Precedent

I imagine that the disparity of approaches in the playing of pianists before the first sounds were captured by wax cylinders must have been extraordinary: if the only points of reference were public performances (unless there was a direct affiliation with a composer), the only way to reproduce a musical idea experienced directly was through memory - the memory of a public performance, for instance (which may have been radically different from any other one, even by the same performer, I suppose). But today the idea of relying on recordings to form an opinion about what a piece sounds like entails the possibility of repeating that listening experience over and over - we just push a button.

Learning a piece 150 years ago in most cases may have just been about buying a score and reading it for the first time with an open mind, devoid of any preconceived notion. Today, most of us choose repertoire because we are already in love with certain pieces, which we have come to know through recordings. For comparison purposes, we even own many recordings of the same pieces. Inevitably, these listening experiences affect us in the way we conceive our interpretations. Sometimes we emulate certain details that we find appealing; sometimes we simply end up sounding like the recording; sometimes we even copy misreadings!

I grew up with several recordings by Friedman - especially the Nocturne Op. 55. no. 2, possibly the most extraordinary recording of the piece, which I simply adored. I never learned this Nocturne, but I know that much of my conception, even after two decades, would be affected by the strong memories associated with this recording. Should I learn it, I'm quite sure I would probably go back to the recording to confirm that, indeed, that's how I remembered it.

On a completely different note, I'm aware that Rubinstein recorded the Polonaise Fantaisie in 1934 - slightly more athletic than the two other versions, recorded in 1954 and 1964 respectively. It is, I believe, the first recording ever made of the piece.

I imagine the opinion of the Polonaise-fantaisie written in Liszt's book about Chopin might be the thinking (or even the words) of the Princess...

I wonder what the Polonaise-Fantasie sounded like when composed, to ears of the time. Those were the days: when Liszt called it pathological! You might find this 1974 "pirate" of Horowitz playing it, on my Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PSjmsrSSQk

I always enjoy references to old perfomances from great artists.