Brigitte Engerer’s recordings range from inspired to bland, or, in the case of her 1993 Chopin Nocturnes cycle, a little bit of both. On the positive side, the pianist should be credited for her scrupulous musicianship and mostly spot-on tempos, along with her ability to spin shapely legato lines with discreet pedaling. Good examples of this include the B major Op. 9 No. 3’s filigree, Op. 37 No. 2’s immaculate double notes, and Op. 27 No. 2’s climax. She takes the F-sharp Op. 15 No. 2 at an unusually brisk, two-beats-to-the-bar pace, and employs convincing, quasi-improvisational tempo modifications along the way. Yet the prosaic and literal component to Engerer’s artistry reduces the combative central episodes in Op. 27 No. 1 and Op. 55 No. 1 to musical flat soda, and lays a bleak, monochrome patina over the two Op. 62 Nocturnes. Harmonia Mundi’s bright, close-up engineering falls short of the label’s best sounding piano releases, although it’s certainly preferable to the murky haze EMI provided for Yundi’s recent Nocturne cycle. An uneven release.
