LDV44

How did the recording go? It took place in Oxford and afforded me the great pleasure of reuniting me with James Withbourn (producer) and Andy Rose (sound engineer). They form a fantastic duo, with whom I had already recorded Brahms’s Second Concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Colin Davis, as well as the recital that is coupled with the DVD of Nights in the Gardens of Spain with Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic. The sessions lasted two days, and the first day was enough for me to record the whole of op.28. I had a very clear idea of the result I wanted to achieve, so I did one long overall take and then we worked on the details. You have recorded a genuinely complete set of Chopin’s Preludes, with the Prelude op.45 and the brief Prelude in A flat major in addition to the op.28 set. I couldn’t have deprived myself of the Prelude in C sharp minor, a magnificent, dark piece, with those successive waves, those incredible modulations, that fabulous final cadence, suspended and mysterious, nor of the Prelude in A flat major, which is such beautifully smiling music. 22 CHOPIN_24 PRELUDES, FANTAISIE-IMPROMPTU, NOCTURNES, BARCAROLLE