkassky and Fialkowska versions occupy a middle position between Ohlsson and Cortot. Both provide plenty of tension and angst, but they can't compare to Cortot, Moiseiwitsch, or Arrau. Also, their 2nd sections don't rival the transcendent one from Ashkenazy. Cherkassky, like Cortot, has to put up with some significant aural debris and recessed sound. Unlike Cortot, Cherkassky can't quite rise above it, as his tension goes slack at times in the 1st section. However, Cherkassky's 2nd section is highly lyrical and noble in conception. I would have liked more fire-power out of Fialkowska's 1st section and a little more vitality from her 2nd section. However, it's a very fine performance on the lyrical end with some profound utterances in the 2nd section. Also, Fialkowska does turn on the heat with a little over a minute left in her reading and finishes with an idyllic conclusion. The sound quality has excellent balance and depth, although I wouldn't rate it as state-of-the-art. Don's Conclusions: Cortot's tension-filled version is the gem among the four reviewed and one of the best on record. The Fialkowska and Cherkassky interpretations have much to offer, but the Ohlsson is problematic at best. I have a few more versions left to review including Jorge Bolet and Angela Lear. Part 3 should be distributed in a few days as long as the pressing requirements of life don't rear their heads too insistently. Don Satz [log in to unmask]