Recorded in concert 10 months before his death in December, 1950, Dinu Lipatti’s assertive yet sensitive pianism captures the full measure of Chopin’s youthful genius, from the lyrical D-flat Nocturne and potent Etudes to the virile, rounded passagework throughout the Concerto. While the sound is overresonant and watery, Palexa’s transfer substantially improves the one issued by EMI, and, unlike the latter, is properly pitched. You easily can listen past the hashy, overmodulated sonics plaguing the live Bach D Minor Concerto (incorporating Busoni’s textual emendations) to admire Lipatti’s penetrating tone and centered rhythm. Again, Palexa offers this performance’s best transfer yet. Lipatti’s 1947 studio Chopin A-flat Waltz Op. 34 No. 1 (a more airborne reading than his familiar 1950 recording) lacks the fullness and presence of tone of Bryan Crimp’s newly minted restoration on APR. Sonic problems notwithstanding, Lipatti completists will want this disc.
