Though not so eccentrically detailed as his Chopin Ballades, Eugéne Mursky’s interpretations of the four Scherzi are equally notey and machine-like in their general avoidance of singing tone and long-lined sweep. As a consequence, the swirling, demonic passagework in No. 1’s outer sections bogs down rather than soars ahead, but at least Mursky doesn’t dawdle over the Trio. His basic “loud” and “a little less loud” parameters pay no heed to No. 2’s quasi-Beethovenian dynamic contrasts. Imagine expressionless piano rolls reproduced more steadily than the medium’s lurching norm and you’ll know what Mursky’s unsupple, uninteresting takes on Nos. 3 and 4 sound like.
Granted, in the F minor Fantasie Chopin offers a cogent interpretive blueprint for pacing and smartly integrated tempo relationships. I just wish he had offered it to a more sensitive, responsive pianist! In fairness, Mursky’s best work occurs in the final two selections. I like his very subtle shifting of the Berceuse’s right-hand melodic patterns ahead of and behind the beat over a steady left-hand accompaniment. The pianist’s timing and lilting flexibility in the Barcarolle also merit admiration, even if his performance is akin to watching a well-shot, full-screen color film on a tiny black and white television set. In short, Volume 5 of Mursky’s ongoing Chopin Edition adds up to another inconsistent release in an inconsistent cycle.
