Contrapunctus

Compare performersFrédéric Chopin

Chopin, Waltz Op. 64 No. 2, in four recordings

Waltz in C♯ minor, Op. 64 No. 2

Paderewski, Pachmann, Rummel and Gurevich play the circling quaver refrain between the slower C♯ minor and D♭ major melodies.

Player

Recordings in
this comparison

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1917Performance 01

Ignacy Jan Paderewski

Paderewski’s Victor recordings preserve his habit of spreading chords and letting the melody arrive separately from the bass.

3:17
1925Performance 02

Vladimir de Pachmann

Pachmann plays his own Baldwin at Hayes, with his own variant in bars 82–⁠83.

4:36
1943Performance 03

Walter Morse Rummel

Rummel had introduced Debussy’s complete second book of Préludes in London in 1913.

4:25
2014Reference recording

Olga Gurevich

Gurevich grew up studying piano in Baku. Her teachers’ ideal of a singing tone is central to her own teaching.

3:50
Selected recordingOlga Gurevich, c. 2014
0:00 / 3:50

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Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.

The comparison

Paderewski, Pachmann, Rummel and Gurevich all begin with the same opening, a melody held back over a bass that keeps moving. Chopin sets quick quavers running between that C♯ minor melody and a second one in D♭ major. The circling refrain returns repeatedly and closes the piece.

Tempo

Tempo map

Time taken compared with Olga Gurevich, c. 2014: 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.0.25×0.5×0.75×1×1.25×1.5×1.75×0:001:002:003:001. Opening waltz · 0:0512. Second phrase of the opening melody · 0:3023. Più mosso in quavers · 0:4234. Falling and rising quaver figure · 0:5545. Più lento in D♭ major · 1:2056. Return of the opening melody · 2:446Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1917Vladimir de Pachmann, 1925Walter Morse Rummel, 1943Olga Gurevich, c. 2014 (reference)
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.
  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1917
  • Vladimir de Pachmann, 1925
  • Walter Morse Rummel, 1943
  • Olga Gurevich, c. 2014 · reference
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 waltz

    0:05 in the reference

    Held notes cross the bar line, then a quick figure follows. The bass keeps its pattern of one note and two chords.

  2. 02

    Second phrase of the opening melody

    0:30 in the reference

    The opening melody completes another phrase, with short flourishes placed between longer notes. The waltz accompaniment continues.

  3. 03

    Più mosso in quavers

    0:42 in the reference

    The right hand plays chains of quavers, marked più mosso (more movement). The left hand continues beneath it.

  4. 04

    Falling and rising quaver figure

    0:55 in the reference

    The quick tune falls, rises and falls again, its turns fitted across the left hand’s three-beat pattern.

  5. 05

    Più lento in D♭ major

    1:20 in the reference

    The piano moves to D♭ major and a broader melody. The marking Più lento calls for a slower tempo.

  6. 06

    Return of the opening melody

    2:44 in the reference

    The opening C♯ minor melody returns with its held notes and short answering flourishes, and the quick refrain closes the piece.

Durations

Length of each recording

  1. Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 19173:17
  2. Vladimir de Pachmann, 19254:36
  3. Walter Morse Rummel, 19434:25
  4. Olga Gurevich, c. 20143:50

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.

  • Ignacy Jan Paderewski, 1917: match score 0.839. Check the matched passages by ear before using these timings.
  • Vladimir de Pachmann, 1925: match score 0.929. Matched passages available.
  • Walter Morse Rummel, 1943: match score 0.813. Check the matched passages by ear before using these timings.

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