Chopin / Alessandro Deljavan Complete Etudes CD

Chopin threw down the gauntlet for all who would come after him. These 24 studies, and the three works published as 'Nouvelles Etudes' within the M?thode des M?thodes de Moscheles et F?tis - a publication including studies by Henselt, Liszt, Mendelssohn and Thalberg - probe and refine every aspect of a pianist's technique, as one might expect from the technical and didactic implications of their title. What distinguishes them, however, from the hundreds of other similar volumes published throughout the 19th century and beyond, is the melodic genius, harmonic novelty and long-range structure that is peculiar to Chopin. Alessandro Deljavan is a young Italian pianist whose previous recordings for Brilliant Classics include the violin sonatas of Anton Rubinstein (BC94605), played with his regular duet partner Daniela Cammarano. Perhaps more pertinently, Brilliant has also just released his new recording of Chopin's Waltzes (BC95208). According to Fou T'Song - no mean Chopin pianist himself - Alessandro Deljavan is 'one of the most interesting pianists I have heard in my life'. Excerpts on YouTube from his success at the 2013 Van Cliburn Competition in Fort Worth confirm the truth and promise of Fou T'Song's acclamation. Deljavan's approach to the Etudes is not as monuments of pianism but with a charming and sometimes surprising sense of relaxation which takes for granted the kind of formidable technique that they were designed to test. Deljavan is free with the rubato that makes this music breathe: there are many other recordings of the Etudes that set the pages on fire: this one riffles them in the breeze, tapping into the vein of aching nostalgia from which all of Chopin's music draws. It was first made available as part of the most recent Chopin Edition from Brilliant Classics (BC94660).

1. Etude No. 1 in C Major. Allegro, 'Waterfall' 2. Etude No. 2 in a Minor. Allegro 3. Etude No. 3 in E Major. Lento Ma Non Troppo, 'Tristesse' 4. Etude No. 4 in C-Sharp minor. Presto 5. Etude No. 5 in G-Flat Major. Vivace, 'Black Keys' 6. Etude No. 6 in E-Flat minor. Andante 7. Etude No. 7 in C Major. Vivace 8. Etude No. 8 in F Major. Allegro 9. Etude No. 9 in F minor. Allegro Molto Agitato 10. Etude No. 10 in A-Flat Major. Vivace Assai 11. Etude No. 11 in E-Flat Major. Allegretto 12. Etude No. 12 in C minor. Allegro Con Fuoco, 'Revolutionary' 13. Etude No. 1 in A-Flat Major. Allegro Sostenuto, 'Aeolian Harp' 14. Etude No. 2 in F minor. Presto 15. Etude No. 3 in F Major. Allegro 16. Etude No. 4 in a Minor. Agitato 17. Etude No. 5 in E minor. Vivace 18. Etude No. 6 in G-Sharp minor. Allegro 19. Etude No. 7 in C-Sharp minor. Lento 20. Etude No. 8 in D-Flat Major. Vivace 21. Etude No. 9 in G-Flat Major. Allegro Assai, 'Butterfly' 22. Etude No. 10 in B minor. Allegro Con Fuoco 23. Etude No. 11 in a Minor, 'Winter Wind' 24. Etude No. 12 in C minor. Allegro Molto Con Fuoco 25. I. Andantino in F minor 26. II. Allegretto in D-Flat Major 27. III. Allegretto in A-Flat Major