Freddy Kempf’s Chopin Etudes largely eschew the willful mannerisms that pockmarked his accounts of the same composer’s Ballades. Yet some of his rubatos still seem artificial and arch, as in the E-flat Op. 10 No. 11 and Op. 25 Nos. 1 and 3. Knowing Kempf’s fabulous technique first-hand from hearing him in person, I’m surprised that his “Black Key” Etude lacks sparkle and lightness, or how cautiously he treads through the difficult thickets of Op. 25 Nos. 4 and 6. Works that traverse the keyboard in sweeping arcs, however, bring out the best in Kempf. These include Op. 10 No. 1, where the chorale-like bass notes proudly ring out against the taxing right-hand arpeggios, a mighty “Winter Wind” Op. 25 No. 11, and one of the most blazing accounts of the celebrated “Revolutionary” Etude on disc (Op. 10 No. 12). Still, Ashkenazy, Pollini, Perahia, and Juana Zayas (my favorite among modern Chopin Etudes recordings) outdistance Kempf in the realms of varied sonority and musical insight. BIS’ ugly, glassy sound dips below the label’s usual high standard of piano engineering.
