Those familiar with the early-2000s recording of Chopin's complete mazurkas by Andrew Rangell may be surprised to see another one, but should know that this Steinway release is a reissue of that same recording. Steinway has released mostly original material, but they've already done well with one Chopin recital by Rangell, and his intelligent, often unorthodox, rather intimate style fits the Steinway concept. It's good to have this back in the catalog, for this is a mazurka set that's definitely outside the box with lots to ...
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Those familiar with the early-2000s recording of Chopin's complete mazurkas by Andrew Rangell may be surprised to see another one, but should know that this Steinway release is a reissue of that same recording. Steinway has released mostly original material, but they've already done well with one Chopin recital by Rangell, and his intelligent, often unorthodox, rather intimate style fits the Steinway concept. It's good to have this back in the catalog, for this is a mazurka set that's definitely outside the box with lots to contribute. Rangell freely admits (his notes are an attraction of the package) that his specialties have been Bach and Beethoven, and to an extent, what you have here is Chopin played by an expert in Bach, who, of course, influenced Chopin profoundly. The pedal is sparse, and the gauzy romantic mood that so often surrounds Chopin is absent. Rangell's clean approach puts the focus on the daring harmonic turns in these mazurkas, but even more so on the ornamentation, which is...
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