It’s not that Musopen’s work is amatuer hour; it’s more that these performances are relatively context-less in the ongoing conversation of Chopin interpretations established by recordings from Ashkenazy, Pollini, Zimmerman, Arrau, Rubinstein, Perahia, Cziffra, Lipatti, Moravec, Wild, Weissenberg, etc. This project seems fantastic for educational and encyclopedic uses, but for “serious” listening/collecting I’d rather focus on those recordings that have already earned the attention of many thousands of informed ears.
These new Musopen performances may well win regard as top interpretations someday, but in the meantime there’s plenty of great stuff available right now – the 11-disc Rubinstein set for $20; The 17-disc DG set is $52, and features Pollini, Zimmerman, Arrau, and more. The 5-disc Ultimate Chopin set at $14 includes the Nocturnes and Ballades performed by Ashkenazy; there’s many other bargains like these. (Can’t resist mentioning: if you like Chopin the Lesser – aka Scriabin – here’s a wonderful 8-disc set of piano works played by Maria Lettberg, for only $22.50.)
