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Views from the Choir Loft

Madeleine Lipatti & The Chopin Concerto Scandal

Jeff Ostrowski · July 8, 2013

INU LIPATTI being one of my favorite pianists, I sought out his recording of the Chopin E Minor Concerto as soon as I learned about it (circa 1997), only to find out the recording was inauthentic. In other words, what was said to be a recording by Lipatti from the 1950s was actually recorded by a Cortot-student named Halina Czerny-Stefanska.

Well, it turns out that somebody has since found a true recording of Lipatti playing that Chopin Concerto. You can read the fascinating story here:

      * *  “The Chopin Concerto Scandal” (Ainley)

I hope you take the time to read it. Here are a couple things that jumped out at me:

1.  I love how a listener wrote to the BBC about the Stefanska recording: talk about good ears!

2.  I love the story about the transfer with a “hand-held microphone.”

I thought the quote (“One more reason to hate Wagner!”) was cute . . . apologies to Wagner lovers, like the great Canon Jules Van Nuffel and Fr. Jules Vyverman.

P.S.

There are many fascinating stories about what I have called “attic recordings” — here’s another:

      * *  Liszt’s First Piano Concerto & Dinu Lipatti

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung—but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the hymn text means—a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. (Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English.) I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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