Chopin: 24 Preludes, (Pogorelich)

Everyone loves Chopin’s , but I think very few people understand what a staggering work this is, and just how many out-and-out masterpieces are stuffed into this set (apart from the usual well-known preludes – Nos. 4, 15, 16, 20, 24). The craft on display is extraordinary – lots of harmonic weirdness (/clever voice-leading), rhythmic playfulness (especially hemiolas), and textural invention. It’s hard to avoid the impression when going through these works that Chopin was quite consciously going for something deeply unsettling and strange – almost every prelude contains a grain of weirdness, something unexpected and intoxicating. But you’ll have to check out the (admittedly very long) pinned comment below for the gory (& glorious!) details. Pogorelich’s recording is a fairly dangerous one – after getting familiar with it other recordings almost become unlistenable, and even today I think only 2 (perhaps 3?) renditions that can hold a candle to it. Pogo’s interpretive method is fairly simple