1973 LP text:
Stanislav Neuhaus was born in 1927 in Moscow. He received his initial musical education at the Gnessin School (under the guidance of teacher V.V. Listova). He continued his studies at the conservatory’s preparatory school and during his first years at the conservatory in the class of Associate Professor V.S. Belyov. From the third year onwards, and later during his postgraduate studies, his father, Professor Heinrich Gustavovich Neuhaus, became his mentor. The distinguished Soviet poet Boris Leonidovich Pasternak, in whose home Stanislav Neuhaus spent his childhood and youth, had a significant influence on the development of his talent and artistic worldview.
In 1949, Stanislav Neuhaus began his concert career, earning recognition from a broad audience and fame as one of the best contemporary Soviet pianists. In recent years, he has successfully performed abroad, in France, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and other countries.
The art of Stanislav Neuhaus is characterized by a great artistic temperament, a subtle and diverse sound palette, an immediate and charming phrasing that follows the intonations of the human voice, integrity, significance, and flawless interpretative ideas, as well as a versatile technique. Like Heinrich Neuhaus, he is a performer with a distinctly romantic inclination.
Stanislav Neuhaus’s repertoire includes works by Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Brahms, Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Debussy, Ravel, and Prokofiev. Among these, Chopin and Scriabin, whose works resonate deeply with his artistic individuality, are most prominently and significantly represented. In interpreting these composers, Neuhaus currently holds a leading position.
Heinrich Neuhaus was also a remarkable interpreter of both composers. In one of his reviews, he wrote that Chopin, despite his popularity and accessibility, is essentially the most challenging author for an interpreter: "Performing his music rarely reaches the heights of persuasiveness, truthfulness, and spiritual perfection that excellent performers achieve in the works of other authors... It seems to me that Chopin, due to the unique combination of Polish spirit with the highest French culture... is unusual primarily because of the incredible autobiographical nature of his work... To fully understand and convey him, one must immerse oneself entirely, with one's whole soul, into his unique soul."
Heinrich Neuhaus’s deep understanding of Chopin’s music was significantly influenced by his biographical ties to Polish culture – he was the cousin of the famous Polish composer Karol Szymanowski.
In the art of Stanislav Neuhaus, the pianistic traditions of Heinrich Gustavovich have found bright embodiment and development – there is much in common in the performing styles of both Neuhauses. However, there are also significant differences. For example, while Heinrich Neuhaus clearly leaned towards the bright, optimistic concepts of Chopin (Sonata in B minor, Third Ballade, Polonaise-Fantaisie, Barcarolle, Allegro de Concert, Rondo, and others), Stanislav Neuhaus is equally close to both the dramatic and tragic heroic elements of his music.
Stanislav Neuhaus’s mastery as an interpreter of the works of the great Polish composer has been repeatedly noted in Soviet and foreign press.
"Neuhaus’s performance of Chopin’s works is imbued with a noble, refined form... The pianist’s mastery perfectly aligns with the requirements of Chopin’s music: a singing, varied cantilena, excellent legato and portamento, enveloping pedal tones, expressive, distinctive rubato" (E. Liberman, "Soviet Music," 1965, No. 12).
"The pianist’s playing was distinguished by... artistic breadth, a rich sound culture, and the ability to grasp the form as a whole while paying attention to its details... The evenness of the sound was combined with an amazingly natural phrasing, the cantabile quality of the texture – with the tactful emphasis on elements of hidden polyphony... At moments, the artist achieved that proud, noble, knightly sound that we so often lack in the performance of Chopin" (M. Nestyeva, "Soviet Music," 1971, No. 3).
"The Nocturne in D-flat major and the Fourth Ballade by Neuhaus were perceived not just as another possible interpretation, but as an ideal, excluding any other interpretation" (from the French press, Bordeaux, 1973).
Claude Debussy once called Chopin a captivating storyteller of love and war legends. The ability to convey the narrative character of Chopin’s music, to carry the thread of the story from beginning to end and captivate the listener, is one of the strongest aspects of Stanislav Neuhaus’s interpretative talent. For the sake of the coherence of his concept, he often sacrifices individual enticing virtuosic and sound details, and even in the most technically challenging places, he never deviates from the necessary tempos and dynamics for its realization.
The pianist’s playing is rich in sound and coloristic discoveries. Speaking of Chopin, one can recall, for example, the Third Scherzo (C-sharp minor), in the octave theme of which the sonorous fortissimo is astonishingly combined with flight and swiftness, and in the chorale episodes, the airy pianissimo of descending passages is striking. A very even, "hypnotizing" piano often appears in the accompanying figures of the left hand, for instance, in the aforementioned Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27 (one French critic titled his review: "Neuhaus – owner of the best left hand in the world").
The Chopin works on this record were recorded from Stanislav Neuhaus’s concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory on October 10, 1972.
The Polonaise-Fantaisie is an expansive work in the style of a ballad. The character of the thematic material and the complex improvisational form, which is difficult to analyze musicologically, suggest a programmatic intention, although there is no definitive evidence of this. The images of elegiac and lofty dreams are contrasted with dramatic episodes leading to a victorious and jubilant apotheosis. "I do not know anything more uplifting than the entire ending of the Polonaise-Fantaisie," wrote Heinrich Neuhaus.
The Nocturne in D-flat major (Op. 27) is one of the most popular. The endlessly flowing bright melody evokes the image of a lyrical scene on a moonlit night.
The Nocturne in F-sharp major (Op. 15) is a profound poetic reflection with a hint of secret sadness.
The Barcarolle is an exciting romantic poem, a vivid example of the bright love lyricism of late Chopin.
The Mazurka in F minor (Op. 68) is Chopin’s last piece, written by the bedridden composer a few days before his death. The piece is full of deep melancholy. The descending "wilting" sequential turns, especially when returning to the main F minor motif, are very expressive. At the same time, this miniature testifies to the amazing strength of the great composer’s creative spirit, devoted to music until his last breath.
The Mazurka in C major (Op. 56) vividly reproduces images of dance, folk humor. One hears the bagpipes, the village violin, the clatter of heels...
The Mazurka in C-sharp minor (Op. 63) organically combines moods of elegy and dance. The canonical polyphony of the final part is very interesting.
The Fourth Ballade (F minor, Op. 52) is the most significant and extensive of Chopin’s ballades. The music narrates sad and dramatic events, inexorably leading to a tragic denouement. The free form of the piece combines elements of sonata-allegro with variation.
Yu. Olenev
