Hardly any cycle of piano pieces can match the magnetic attraction of Chopin’s “24 Préludes”, published in 1839. Schumann called them “sketches, beginnings of études, [...] ruins, stray eagle's pinions, all disorder and wild confusion”.<br>
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Christoph Flamm has critically reevaluated the sources, bringing to light new readings of this well-known musical text. Hardy Rittner, a hammerklavier specialist and two-time winner of the ECHO Classic prize, who has recorded Brahms’ piano music and all of Chopin’s “Études” on period pianofortes, has supplemented Chopin’s fingering from a historically informed perspective. He also provides valuable notes on performance practice, especially with regard to pedalling, rubato, latent polyphony, legato and Chopin’s perception of sound.<br>
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An aesthetically presented engraving and practical page-turns make this current edition indispensable for today’s scholars and performers.<br>