ショパン: ワルツ全集(2024年新発見の「ワルツ イ短調」付き)

スティーヴン・ハフの2011年のショパンのワルツ集のアルバムが、2024年にニューヨークの図書館で発見された「ワルツ」を追加して再び"全曲盤"となりました。『ガーディアン』紙がアルバムの初リリース時に「権威と威厳…理解と余裕ある達人技」と歓迎したショパンを手に入れるさらなる動機となるでしょう。
ユニバーサル・ミュージック/IMS

In the hands of brilliant English pianist Stephen Hough, the complete waltzes of Frederic Chopin are polished miniatures of great precision, elegant phrasing, balanced contrasts, and sparkling expression, and they easily stand out among the many recordings issued or reissued since the bicentennial of the composer's birth. That Hyperion waited until the hubbub died down and released this album in 2011 seems understandable, if there were any fears critics might miss it in the rush, though it plainly would have ranked among the best discs of 2010, the year it was in fact recorded. Hough's take on Chopin is fluid and somewhat elastic, and there is considerable use of rubato in these performances, though it is always controlled and never feels impulsive or self-indulgent. Indeed, with Hough's crisp rhythms and delicate melodic filigree, the ebb and flow of the tempo seem carefully thought through and not subject to whim. Tracks 1 to 8 are the published waltzes, though the unpublished waltzes and the waltzes of doubtful attribution take up the lion's share of the program, along with the waltz-like Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major, which is a graceful closer. Hyperion's exceptional recording captures the fullness of the piano's sound in a fairly resonant space, though everything sounds clean and detailed, and not a note is lost.

ハフにとって、今後の音楽人生の中で新たな代表作品となることを予感させる演奏。2010年発売されたショパン後期ピアノ作品集は、これまで彼が奏でてきた演奏とは異なった世界を届けてくれた。そして今回のワルツ全集は、約1年の充電期間を経て録音されている。その期間も踏まえ、こうして1曲、1曲聴いてみると、この全集にかける想いが伝わってくる。他の全集録音を楽しみに待ちたいという気持ちを抱かせてくれる。
intoxicate (C)飛田陽海