When asked to perform all the Chopin Etudes, Josef Hofmann refused, saying that no single pianist can do equal justice to all 24. That hasn’t stopped hundreds of other pianists from trying, including Anna Malikova. The results are uneven. She starts great, sailing through the first two of Op. 10 with no effort and lots of imagination. On the other hand, the slower, lyrical Op. 10 Nos. 3 & 6 and the Nocturne-like C-sharp minor No. 7 from Op. 25 trod heavily on downbeats, and are prosiacally phrased. Malikova commands the tricky split chords of Op. 10, No. 11, but at the expense of rhythmic shape. She underplays the heroic C minor etudes and her cautious handling of the taxing right hand passagework in the A minor Op. 25, No. 11 suggests a summer shower rather than the “Winter Wind” of its nickname. The other A minor selection in this opus, though, rarely has been bettered on disc. Chopin’s three Nouvelles Etudes round out the disc, but Malikova’s workaday readings lack the poetry, nuance, and eloquence of Rubinstein’s ravishing 1962 versions.
