Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
24 Préludes, Op.28 (1834-39)
14 Waltzes (1824-48)
Études, Op.10 (1829-32)
Études, Op.25 (1832-35)
Nouvelles études (1839)
Piano Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op.35 (1839)
Robert Lortat (piano)
rec. 1928-31, Paris
APR 6042 [152]
The pianist Robert Lortat was born in Paris in 1885 and studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Louis Diémer, whose other students included Alfred Cortot, Robert Casadesus and Alfredo Casella. He clinched the Conservatoire’s first prize at the age of only fifteen, and in 1909 went on to win the Diémer Prize. He was enlisted into the French army during World War 1, and whilst in post narrowly survived a mustard gas attack which permanently damaged his health. This resulted in a premature death at the age of only 52 in 1938.
Unlike his colleague Alfred Cortot, Lortat is almost forgotten today. This is due to the fact that he only left a few recordings for posterity. His performing repertoire centred on the piano works of Chopin and Fauré. He was a friend of the latter, and whilst he embraced Fauré’s piano works in their entirety (the composer dedicated his Twelfth Nocturne to him), he recorded none of his music. The critic Louis Vuillemin regarded him as “one of the most accomplished virtuosos of this period (having) unparalleled insights into Gabriel Fauré’s piano works”. Rather, his discographical legacy centres on an impressive group of Chopin works.
What APR offer us is Lortat’s complete recorded legacy, comprising of transfers of 38 sides of 78-rpm electric recordings set down in nine sessions between 5 May 1928 and 12 May 1931. They are newly remastered by Mark Obert-Thorn. It’s not the first time these inscriptions have appeared on CD. A spot of internet searching revealed that Doremi and Dante had previously issued them, but not having heard their transfers, I can’t offer any comparisons. However, Mark Ainley, the historical piano recording expert has remarked: “To my knowledge, none of the Lortat’s recordings were ever released on long-playing records in the second half of the 20th century, but in the early years of CDs in the 1990s most of them did come out, albeit in poor sound and often at the incorrect pitch”. Obert-Thorn’s dedication and care has corrected these anomalies and now we’re able to listen to these valuable aural documents in the best possible way.
Lortat set down the Preludes on 5 May 1928. They reveal playing with plenty of personality, which is robust, impetuous and, at times, torrential. No. 1 is assertive, whilst No. 3 displays some scintillating finger work. One hears several out-dated mannerisms such as de-synchronisation of hands, very evident in No. 4 especially. Tempi can sometimes veer on the brisk side, as in No. 11. No. 17, my favorite, is delightful and expressive. In the treacherous No. 19 Lortat stumbles at the beginning.
Three years later in May 1931 the pianist took the 14 Waltzes into the studio. These are extremely satisfying accounts musically. They sound fresh and mercurial, with well-judged rubato and a fine sense of rhythm. No. 3 in A minor is poetically sculpted and No. 4 in F major is effervescent in its delicacy and sparkle. The only one that disappoints is No. 9 in A flat which I felt was pulled around a bit too much with some overindulgent rubato.
The two sets of Études, Op.10 and Op. 25, together with the three Nouvelles études were recorded in several sessions between October 1929 and November 1930. Lortat’s accomplished technique serves them well. Op. 10 No. 3 is eloquently forged and No. 8 is free-flowing and magical. The famous ‘Revolutionary’ étude is bold and dramatic. Op. 25 opens with the ‘Aeolian Harp’ étude, where the melody is lyrically contoured above the rippling arpeggios. The treacherous thirds in No. 6 are cleanly articulated, and No. 7 is infused with melancholy, sadness and regret.
In the Sonata, from the 9 June 1928, the first two movements are rushed. I also think it’s a miscalculation to omit the first movement exposition repeat. These factors adversely impact the Sonata’s dramatic sweep. The final two movements fare much better. Arthur Rubinstein said of the finale: “One hears the winds of night sweeping over churchyard graves, the dust blowing and the dust that remains”. Lortat captures this scene to perfection.
Mark Obert-Thorn’s transfers and audio restorations inject new life into these recordings, aided and abetted by Frédéric Gaussin’s thorough liner notes, in French and English. This valuable release should surpass all previous CD incarnations.
Stephen Greenbank
Previous review: Jonathan Woolf (August 2023)
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