Frederic Chopin, Poetry at the Piano, aca Digital C20089 Roberts’ Chopin Third Sonata captures all the poetry, the variety and the pure depth of feeling that the composer invested in this work. And that is something. In the opening movement, with its contrasts in sonority and mood, the rich, beautiful tone Roberts coaxes from the piano serves the purpose of the music to perfection. As in the slow movement, a Largo, there is under the abundant lyricism a restless, troubled undercurrent with hints of more serious matters, though the latter is not as overtly stated as it is in the “Funeral March.” The bravura element in the rondo finale, marked “Presto,” comes through beautifully here. Alone of the four movements, the brilliantly skitterish Scherzo does not invite extramusical associations. It is just notes (lots of them, too, and fast), as a proper scherzo should be. There follow six pieces illustrating Chopin’s genius as “The Poet of the Piano” – the Impromptu in F-sharp Minor, Op. 36; Scherzo in C-sharp Minor, Op. 39; waltz in G-flat Major, Op 70/1; and three Etudes in C and E Major, Op. 10, nos. 1 & 3; and the sonorous C Minor, Op. 25/12 with its sweeping arpeggios, sometimes known as the “Ocean.” The deeply felt Impromptu draws us in to infinite riches with its nostalgic “once upon a time” opening. Roberts invests his performance with the improvisational quality that the word “impromptu” implies. The Waltz is deceptively elegant and carefree, with a delicately melancholy middle section. The Scherzo combining sonorous, chorale-like chords with an iridescent veil of sound descending from the upper reaches of the piano, may be the most memorable moment of all in a memorable recital.