Francis Planté (1839-1934): Chopin - Etude op.10 no.7 in C

Francis Planté was France's most important pianist in the nineteenth century, after Chopin. He started his concert life at age seven in Paris, where Chopin was also performing, and so heard him play. By 1850 he had won a First Prize from the Paris Conservatoire. He went on to befriend Rossini, through whom he was introduced to most of the important musical figures of the day, many of whom he got to know and with whom he formed lasting friendships. During the 1860s he duetted with both Saint-Saëns and Liszt, and established himself as the leading French pianist of the day. He was recorded at age 89, rather past his best no doubt, in a single set of specially arranged recording sessions in his own retirement villa over a few days in 1928.

His musical style has its roots in the French tradition of crisp and accurate finesse, a sort of pearly-clean touch and not vast amounts of indulgence in romantic tugging at the rhythms. He was best known for the shorter romantic works in the piano repertoire, but it is a moot point as to how much his own playing resembles that of pianists such as Chopin (when we compare him to performers such as Koczalski, Rosenthal and Pachmann for example, all of whom had attachments to the "authentic" Chopin tradition).

Here Planté plays Chopin's Etude in C, op.10 no.7.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Francis
• Planté
• piano
• recording
• classical
• chopin
• etude
• op.10
• no.7

[d60944]

Many early recordings were truncated by the performer in order to fit onto the sides of a short playing-time record. Still others may have used their own "editions" in public performance (as some piano rolls are also of cut-down works). The written letter of the score was by no means sacrosanct in this period - though it is important to note that interaction between performer and score was still very much a question of great art and fine discretion, and not the whim of the novice.

[danishpride1]

I like the part between 1:00 and 1:05 is played slowly

[bummy33]

@brianCIM lol "merde!" lol that's hilaireous. I really wish I could've been born back in the 1820s or so.... performers back then seem so much more exciting than those today. Education today and then aren't even comparable... No TVs and what not.. pianist's must've lived at the piano bench back then lol. I love the video recording of him playing.... he looks so intense...

[brianCIM]

an AMAZING document here. The inner voices are fantastic. did anyone else notice at the conclusion he glances a wrong note and says "MERDE!" which in English translates to "SHIT!". So his outer voices are EPIC also. lol. Seriously though,this is phenomenal playing, so much more creative than today's hum-drum performances. AND he was 89. Holy bejesus. Monsieur Plante no need to get into a twist about one hint of a wrong note. Astonishing really. TY d60944!

[eliyaguy]

wow, I am more and more speechless, as I eagerly hear his chopin etudes performance, one after the other.

a chill passes through my spine. is it chopin himself playing? so original and different.

[dahood22]

This is the best playing I've heard

[pianotonton]

Quelques jours avant cet enregistrement, Robert et Gaby Casadesus ont rendu visite à Planté et ont joué avec lui à deux pianos et selon leur temoignage... il a joué d'une façon parfaite des heures et des heures... tout ça pour dire qu'il était fatigué le jour de cet enregistrement... mais qu'il ne fait aucun doute qu'il a été un très grand pianiste ce que l'on entend d'ailleurs dans d'autres prises.

[wonphi]

there are parts to the music that are accentuated that many pianists don't do now a days.

[hymntonight]

I like it. It's choppy in a good way.

[thomj]

I particularly enjoy 1:54-1:55. That's the finesse of an 89 year old. Haha.

[demosj]

Yeah. If Chopin played anything like this, I would be crushingly disappointed.