Alfred Cortot - Fantasia in F Minor, Op. 49 free for downloading

the old vampire

Why is this incomplete ?

Cortot's teacher was a student of Chopin, and his grace in Chopin's performances is breathtaking and should be recommended to all piano students ( BachCantatas website)  I read Schonberg s "The Great Pianists" where Liszt describes Chopin s music   "as a tempo agitated, broken, interrupted, a movement flexible, yet at the same time abrupt and lanquishing"  Seems to me that is precisely how Cortot played it.

He is possessed in this playing. It's adriven, urgent performance. I love it. His involvement is total. I sometimes wish he had played some other piano than a Pleyel though.

BTW Chopin always used a pleyel instrument. Another quote from Schonberg ' Great Pianists:  "One of the things about Chopin's playing that especially excited Halle, and all others, was his rubato, which nobody in his day could duplicate and which was so misunderstood. He transported it into everything he played. To ears not accustomed to those delicate rhythmic displacements, the meter sounded awry."

I agree that in places, his playing is very melodramatic. But Alfred did actually live during some of the Romantic period, so it's quite possible that pieces like this were meant to be played with such dramatic flourish, a style that went out of fashion as the decades rolled on.

it would be hard, or maybe even unnrcessary, to get used to this, if, at least i personally, were to start listening to it. it's weird; certain parts are great but certain other parts sound like he completely miss-judged Chopin's phrases, or he tried to be so creative that he went over-board. when it comes to many of Chopin's piece i'm a fan of Cortot's work, but this piece here, i'm sorry to say, isn't played like how Chopin wrote it.

This is great music and a great performance with inspiration and depth. Thank you so much for this wonderful recording.