Piano Concerto 1 / Grande Valse Brillante

In his second volume of Chopin on a mid-19th-century Érard, Ax continues to demonstrate both the qualities of the instrument and his own artistry. The best test of the disc is the second movement of the concerto, in which Ax makes the Érard sing, plays with artistic flexibility and taste, and interacts beautifully and convincingly with the period-instrument orchestra. (Chopin's often-maligned orchestration sounds better than usual with these instruments.) Ax turns the waltz into a miniature tone poem in an exquisite performance. The early variations, which led Schumann to proclaim Chopin a genius, sound like fluff today, but these players make it entertaining. This disc is both an artistic experience and a musical education. --Leslie Gerber