More Preludes to Chopin

As the title suggests, this is the second album by pianist Kenneth Hamilton that pairs Chopin preludes with (mostly) longer works. That pairing is part of a set of performance ideas by Hamilton that he derived from studies of 19th century pianism, including the recordings of Ignacy Paderewski and even a piano roll made by one of Liszts students. These ideas include varied repeats, an extremely flexible approach to attack and dynamics, and considerable use of tempo rubato even by the standard usual for this composer. Both of Hamiltons Chopin albums have been commercially successful, a testimony to the strength of audience interest in fresh interpretations of core Romantic repertory, and in this respect, Hamilton is a successful new voice. He is especially attractive in the wandering, rarely heard Polonaise-Fantaisie, Op. 61. The Preludes to Chopin title also indicates a novel approach and one thats perhaps less successful: Hamilton argues that Chopins Preludes were indeed intended to fulfill the ancestral function of the prelude as an introduction to another work, typically one in the same key. Chopin scholars have suggested this in the past, pointing out that a publication by Czerny of 1839, the same year Chopins Preludes were published, specified such use of the prelude, but Chopin published his preludes as a set, and apparently did not use them in the way Hamilton suggests. Liszt, who was in a position to know, said that the Chopin Preludes were compositions of an order entirely apart from the usual type of prelude, and Chopin liked how Liszt played them, saying that he wished he could borrow Liszts interpretations. In any event, this is a fresh look at Chopin that is welcome even if individual reactions may vary.