Twenty-four Preludes, Op. 28 played by Nina Milkina (piano)
What a wealth of fancy and imagination went to the making of these Preludes I The first one, with its snatches of lyrical melody, is followed by the one in A minor, ' a low and tremulous and melancholy song.' This is exchanged for the grace and sparkle of the Prelude in G-that captivating study for the left hand-and the well-known one in E minor, with its expressive melody accompanied by reiterated chords. And so on, throughout almost the entire range of the emotions. Among the less familiar ones are the vivacious Prelude in B major; the lovely miniature nocturne in P sharp; the one in E flat minor (which foreshadows so strikingly the finale of the Sonata in B flat minor); No. 23, limpid and charming; and the final Prelude in D minor, unforgettable in its brilliance and passion. It was after the Preludes were published that Schumann described Chopin as the boldest, the proudest poet-soul of today.' Harold Rutland