TRACKLISTING

1 - 12 12 Études, Op.10
13 Barcarolle Op.60
14 - 17 Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor Op.35

ABOUT THIS SACD

Hybrid SACD/CD release. The eagerly anticipated second album of Chopin from incomparable Brazillian pianist Nelson Freire .

It has been said that great Chopin performances require elegance, passion, glamour and strength - qualities which are all evident in the supreme performances of Nelson Freire.

The Chopin disc which marked the beginning of Nelson Freire's association with Decca ( 470 288-2) was greeted Worldwide with tremendous critical acclaim and amazement that so great a pianist could be so little known. Freire was described as classical music's best kept secret.

This eagerly awaited second album again reveals a pianist of rare insight and power as well as breathtaking technical maturity.

Chopin's Études are central to Nineteenth Century piano repertoire. It is hard to believe that he composed the complex and demanding works of the Opus 10 Études when he was just 19. Never for a moment does he let us forget that these are studies - in arpeggios, octaves, thirds, or sixths - nor does he allow the pianist any rest or complacency.

The famous Funeral March of the Second Sonata Op. 35 was composed in 1837, two years before the rest of the Sonata, but its heroic sense of elegy was to stay with Chopin and echo through the dark poetry of the companion movements. It is not surprising that this has become one of his best loved works.

Finally, the Barcarolle (1845–46), an idealised Nocturne, is for many among the most miraculous of all Chopin’s works. The barcarolle rhythm supports a sumptuous decorated melody and carries the listener along on one of his most revelatory magic carpet-rides.