Deutsche Grammophon must love the Chopin Preludes. Between 2007 and 2015 alone the label released versions by Rafal Blechacz, Gregory Sokolov, and Daniil Trifonov, plus a remake from Maurizio Pollini. Having returned to the DG fold a few years ago, the artist formerly known as Yundi Li now tries his hand at Op. 28.
Yundi does not generate Trifonov’s edge-of-seat excitement nor does he match Sokolov’s individuality and refinement. He is closer to Blechacz’s musically straightforward and technically commanding interpretation, but with more forceful projection, which has its advantages and disadvantages.
Note, for example, No. 1’s surging flow and clear textural delineation, No. 5’s well-articulated syncopations, and the intense melodic interplay between No. 22’s left hand octaves and right hand chords. Yundi’s uncommonly brisk and headlong way with No. 17 puts an interesting, unsettled spin on a piece that is often smoothed over and sentimentalized. By contrast, Yundi’s firmly articulated left hand 16th-note arpeggios in No. 3 overpower the elegant right hand, while his general loudness throughout No. 8 throws the whirling textures in and out of focus.
Yundi also tends to press ahead here and there in slower, lyrical Preludes, such as in the “Raindrop” No. 15, where the repeated A-flats never seem to settle. Similarly, I prefer Blechacz in No. 6 for his more reposeful response to Chopin’s sotto voce and sostenuto directives. Unlike Blechacz and Pollini, who execute No. 9’s controversial right dotted eighth- and sixteenth-note pattern to conform with the accompanying triplet, Yundi plays it as written.
Yundi paints the gorgeous C-sharp minor Op. 45 Prelude in broad brush strokes, as opposed to the contrasting pastels served up by Blechacz in the tradition of Michelangeli and Cortot. And whereas Blechacz brings just the right point and delicacy to the modest little posthumous A-flat Prelude, Yundi insensitively pounds it out.
In the context of his past Chopin discography, Yundi’s Preludes leave an altogether stronger impression than his limp EMI Nocturnes, yet don’t quite match the focused consistency and controlled passion distinguishing his four Scherzos. For a uniformly compelling DG recording of Chopin’s Preludes Op. 28, Argerich, Anda, and Pollini’s first version remain top choices, supplanted by Sokolov.
