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CHOPIN Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 Polonaises Alfred Cortot

CHOPIN Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 Polonaises Alfred Cortot

CHOPIN Piano Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3 Polonaises Alfred Cortot

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Great Pianists • <strong>Cortot</strong><br />

<strong>CHOPIN</strong><br />

<strong>Piano</strong> <strong>Sonatas</strong><br />

<strong>Nos</strong>. 2 <strong>and</strong> 3<br />

<strong>Polonaises</strong><br />

<strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Cortot</strong><br />

1923 - 1947 Recordings<br />

8.110065<br />

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Fryderyk <strong>CHOPIN</strong> (1810-1849)<br />

<strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 17:01<br />

‘Funeral March’<br />

1 Grave; Allegro 4:51<br />

2 Scherzo* 4:22<br />

3 Marche funèbre 6:25<br />

4 Finale (Presto) 1:23<br />

Recorded 5th June, 1928 in Kingsway Hall<br />

<strong>and</strong> *11th December, 1928 in Queen's Small Hall,<br />

London<br />

Matrices: CR 2053-1A, *Cc 15436-2,<br />

CR 2055-1A <strong>and</strong> CR 2056-2A<br />

First issued on HMV DB 1250 <strong>and</strong> 1251<br />

<strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 23:22<br />

5 Allegro maestoso 8:39<br />

6 Scherzo (Allegro vivace) 2:32<br />

7 Largo 7:06<br />

8 Finale (Presto non tanto) 5:05<br />

Recorded 6th July, 1933<br />

in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London<br />

Matrices: 0B 5226-3, 5227-2, 5228-1, 5229-2,<br />

5230-1, 5231-2, 5232-2 <strong>and</strong> 5233-1<br />

First issued on HMV DA 1333 through 1336<br />

3 Chants Polonais, Op. 74<br />

(transcribed by Liszt) 8:02<br />

9 Spring (Wiosna) 2:34<br />

0 The Ring (Pierscien) 2:05<br />

! My Joys (Moja piesczotka )* 3:23<br />

Recorded 10th March, 1939<br />

in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London<br />

Matrices: 0EA 7591-2 <strong>and</strong> 7592-1<br />

<strong>and</strong> *2EA 7593-1<br />

First issued on HMV DA 1682<br />

<strong>and</strong> *unissued on 78 rpm<br />

@ Gr<strong>and</strong>e Polonaise, Op. 22 4:49<br />

Recorded 5th February, 1923 in Camden,<br />

New Jersey<br />

Matrix: C 27366-3<br />

First issued on Victor 74824<br />

# Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 6:30<br />

‘Heroic’<br />

Recorded 4th-5th July, 1933<br />

in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London<br />

Matrices: 2B 5205-1 <strong>and</strong> 5206-3<br />

First issued on HMV DB 2014<br />

$ Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61 9:43<br />

‘Polonaise-Fantasie’<br />

Recorded 15th October, 1947<br />

in EMI Abbey Road Studio No. 3, London<br />

Matrices: 2EA 12435-1 <strong>and</strong> 12436-1<br />

Unissued on 78 rpm<br />

8.111065 2


<strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Cortot</strong> (1877-1962)<br />

<strong>CHOPIN</strong>: <strong>Sonatas</strong> • <strong>Polonaises</strong><br />

The son of a French father <strong>and</strong> Swiss mother, <strong>Alfred</strong><br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> was born in Nyon, Switzerl<strong>and</strong> in 1877. During<br />

his childhood the family moved to Paris <strong>and</strong> at the age<br />

of nine young <strong>Alfred</strong> joined the Paris Conservatoire,<br />

where he studied piano first with Emile Descombes<br />

(1829-1912) <strong>and</strong>, from the age of fifteen, with Louis<br />

Diémer (1843-1919). <strong>Cortot</strong> made his début in 1897<br />

with Beethoven’s <strong>Piano</strong> Concerto No. 3 in C minor,<br />

Op. 37, <strong>and</strong> gave piano duet recitals with Edouard<br />

Risler (1873-1929), playing arrangements for four<br />

h<strong>and</strong>s of music by Wagner. His enthusiasm for the<br />

German composer led to his appointment as choral<br />

coach, then assistant conductor at Bayreuth, working<br />

under Felix Mottl <strong>and</strong> Hans Richter. <strong>Cortot</strong>’s<br />

experiences in Bayreuth left him eager to introduce<br />

Wagner’s music to French audiences, <strong>and</strong> in 1902 he<br />

founded the Société des Festivals Lyriques, through<br />

which in May of the same year he conducted the Paris<br />

première of Götterdämmerung. The following year<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> organized another society enabling him to give<br />

performances of major works such as Brahms’s<br />

Requiem, Liszt’s St Elisabeth, Beethoven’s Missa<br />

Solemnis <strong>and</strong> Wagner’s Parsifal, <strong>and</strong> not long after he<br />

became conductor of the Société Nationale, promoting<br />

works by contemporary French composers.<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> was a multi-faceted musician, a conductor<br />

