Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Click cover art to view larger version
Track(s) taken from CDA67686

Waltz in A flat major, Op 34 No 1

composer
1835; published in 1838; sometimes called Grande valse brillante

Stephen Hough (piano)
Recording details: July 2008
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Rachel Smith
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: March 2009
Total duration: 5 minutes 41 seconds

Cover artwork: When all is said & done (2006). Anthony Mastromatteo (b?)
Reproduced by kind permission of the artist / Private Collection
 

Other recordings available for download

Garrick Ohlsson (piano)
Stephen Hough (piano)

Reviews

‘Listening to this recital I felt as though I were a guest at a sumptuous banquet … it is the different wines accompanying each course that make this meal special, that is to say the discriminating premier cru tone, touch (what magically hushed pianissimos) and masterly pedalling to which the diners are treated, each element adjusted to each composer yet all unmistakably Stephen Hough—vintage Hough at that, for here is a pianist at the height of his powers … a great piano recording and front runner for instrumental disc of the year’ (Gramophone)

‘The glinting wit and thorough seriousness of pianist Stephen Hough's playing—attributes you desire from all virtuosi but do not always find—make this mixed repertoire disc a particular joy’ (The Observer)

Variations sérieuses is given a spontaneous and nimble account, fully relaying Mendelssohn's dazzling invention; and also his heart … [Beethoven Op 111] the second movement has rarely sounded more luminous … [Invitation to the Dance] Hough's performance is scintillating and affectionate, notably lucid in how the hands interact. The Chopin waltzes are pleasurable for Hough's unaffected and crisp (but never inflexible) playing … this thoughtfully conceived, superbly executed and produced release warrants a most enthusiastic recommendation’ (International Record Review)

‘Hough's clear-sighted path through both the Mendelssohn and Beethoven, every detail perfectly placed, belies the charm he brings to the bravura glitter of the Weber, the subtle ambiguities of Debussy's La Plus que Lente, and the more insidious allure of the Liszt. It's a beautifully accomplished sequence’ (The Guardian)

‘It's hard to think of another pianist who could encompass such high seriousness—his technical brilliance is never an alibi for superficiality in Beethoven and Mendelssohn—and high jinks within the same programme … Hough wears his virtuosity so lightly that the fantastically difficult notes seem to pour off his fingers with effortless ease. His Weber and Liszt are played with staggering bravura, his Chopin is both brilliant and wistful, and his Waltzing Matilda makes you want to laugh out loud’ (The Sunday Times)
With its opening fanfares the Waltz in A flat major Op 34 No 1 immediately recalls the ballroom, where its main theme, though harmonized in sixths, is clearly happy to be. One of the longest of Chopin’s waltzes, it develops a glitteringly scored episode from the fanfare before modulating to D flat major for a dreamy middle section, itself extensive enough to assume its own ternary form. The A flat material is recalled to be succeeded by a coda which seems to signal a conventionally brilliant exit but which actually proceeds to a subtly allusive ending.

from notes by Gerald Larner © 2009

Avec ses fanfares inaugurales, la Valse en la bémol majeur op. 34 no 1 rappelle d’emblée la salle de bal, où son thème principal est clairement content de se trouver, malgré son harmonisation en sixtes. Cette valse, la plus longue de Chopin, développe un épisode brillamment écrit à partir de la fanfare avant de moduler vers ré bémol majeur pour une langoureuse section centrale, elle-même assez étendue pour assumer sa propre forme ternaire. Le matériel en la bémol est rappelé, suivi d’une coda qui semble indiquer une sortie conventionnellement brillante mais qui se poursuit, en fait, jusqu’à une conclusion subtilement allusive.

extrait des notes rédigées par Gerald Larner © 2009
Français: Hypérion

Die Anfangsfanfaren des Walzers in As-Dur op. 34 Nr. 1 rufen sofort das Bild eines Ballsaals wach und auch das Hauptthema, obwohl es in Sexten ausgesetzt ist, fühlt sich hier sichtlich wohl. Es ist dies der längste Walzer Chopins und es wird eine glitzernde Episode der Fanfare durchgeführt, bevor eine Modulation nach Des-Dur und zu einem träumerischen Mittelteil hin stattfindet, der selbst lang genug ist, dass er in drei Teile gegliedert ist. Das As-Dur-Material wird noch einmal wachgerufen, worauf eine Coda folgt, die einen konventionellen, brillanten Schluss anzukündigen scheint, der sich dann aber als subtil und voller Anspielungen entpuppt.

aus dem Begleittext von Gerald Larner © 2009
Deutsch: Viola Scheffel

Other albums featuring this work

Chopin: The Complete Waltzes
CDH55381 Piano albums for £8.00
Chopin: The Complete Waltzes
CDA67849
Chopin: The Complete Works
CDS44351/6616CDs Boxed set (at a special price) — Download only
Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...