VOTD 5/2/2023

 Chopin: All the Works for Piano and Orchestra (Vox Box) record 1

Purchased at the Jerry's Records dollar sale

More cleaning up in my studio/man cave, more pushing through classical albums recently purchased.

Sides one and two of this set is Chopin's "Concerto No. 1 in E Minor." I like Chopin, to the surprise of some. But I prefer the introspective Chopin, the one who wrote the Preludes. The lushness of this work in a way makes it more anonymous to me, less distinctively his work.

Morton Feldman was always interesting when he spoke of pre-20th century, pre-avant garde music. To paraphrase regarding Chopin's music: the music would float around beautifully, and then he'd stick an artificial-sounding cadence on the end. Morty must have surely been referring to the Preludes specifically.

I wonder what this sounding like to the people who heard it when it was current? To my ears it's just not that significantly different than a lot of 19th, or even to some extent late 18th century music. Lusher than the latter to be sure, but still, it all sounds like a bygone period. 

Did this piece sound fresh? Was it mainstream or a little daring? Unusual? Delicate? Exciting or the same old thing? Did people generally take to it?

I could definitely be wrong about this, but I don't often see Chopin concerti on the programs of major orchestras. I can't say this is bad, but maybe also doesn't stand apart the way his best solo piano music does.

I have an affection for these old Vox Box collections, even if I only ever owned one or two at most before. They were a cheap way to build a personal classical record library, at a budget price.

Quadraphonic stereo compatible!