<strong>and</strong> chamber music player as well as solo pianist. He<br />

formed a famous piano trio with Jacques Thibaud <strong>and</strong><br />

Pablo Casals, but it was as a pianist for which he<br />

became renowned. He was appointed by Gabriel Fauré<br />

to a teaching post at the Paris Conservatoire, but was in<br />

such dem<strong>and</strong> as a performer that he was invariably<br />

away on tour. In 1918 <strong>Cortot</strong> made his first tour of<br />

8.111065<br />

America, <strong>and</strong> during his second tour in 1920 he played<br />

all five of Beethoven’s <strong>Piano</strong> Concertos in two<br />

evenings <strong>and</strong> Rachmaninov’s <strong>Piano</strong> Concerto No. 3 in<br />

D minor, Op. 30, with the composer present. Also at<br />

this time he founded the Ecole Normale de Musique for<br />

which he appointed a h<strong>and</strong>-picked staff. <strong>Cortot</strong> himself<br />

taught there until 1961; his most famous students<br />

include Magda Tagliaferro, Clara Haskil <strong>and</strong> Yvonne<br />

Lefébure.<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> was a great artist whose interpretations were<br />

often on a spiritual level. He managed to convey a<br />

depth of meaning through his playing <strong>and</strong> became<br />

associated with the works of Schumann, Debussy <strong>and</strong><br />

particularly Chopin. However, when he played<br />

Rachmaninov’s <strong>Piano</strong> Concerto No. 3 with Leopold<br />

Stokowski <strong>and</strong> the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1920 one<br />

reviewer passed a comment repeatedly used in<br />

descriptions of <strong>Cortot</strong>’s playing, ‘<strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Cortot</strong><br />

explores the spiritual depths of music. In the most<br />

genuine <strong>and</strong> unaffected way he is among the most<br />

poetic of pianists.’<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> first recorded the <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 2 in B<br />

flat minor, Op. 35, by Chopin on 5th December 1927 at<br />

a session where he also recorded the complete<br />

Preludes, Op. 28, <strong>and</strong> two pieces by Albéniz. HMV<br />

used their ‘C’ Studio in the Small Queen’s Hall in<br />

London as a recording venue, but the recording of the<br />

sonata was not issued. Six months later, on 5th June<br />

1928, <strong>Cortot</strong> recorded the work again, but this time the<br />

recording was made in ‘D’ Studio of the Small Queen’s<br />

Hall transmitted (probably via a telephone line) from<br />

the Kingsway Hall. <strong>Cortot</strong> was probably not happy with<br />

the Scherzo as he recorded just that movement again<br />

3


(amongst other works) at a session in ‘C’ Studio of the<br />

Small Queen’s Hall on 11th December 1928. Although<br />

a Pleyel piano was used for both 1928 sessions there is a<br />

noticeable difference in sound quality because most of<br />

the sonata was issued from the poorer quality Kingsway<br />

Hall recording. Only the Scherzo comes from the ‘C’<br />

Studio session. <strong>Cortot</strong> infuses his performance with an<br />

urgency <strong>and</strong> sweeping energy throughout; he recorded<br />

the work again for HMV at their Abbey Road Studios<br />

on 8th July 1933.<br />

The <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, was<br />

first set down by <strong>Cortot</strong> in Paris on 20th <strong>and</strong> 21st May<br />

1930 but this was not issued. He recorded it again for<br />

HMV on 12th May 1931 in London <strong>and</strong> this was issued<br />

on four ten-inch discs from a total of twenty two takes<br />

recorded that day. Between 4th <strong>and</strong> 9th July 1933,<br />

however, <strong>Cortot</strong> recorded a huge amount of Chopin’s<br />

music for HMV including the Fantasie in F minor, Op.<br />

49, the Etudes, Op. 10, Berceuse, Op. 57, Tarantelle,<br />

Op. 43, Polonaise in A flat, Op. 53, Barcarolle, Op. 60,<br />

the complete Preludes, Op. 28, <strong>and</strong> the Four<br />

Impromptus. At this time he also recorded both the B<br />

minor <strong>and</strong> B flat minor piano sonatas <strong>and</strong> the Four<br />

