Alfred Grünfeld (1852-1924): Chopin - Waltz in A minor op.34

Grünfeld was the first great pianist to make any kind of commercial recordings, which he commenced in 1899.

He left recordings of works by Bach, Chopin, Schumann, Grieg, Debussy, Liszt, Brahms and others; but Grünfeld was known primarily as a provider of light entertainment music in Vienna, and his arrangements of Strauss's music are his most famous and enduring legacy.

His expertise at performance of other more serious music is not widely appreciated: even in his own time he was deprecated as not being a performer of "serious" music. Only those who knew him best wrote of his great skill at performing the music for which he was not generally well known. He was in fact the foremost pianist in Vienna in the later 1800s and into the early 20th century.

Here I hope a few recordings may convince that this was a very fine pianist indeed, fully expressing many 19th century techniques (eg. the rubato and non-synchronisation of the hands) and expressive attitudes to the music. Note especially the very particular facility Grünfeld had at producing elegant, lilting rhythms.

This recording of Chopin's Waltz in A minor op.34 no.2 was made in 1907.

Incidentally, on a personal level, I think is the finest interpretation of Chopin that Grünfeld recorded, and is amongst my most treasured Chopin interpretations of all time (maybe the most so, for this particular work).

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Alfred
• Grünfeld
• piano
• classical
• recording
• chopin
• waltz
• minor
• op.34
• no.2

[d60944]

Just wanted to point out the bit from 0:24 to 0:40 as a good example of how flexible the rhythmic approach is. I love this improvisatory approach contrasting with sections of more tight rhythm!

[MrGer2295]

MOLTO BELLO!!! Thank you for sharing this Great Performance of an Austrian pianist ALFRED GRUNFELD (1852-1924).

[kalpubinc]

You can actually DANCE to this WALTZ! How refreshing to hear such rhythmically executed interpretation. Grünfeld, for this little while, took Chopin out of the metronomic-academic tempos of Conservatories and into the Ballroom. Shall we DANCE?

[AulicExclusiva]

That's the real authentic Chopin style, not the deadpan, metronomic approach of so many latter-day pianists.

[paulostroff99]

Superb! Bravo! TY.