Margarita Hohenrieder - Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, B. 53 & Mazurkas (2022)

For years, Margarita Höhenrieder was searching for the authentic sound of Frédéric Chopin's piano works. Which instrument of its time most convincingly reflected Chopin's music? Chopin himself had given the answer in 1831: "Pleyel's instruments are the nec plus ultra"! The choice for the recording therefore fell on a Pleyel fortepiano, built around 1855 in Paris and expertly restored using historical materials and methods. It is absolutely identical in construction to the instrument Chopin owned and thus represents an authentic sound testimony.The recording location was also of particular importance: the Mazurkas were recorded on this instrument, in a room comparable to a salon from around the middle of the 19th century. The recording of the E Minor Concerto with the historical version by Jan Ekier then took place on another Pleyel of about the same year of construction, in the acoustically outstanding Oberstrass church in Zurich. Margarita Höhenrieder's careful recreation of the authentic Chopin sound gives the listener highly interesting insights into music.

Track List:
01. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, B. 53: I. Allegro maestoso
02. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, B. 53: II. Romance. Larghetto
03. Piano Concerto No. 1 in E Minor, Op. 11, B. 53: III. Rondo. Vivace
04. Mazurkas, Op. 24, B. 89 (Excerpts): No. 1 in G Minor, Lento
05. Mazurkas, Op. 24, B. 89 (Excerpts): No. 2 in C Major, Allegro non troppo
06. Mazurkas, Op. 17, B. 77: No. 4 in A Minor, Lento
07. Mazurkas, Op. 33, B. 115: No. 4 in B Minor, Mesto
08. Mazurkas, Op. 50, B. 145: No. 3 in C-Sharp Minor, Moderato
09. Mazurkas, Op. 30, B. 105: No. 2 in B Minor, Allegretto
10. Mazurkas, Op. 6, B. 60: No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor
11. Mazurkas, Op. 7, B. 61: No. 1 in B-Flat Major, Vivace
12. Mazurkas, Op. Posth. 67: No. 2 in G Minor, B. 167
13. Mazurkas, Op. 59, B. 157: No. 3 in F-Sharp Minor, Vivace