Great Performers: Alfred Cortot
The venerable Swiss-French pianist Alfred Cortot (1877–1962) was more than an outstanding keyboardist: he was also a teacher, author, editor, chamber musician and conductor. He produced over the course of four decades an abundant discography of solo, chamber, and concerto repertoire, capturing a wide array of highly individual performances that continue to fascinate listeners many decades later.
Read more…“Cortot looked for the opium in the music, he looked for anything that was extraordinary,” said Daniel Barenboim about this artist whose quintessentially Romantic and evocative interpretations are still considered among the greatest piano records ever made. His aristocratic approach was enhanced by his instantly-recognizable singing sound, a mastery of the pedal that produced a vibrant palette of tonal colours and effects, and an inner sense of rhythm that never wavered even when he stretched a phrase with his inimitable elegance.
Early recording techniques did not allow for precision editing and Cortot regularly dropped notes in his vivacious performances, which can be startling to modern listeners accustomed to digital perfection. However, his interpretations were so musically revealing that his readings are still revered today: the eminent critic Harold C. Schonberg wrote of Cortot’s mistakes, “One accepted them, as one accepts scars or defects in a painting by an old master.” However, his technique could indeed be dazzling: the young Vladimir Horowitz went to Paris to have lessons with him specifically in the hopes of learning Cortot’s fingering of a Saint-Saëns étude, but to his dismay, the master refused to show him.
While best known for his legendary Chopin recordings of the 1920s and ’30s, Cortot’s repertoire covered a broad range of eras and styles. His sole reading of Handel – the ever-popular Harmonious Blacksmith– showcases his remarkable technical proficiency at its thrilling peak. In his few recorded explorations of Bach he does not shy away from Romantic inflections of timing and lyricism, infusing his interpretations with warmth and depth. His Weber has classical poise fused with Romantic warmth, while his solo and chamber performances of Mendelssohn sing with aristocratic elegance and rich tone.
Cortot’s justly revered Chopin readings are overflowing with vibrant enthusiasm, dignified grace, expansive timing, and a gorgeous palette of colours, soaring melodies elegantly sculpted and mindfully interwoven with the full fabric of the music. His Schumann blends to perfection the paradoxical childlike innocence and emotional depth of the composer’s works, while his Liszt has dazzling finger-work along with humour and charm, also abundant in his too-few readings of Saint-Saëns. His Franck is richly textured and expansive, while his Debussy is abundantly coloured and atmospherically pedalled.
Film footage of an elderly Cortot shows him telling a young student, “one must not play this piece so much as dream it.” The great pianist’s expansive imagination infused everything he played with elegance, an aura of possibility, and an appreciation for beauty. His recorded legacy stands as a testament to one of the most profound poets of the piano.