Valses (Intégrale)

Album review

When does a strongly individualistic approach become an oddly idiosyncratic approach? It's hard to say. For some listeners, Laure Favre-Kahn's recording of Chopin's Waltzes may work. No one would argue that Favre-Kahn doesn't have the talent or the technique; she clearly has something to say and the virtuoso ability to say it. It depends on whether or not the listener is convinced by what she has to say and the way she says it. For some, her phrasing may be subtle and her tempo modifications may be nuanced, her tone may be touching and her dynamics may be effective, her sequence of performing the Waltzes may be affecting and her style of playing may be emotional. For others, her phrasing may be indulgent and her tempo modifications may be extravagant, her tone may be cloying and her dynamics may be exaggerated, her sequence may be gratuitous and her style may be sentimental. Try Favre-Kahn's performance of the Waltz in C sharp minor. Does her tempo rubato in the outer sections make the music more expressive or more confused? Does her accelerando in the climaxes make the music more exciting or more distorted? Does her hemiola in the central work with or against the main tempo? For this listener, the answer is no. For others, it might just as well be yes. The only way to know is to listen. Transart's sound, however, is much too dry and way too close.
© TiVo

Details of original recording : 56:10 - DDD - Enregistré en concert en août 2002 au Grand Théâtre de Reims dans le cadre du Festival des Flâneries Musicales d'été de Reims - Notes en français et anglais