Chopin I Love
Chopin didn't like public concerts in large venues, and he played very few of them, preferring salons and home concerts. But he also admired the way his pupil Guttman could play his music with greater power than Chopin could ever muster. Thibaudet is a sensitive musician of the Guttman type. Although he can create intimacy, his basic style at the modern grand piano is very public, sounding as if he's playing to the top row at Carnegie Hall. It can sometimes be a bit much for hearing in a small living room, but this is still an attractive Chopin recital, a varied and generous program, all played very well. And it comes with its own built-in contrast: a bonus mini-recital of four items taken from a TV documentary in which Thibaudet plays a Broadwood piano that Chopin himself played in 1848. The instrument automatically reduces the scale of the music, making it more intimate, and Thibaudet adapts successfully to its character. Maybe, if we get lucky, Thibaudet will record a whole CD on this piano!--Leslie Gerber