Contrapunctus

Compare performersFrédéric Chopin

Chopin, Waltz Op. 64 No. 1, in three recordings

Waltz in D♭ major, Op. 64 No. 1

Three pianists, Rachmaninoff among them, play the circling opening figure and the slower sostenuto middle section.

Player

Recordings in
this comparison

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1923Reference recording

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff recorded Chopin’s dance for Victor on 5 April 1923, playing a Steinway concert grand.

2:01
2014Performance 02

Olga Gurevich

Born in Baku, Gurevich moved to Moscow at seventeen to study piano at the Gnesin Academy.

1:47
2007Performance 03

Muriel Nguyen Xuan

Nguyen Xuan plays a Yamaha grand. Stéphane Magnenat recorded her on 16 July 2007.

2:00
Selected recordingSergei Rachmaninoff, 1923
0:00 / 2:01

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Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.

The comparison

Chopin opens the Minute Waltz with the right hand playing a short figure of notes that circles back on itself. A slower middle section, marked sostenuto, comes between the fast passages. Rachmaninoff, Olga Gurevich and Muriel Nguyen Xuan each play this middle section before the trill leads back into the opening figure.

Tempo

Tempo map

Time taken compared with Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1923: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.

Time taken compared with the reference recordingEach gold line follows a performer. Above 1×, the recording takes longer over the same music. Numbered lines mark the passages below.0.25×0.5×0.75×1×1.25×1.5×1.75×0:000:301:001:302:001. Opening figure around A♭ · 0:1212. Sostenuto middle section · 0:4023. Return of the opening figure · 1:183Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1923 (reference)Olga Gurevich, c. 2014Muriel Nguyen Xuan, 2007
The reference recording’s clock runs left to right. Each line is smoothed over about eight seconds; pauses can create peaks. Numbers mark the passages below.
  • Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1923 · reference
  • Olga Gurevich, c. 2014
  • Muriel Nguyen Xuan, 2007
Passages

Passages compared

Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.

  1. 01

    Opening figure around A♭

    0:12 in the reference

    The right hand turns around A♭, then moves into a running melody. Bass notes and two answering chords keep up the waltz accompaniment.

  2. 02

    Sostenuto middle section

    0:40 in the reference

    The quick notes stretch into a sustained melody, marked sostenuto. The left hand keeps its three-beat dance underneath.

  3. 03

    Return of the opening figure

    1:18 in the reference

    The circling figure returns after the long trill, and the bass rejoins it. The running melody starts again.

Durations

Length of each recording

  1. Sergei Rachmaninoff, 19232:01
  2. Olga Gurevich, c. 20141:47
  3. Muriel Nguyen Xuan, 20072:00

These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.

Performers and sessions

Recording notes

Sources & method

Further reading

How the recordings are matched

The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.

  • Olga Gurevich, c. 2014: match score 0.946. Matched passages available.
  • Muriel Nguyen Xuan, 2007: match score 0.932. Matched passages available.

Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.