Ballades. All these recordings were made in No. 3<br />

Studio at HMV’s Abbey Road location where the best<br />

possible sound of the day could be obtained. It is<br />

probably for this reason that HMV issued both Chopin<br />

<strong>Sonatas</strong> from the 1933 sessions even though they<br />

already had recordings in their catalogue by <strong>Cortot</strong> of<br />

these works from 1928 <strong>and</strong> 1931. The 1933 version of<br />

the B minor Sonata (completed in only fourteen takes<br />

on 6th July) has incredible energy, particularly in the<br />

last movement.<br />

Of Liszt’s six transcriptions of Chopin’s Polish<br />

songs, the Chants Polonais, Op. 74, only two became<br />

popular - My Joys <strong>and</strong> The Maiden’s Wish. These were<br />

4<br />

in the repertoire of practically every pianist of the first<br />

half of the twentieth century <strong>and</strong> have been recorded by<br />

such great pianists as Moritz Rosenthal, Ignace<br />

Paderewski, Leopold Godowsky <strong>and</strong> Josef Hofmann.<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> recorded four of the six songs on 10th March<br />

1939 <strong>and</strong> two of these, the rarely heard Spring <strong>and</strong> The<br />

Ring were issued. The other two songs recorded at that<br />

session were My Joys <strong>and</strong> The Maiden’s Wish; these<br />

were not issued, <strong>and</strong> My Joys appears here from a test<br />

pressing. All were recorded on a Steinway piano <strong>and</strong><br />

<strong>Cortot</strong>’s wonderful tone quality can be savoured,<br />

particularly in My Joys. At the same recording session<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> recorded Weber’s <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 2 in A flat<br />

which was issued, <strong>and</strong> Ravel’s complete Gaspard de la<br />

Nuit which was not issued owing to damaged matrices<br />

<strong>and</strong> he unfortunately never recorded the work again.<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> only recorded Chopin’s Andante Spianato<br />

<strong>and</strong> Gr<strong>and</strong>e Polonaise, Op. 22, complete when he was<br />

in Japan in 1952. He recorded just the Polonaise,<br />

however, for Victor on 5th February 1923 in Camden,<br />

New Jersey. This is the only acoustic recording on this<br />

compact disc, but being made right at the end of the<br />

acoustic era the sound is particularly good for its age.<br />

Critics of <strong>Cortot</strong>’s technique can be silenced by this<br />

stunning performance in which <strong>Cortot</strong> underst<strong>and</strong>s<br />

completely Chopin’s use of the decorated melodic line.<br />

At nearly five minutes, the side length of the 78 rpm<br />

disc is pushed to its limits, <strong>and</strong> there is a sense of <strong>Cortot</strong><br />

rushing to the finishing post even though he has already<br />

had to make cuts in the work.<br />

For such a popular piece, it is surprising that <strong>Cortot</strong><br />

only made his first recording of the Polonaise in A flat,<br />

Op. 53, at the marathon 1933 sessions. The only other<br />

issued recording he made of this work comes from<br />

Japan in 1952 by which time <strong>Cortot</strong> was past his prime.<br />

The 1933 recording has all the majestic swagger <strong>and</strong><br />

8.111065


pomp <strong>Cortot</strong> could bring to such a work, aided by a well<br />

recorded Steinway piano.<br />

A recording by <strong>Cortot</strong> of the Polonaise-Fantasie,<br />

Op. 61, was never issued during his lifetime. He had<br />

recorded it in 1943 in Paris when he was attempting to<br />

set down all of Chopin’s works for French HMV. This<br />

was never issued, but he recorded the work again in<br />

October 1947 in London during sessions where he was<br />

recording works of Chopin that he had not previously<br />

recorded such as the Trois Nouvelles Etudes <strong>and</strong> the two<br />

Nocturnes, Op. 55. The recording of the Polonaise-<br />

Fantasie is perhaps not the most successful of <strong>Cortot</strong>’s<br />

recordings, certainly the opening is rather more brusque<br />

than fantastic, but all of <strong>Cortot</strong>’s penetrating drive,<br />

energy <strong>and</strong> vision are there, <strong>and</strong> it certainly deserves to<br />

be heard.<br />

© 2006 Jonathan Summers<br />

Producer’s Note<br />

The sources for the recordings featured here were British HMV shellac discs except for the acoustic Gr<strong>and</strong>e<br />

Polonaise, which came from a U.S. Victor pressing, <strong>and</strong> the unissued “My Joys”, whose source was a vinyl test<br />

pressing. One of the aims of this series of <strong>Cortot</strong>’s 78-era Chopin recordings is to present versions of these works<br />

which have not generally been available on CD, so I have included the 1928 version of the Funeral March Sonata<br />

