By his own account, Jean-Marc Luisada recorded his 1992 Chopin Mazurka cycle for DG at the label’s request, with two months notice, and had to learn most of the material on a deadline crunch. Nearly 20 years later Luisada revisits the Mazurkas (under less pressure, we hope!), this time omitting the posthumously published Op. 67 and Op. 68 works he included on DG. Perhaps he’s had more time to live with and digest these works, but from what I can gather, Luisada’s basic interpretive style remains largely unchanged.
He’s still a detail-oriented rather than general pulse or big picture guy, who dotes on protruding inner voices, swan dive rubatos, languorous tenutos (the downbeat of Op. 56 No. 3’s main theme), and picky articulation. The main difference is that now Luisada tends to over-pedal when adding bass octaves (the C-sharp minor Op. 41 Mazurka), and he incorporates more left-hand anticipations than before (the B major Op. 56 and F minor Op. 63). Still, the pianist compels you to listen, but it’s best to do so in small doses, one or two works at a time.
RCA’s sonics are slightly flinty in the treble register and don’t quite match DG’s midrange tonal heft. However, the absence of Op. 67 and Op. 68 alone renders this release somewhat uncompetitive with Luisada’s younger, more impetuous self.
