Chopin - 24 Etudes [Gavrilov]Recorded in 1985 and 1987, this disc was a bit of a sensation when it came out, Gavrilov incites a degree of controversy, i find Gavrilov's Etudes are fairly rushed, at times even garbled, sometimes he trips up over his own fingers, maybe he's looking so far ahead to what he wants to say next, that he can't see where he is now!, and stumbles over the obvious.
However, at the same time, there's a thrilling bravura in some of these Etudes, in others Gavrilov makes you re-think, there's insights aplenty, and the entertainment value is high, i wouldn't want to be without Mr Gavrilov's views on these masterpieces.
It must be noted that the recording or the piano [or both], are a bit clangy / reverberant for my liking, but not overly so.
Well i enjoyed Etudes 3, 5, 8 & 12 from Op10, and 1 & 11 from Op25, his Op10/3 is actually very orthodox on the whole, Op10/5 is played at breakneck speed, and very staccato, however there's a nice tender moment toward the end [0:54-1:05], and the very end is s-t-a-c-c-a-t-o, in Op10/8 he is very heavy in the left hand, especially towards the end, Op10/12 i would say i enjoyed the most, it's very thrilling, nicely paced, lots of drama, a nice busy left hand, but again he does emphasise the staccato elements, Op25/1 has some nice poetry, but again Gavrilov must have hands made out of lead, he just can't play anything gently / dreamily, Op25/11 the intro is extra slow, and then when the main tune starts, it's extra fast, creating an unnatural extreme, maybe it might give some a jolt of excitement, but it sounds too contrived, as if he's yearning for showy effects, so the final analysis is bad = fast / staccato / loud, and good = breathtaking / surprising / unorthodox, try some Gavrilov see what you think, but Lortie, Berezovsky, Lugansky, Yokoyama, and Magaloff have so much more to say.
Here's Gavrilov playing the 'Revolutionary' Etude [Op10/12] on YouTube.
Article = Stephen Moss.