(which EMI passed over in favor of his 1933 remake in their <strong>Cortot</strong>/Chopin boxed set) <strong>and</strong> the 1933 version of the<br />

B minor Sonata, which makes its first-ever CD appearance here.<br />

The B flat minor Sonata was rather dimly recorded <strong>and</strong> was issued on particularly noisy surfaces; its rarity,<br />

however, compels its inclusion in this series. The same applies to the unissued Polonaise-Fantasie, which came<br />

from worn shellac tests. Although <strong>Cortot</strong> recorded the Andante Spianato et Gr<strong>and</strong>e Polonaise complete in Japan<br />

in 1952, its late date puts it beyond the purview of the current series.<br />

Mark Obert-Thorn<br />

8.111065 5


8.111052<br />

8.111035<br />

The Naxos historical label aims to make available the greatest recordings in the history of recorded music, in the best<br />

<strong>and</strong> truest sound that contemporary technology can provide. To achieve this aim, Naxos has engaged a number of<br />

respected restorers who have the dedication, skill <strong>and</strong> experience to produce restorations that have set new st<strong>and</strong>ards<br />

in the field of historical recordings.<br />

8.111065 6


8.111065<br />

CORTOT: Chopin: <strong>Sonatas</strong> • <strong>Polonaises</strong><br />

NAXOS Historical<br />

ALL RIGHTS IN THIS SOUND RECORDING, ARTWORK, TEXTS AND<br />

TRANSLATIONS RESERVED. UNAUTHORISED PUBLIC PERFORMANCE,<br />

BROADCASTING AND COPYING OF THIS COMPACT DISC PROHIBITED.<br />

� & � 2006 Naxos Rights International Ltd.<br />

MADE IN<br />

THE EU<br />

8.111065<br />

<strong>CHOPIN</strong><br />

<strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Cortot</strong> (1877-1962)<br />

78 rpm recordings • Vol. 4<br />

1-4 <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35 17:01<br />

‘Funeral March’<br />

Recorded 5th June <strong>and</strong> 11th December 1928, London<br />

5-8 <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 23:22<br />

Recorded 6th July 1933, London<br />

3 Chants Polonais, Op. 74 8:02<br />

(transcribed by Liszt)<br />

9 Spring 2:34<br />

0 The Ring 2:05<br />

! My Joys 3:23<br />

Recorded 10th March 1939, London<br />

@ Gr<strong>and</strong>e Polonaise, Op. 22 4:49<br />

Recorded 5th February 1923, Camden, New Jersey<br />

# Polonaise No. 6 in A flat major, Op. 53 6:30<br />

‘Heroic’<br />

Recorded 4th & 5th July 1933, London<br />

$ Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61<br />

‘Polonaise-Fantasie’ 9:43<br />

Recorded 15th October 1947, London<br />

Producer <strong>and</strong> Audio Restoration Engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn<br />

Special thanks to Nathan Brown, the International <strong>Piano</strong> Archives at the<br />

University of Maryl<strong>and</strong> (IPAM), Donald Manildi <strong>and</strong> Charles Niss.<br />

www.naxos.com<br />

A complete track list can be found in the booklet<br />

Cover Image: <strong>Alfred</strong> <strong>Cortot</strong> (Private Collection)<br />

ADD<br />

Playing<br />

Time<br />

69:28<br />

Posterity has judged <strong>Alfred</strong><br />

<strong>Cortot</strong> as one of the greatest<br />

artists of the twentieth century.<br />

This fourth disc in the Naxos five<br />

volume series devoted to his<br />

78rpm era recordings of Chopin<br />

includes three rarities: My Joys<br />

<strong>and</strong> the Polonaise-Fantasie, both<br />

unreleased on 78rpm, <strong>and</strong> the<br />

first-ever CD appearance of the<br />

1933 version of the <strong>Piano</strong> Sonata<br />

No. 2. Completed in only<br />

fourteen takes on 6th July, this<br />

version of the Sonata has<br />

incredible energy, particularly in<br />

the last movement. The stunning<br />

performance of the Gr<strong>and</strong>e<br />

Polonaise, Op. 22 demonstrates<br />

<strong>Cortot</strong>’s total underst<strong>and</strong>ing of<br />

Chopin’s use of the decorated<br />

melodic line. The popular<br />

Polonaise in A flat, Op. 53 is<br />

played with majestic swagger<br />

<strong>and</strong> pomp, aided by a well<br />

recorded Steinway piano.<br />

NAXOS Historical<br />

CORTOT: Chopin: <strong>Sonatas</strong> • <strong>Polonaises</strong><br />

8.111065

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