Chopin - 24 Etudes [Tomassi] Now here's something very special, i bought this disc in a second-hand record shop in London ages ago, it's lain in my collection for a few years, yes i actually do this!, i buy discs, then get round to listening to them years later!, i don't know why it took me so long, on all accounts this is a tremendous disc of the Chopin Etudes, by a Pianist who is simply unknown, but on a well known label.
Giorgia Tomassi is an Italian, born in 1970, she is now still only 40, but she hasn't gained worldwide recognition, she won the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein prize in Tel Aviv in 1992, but since has not become a household name, this recording was made in 1997, but it hasn't really led to a solo recording career either, which is a shame because she's really talented, the booklet front cover [photo by Gian Luca Liverani] is really nice, a cute pose, the coloured lettering well laid out, i like it!.
This is the very first time i've listened to this disc, so it's hard to form a definite opinion, but here are my thoughts, first off it's recorded well, nothing detracts my listening experience like a poorly recorded disc, i noticed nothing, so this is a plus point, Tomassi is young here [27 years old], but she's a mature Pianist, if i were to categorize her playing, i would say she plays faster than usual, but not overly so, certainly not rushed, she's midway between staccato and legato playing, nice and average, she seems a bit 'jerky' in her playing, possibly due to rubato, or volume, there isn't a smoothness in transition at times, but she uses this 'jerkiness' to great effect, i like the way she subtly [and not so subtly] says things, she's worth listening to as she has things to say, which aren't the usual things of other Pianists, she searches out new things, but this doesn't mean her playing is controversial or wrong, one very important thing about the recording, each of the tracks are cued a split second into each Etude, so that you miss a slight sliver of the beginning if you play the set on random mode, this is annoying, the only way to get around this is to listen to them all chronologically, which is what i did today.
Well in listening to these 24 'titanic miniatures' today, i was very impressed with 4-5, 9, 12-13 & 22, especially under the hands of Tomassi, and her interpretations have real insights, the two Etudes which i feel come off best of all are 4 & 9, the Ninth Etude is a jerky study which suits Tomassi, at the start there's slight hesitations, a nice use of rubato, it's in the key of F Minor, and there's a troubling undercurrent to the piece, the left hand accompaniment really doesn't belong to the piece, it clashes with the right hand, like two people singing from the same hymnbook, but singing different verses!, Tomassi's rendition / interpretation of this piece nicely explains her pianism, as her tendencies are perfectly exaggerated in this Etude, she uses hesitations expertly, holding back notes for a split second, or coming in too early for a split second, the piece itself is jerky, but she makes it all the more so, she also expertly uses staccato / legato to her advantage, at times becoming spiky and separate, other times becoming smooth and gummy, and jumbling up the same phrases differently for variety, and then there's loud and soft, little differences in volume can make such a dynamic difference, i like the soft galloping in the left hand [0:05 & 0:18], and the right hand treble outbursts near the end [1:23-1:53], she seems to paint Chopin with a different brush, and creates new colours, this is a great addition to my growing Chopin Etude discography.
Here's Valentina Lisitsa playing the Ninth Etude [Op10] on YouTube.
