Chopin Scherzi and Ballades

[Fotios_Darcey]

Could anyone suggest  recordings apart from Idil Biret (who does a beautiful job) of these pieces. Im looking for interesting interpretations to listen to.

Fotios

[martin_s]

I think Rubinstein plays the ballades beautifully. Third Scherzo (c# min) with Martha Argerich is another favourite. Think she might have recorded all the scherzi... Dunno for sure though...

[Colette]

Rachmaninoff's 3rd Scherzo is the best I've heard. Agerich's 3rd is interesting but very unchopin like, in my opiinon. Richter plays the 2nd Scherzo amazingly, he also does great justice to the 1st Ballade.

[MikeThePianist]

There's a recording of Rubinstein's that has all 4 ballades and all 4 scherzi.  I really like it.  He is one of my fave Chopin interpreters.

Mike

[Pianorak]

You'll find the Rubinstein performances on "The Rubinstein Collection, Volume 45" (RCA).
I would also recommend the Ballades and Scherzi recorded by Vladimir Ashkenazy in 1964, and the Scherzi recorded by Claudio Arrau (in 1985 ?).
I have heard Nikolay Demidenko play the 4 ballades and 4 scherzi live, but don't know whether he has recorded them.
PS. And don't overlook Murray Perahia's superb recording of the four ballades.

[martin_s]

Rachmaninov also recorded the third ballade. Very interesting, possibly not quite so true to Chopin though...

[chopinfan]

There is a recording by Horowitz of the 1st scherzo which has to be heard. For the ballads I'd suggest Rubinstein.

[Martijn1]

Demidenko has the most beautiful tone of every chopin performer I heard. Please take a look at
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk

There's a Box with complete piano works from DG that's also very good

Please try Rubinstein's. The tone not as beautiful as Demidenko, but also one of the best in my humble opinion

[rachfan]

I agree with most of the other contributors here.  The Rubinstein recordings are the classic performance.  There are a few technical blemishes in the execution, but Rubinstein knew how to capture the essence of these pieces and to project their lyricism and bombast in order to put them across  to an audience.  You cannot go wrong listening to them.  I have the Ashkenazy recordings which are quite good, but I still prefer Rubinstein's interpretations.

Rachmaninoff (my favorite composer and certainly one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of all time) was at his best playing Rachmaninoff.  And there is nothing wrong with that.  In his day he had to make a living and more often than not featured his own piano works prominently in his recital programs.  Somehow when he played Chopin, Kreisler, or whomever, they sounded like, well, Rachmaninoff.  You can hear this in his recordings.   Still, he was a fantastic musician--one of a kind.  

[tph]

I'd like to suggest Dang Thai Son's recording of the Ballades, which I believe trumps all others in its beauty of tone, nobility of phrasing, crystalline clarity, and coherence of structure.  His records are very difficult to come by, however, as he records exclusively for a Japanese label.

tph

[BuyBuy]

I'd say that for the 1st and 4th ballades, Horowitz is unveatable. Well, personal opinion... He just gets so much out of the music, and he is very powerful. None of these ff chords played with fear.

[Hmoll]

My favorite recording of the Ballades is Zimmerman on DG.
Can't decide on the Scherzos, but Alexis Weissenberg's is interesting.

[scarbo87]

For an INTERESTING reading of the scherzos try Pletnev on DG.
As for the Ballades....I like Kissin and,although he is not
well  know, Jerome Rose.

[Max]

I love Pollinis interpretion of the Ballades.

For a great recording of both Ballades and Scherzi, get Stephen Houghs - it's also really good.

[chromatickler]

apparently, Hamelin used to program all 4 ballades in his recitals. until he got bored, that is.

[rohansahai]

Zimmerman for the Ballades, surely!