Vladimir de Pachmann (1848-1933): Chopin - Etude in C minor

Vladimir de Pachmann was one of the unique figures of 19th century pianism. He was born in the Ukraine and spent a long time in study in Europe before he began concerting before the public properly in 1882. From then until the 1920s he was regarded as one of the top half-dozen pianists in the world, and he has become known primarily as one of the greatest exponents of Chopin ever (though he was more than capable of performing much else besides).

His style belongs to no particular school and he produced no pupils to speak of. He was comparecd to Liszt, in so far as his approach was of his own and stood unique.

However, his approach to Chopin in particular was informed by a great deal of thought and study: similarities exist between his playing and that of Rosenthal, both of whom represent different branchs of an "authentic" Chopin tradition (where Rosenthal studied with Chopin's pupuil Mikuli, Pachmann studied with Chopin's last teaching-assistant Vera Kologrivoff Rubio). It is noteworthy that Rosenthal approached Pachmann for some guidance on Chopin performance.

In his last years, Pachmann developed a reputation as something of a performing clown in his concerts, with a penchant for babbling commentaries through his performances. This reputation is however undeserved: he began recording in the very early days of the grammophone, and his playing, even late in life, could display extreme sensitivity and undertanding. It by no means possible to assume all Pachmann recordings are going to be wonderful, but those that capture him properly can be moving and beautiful beyond almost all others. And his interpretations are refreshingly and utterly distinctive.

This is Pachmann's recording of the original version of Chopin's Etude in C minor, op.10 no.12 from 1909 (he also recorded - less successfully in my opinion - the Godowsky arrangement for left hand alone). It is frequently known by the subtitle "The Revolutionary".

See also the new faster take of the original record - posted as a video response to this.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• vladimir
• de
• pachmann
• piano
• recording
• classical
• chopin
• etude
• minor
• op.10
• no.12
• revolutionary

[d60944]

Ah. Very interesting observation! Just as a proviso though... there was no standard 78rpm record until sometime into the century for records, and many discs were not marked with a speed on them. I will check my recording gradually to see what pitch they are at. However, see next comment...

[d60944]

At the start of the century A=440 was also not the standard pitch at all. Briefly: Handel's A=422.5; Mozart's A=421.6; London Phil Soc 1813-1820 A=423.5, after 1820 until the 1840s A=433.2, after 1845 A=454.7 (!); London Albert Hall 1877 A=455.1; London Crystal Palace organ 1888 A=c.452; in the 1880s: Steinway (New York) A=457.2, Erard A=455.3, Chappell A=455.9; "French Pitch" established before the 1860s A=435 and sort of adopted in other non-German/Russian countries. (continued in next note)

[d60944]

Vienna 1885 A=435.4; Philharmonic 1896 A=439. Given that the Paris G&Ts seems to have been recorded at A=435, and also given the Philharmonic pitch of 1896 and the French standard as well as the Vienna standard, it seems likely that this recording (which was made in London, 1909) should be played at a few notches flat of our modern A=440, and so this recording is probably just about right in fact. :-)

[lunchmind]

SOund to me like Pachman is a better pianist than harold Schoenberg makes him out to be, as much as I love that book.

[superbemaison]

Very intelligent comment on the pitch.

I noticed that whether on Lps or CDs-pitch tend to be higher because the mechanical speed of the turntable or tuner is higher.It is sharper to the hearing.

While transposing those recordings speed goes down a little as well which seems in accordance with the Pythagorian scale.

[unclejuniorsoprano]

@AngelicaTross A very intelligent, mathematical comment. I think you are correct about the de Pachmann recording of this etude. It does sound flat. I have never heard de Pachmann play anything this slowly. He was a pyrotechnician & loved blazing through such difficulties. I really don't understand this recording. I would love to know how you derived this equation. I know it was 2 yrs. ago since you made this comment. It was, perhaps, the best comment on the page.

[addeex1]

Wait wait wait, C-Minor? xD

lol old recording it sounds almost like h/b minor :P

[Troybeallad]

An Old Master !

[xxTiffanyoo]

I like the way he played it slower; I think it gives the piece character. Also, the listener can differentiate the different notes in the LH.

It also shows off his skill and dexterity.

[Achtelnote]

my comment was not for this etude.i meant the c major etude video with pachmann and argerich.

[KenSkaii]

the speed is wrong.

this sounds like b minor when the real thing should be c minor

[kasyapa]

yes, and thank you for the 6.67 cycles difference. *smile*

it is also possible to approximate an arithmetic value at any point along a geometric scale. i was keeping it simple (hence my "taking x as y"), in keeping with the level of the discussion.

[AngelicaTross]

The semitone interval is not arithmetic; it is geometric. The ratio is the twelfth root of two, or approximately 1.0595. That gives Ab = 415, which makes it even more flat.