performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, with the fourth below it played sublimely by Eric Lu (cover image by Jez Timms) Chopin composed his op. 17 mazurkas between 1832 and 1833, and they were published in Leipzig in 1834. The composer … Continue reading Chopin: Four Mazurkas, op. 17
performed by Rafał Blechacz It’s about darn time to get Chopin’s music back on the blog, and so we’ll revisit him by discussing a work that so simply, so powerfully expresses the entire gamut of human emotion in an irresistible, … Continue reading Chopin: Preludes, op. 28
performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, or below by Nikolai Lugansky Rachmaninoff! Also been a while since we’ve seen this guy. I actually had no intentions of duplicating so many of the composers from last year’s Russian Symphony series in this piano … Continue reading Rachmaninoff: Variations on a theme of Chopin, op. 22
(also) performed by Krystian Zimerman Tuesday we talked about the second ballade, and as discussed, various people associate the same poem as the inspiration for either one of these works. No. 3 was completed a few years later, in 1841, … Continue reading Chopin: Ballade no. 3 in A flat, op. 47
performed by Krystian Zimerman (the above video is an excellent performance, but from at least a few decades ago, as the pianist’s coiffure will attest, but the specific performance by Zimerman is from the Chopin Complete Edition, where it is taken at a … Continue reading Chopin: Ballade no. 2 in F, op. 38
Performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra I didn’t really feel bad for writing somewhat coldly or dispassionately about the piano sonata; after all, I seemed more positive about it than many of the other writers and critics … Continue reading Chopin Piano Concerto no. 2, op. 21
performed by Idil Biret no. 2 here no. 3 here There are three of these works, but I’m not going to address them on separate days as we did with the works that make up Beethoven’s ops 1 and 2. … Continue reading Chopin Nocturnes, op. 9
performed by Oistrakh/Knushevitsky/Oborin, or the Beaux Arts Trio, or anyone else So… for whatever reason, this piece just does not resonate with me. I’ve really tried. I’ve done my homework, I know it’s a common piece in the repertoire. I … Continue reading Chopin Piano Trio, op. 8
performed by Idil Biret, or as below by Vladimir Ashkenazy Hello again, and welcome back to our second installment today, continuing our discussion about Chopin’s early mazurkas. If you didn’t catch the earlier discussions of what a mazurka is, check … Continue reading Chopin: Mazurkas, Op. 7
performed in my favorite rendition by Idil Biret or below by Arthur Rubinstein no. 2 no. 3 no. 4 I shall begin this discussion of the Chopin mazurkas in a way that I also did not expect. YouTube videos are one … Continue reading Chopin: 4 Mazurkas, Op. 6
performed (again) by Idil Biret, or below by Daniil Trifonov …lovely, enthusiastic and full of grace. He who does not yet know Chopin had best begin the acquaintance with this piece… Robert Schumann, 1836 In listening to these pieces … Continue reading Chopin Rondo a la Mazur in F, op. 5
performed by Idil Biret I must admit, I didn’t care much for this piece the first many times I listened to it, but… Perhaps this isn’t necessarily the sonata’s fault. This piece is given the opus number 4, but … Continue reading Chopin Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor, Op. 4
performed by Martha Argerich and Gautier Capuçon What was one of the happiest times in your life, a time when you really genuinely wished everything would freeze and your life would stagnate in that perfect period in time and never … Continue reading Chopin: Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3
performed by Idil Biret and the Slovak State Philharmonic orchestra under Robert Stankovsky Eusebius came in quietly the other day. You know the ironic smile on his pale face with which he seeks to create suspense. I was sitting at … Continue reading Chopin: Variations on ‘Là ci darem la mano’ for piano and orchestra, Op. 2
performed by Idil Biret from her Chopin box set, or equally excellently below, by Vladimir Ashkenazy Today, we begin with a new composer. Could there be a more logical choice? I suppose there’s Schubert, but he didn’t make it this … Continue reading Chopin Rondo in Cm, op. 1
It’s all Scriabin and Chopin. And then Islamey. And encores. This is another one of those things I’m terrified of missing out on. If I had to travel some long distance to buy a ticket and attend, that’s one thing, but when it’s within walking distance (sort of), I don’t really have any excuse not to go. It’s also bragging rights, if nothing else. It’s just a nice experience to have, to say I was able to see so-and-so live, even if I didn’t get to meet her. I was a little late in getting around to buying tickets, and … Continue reading Concert Review: Yuja Wang Piano Recital
To continue our discussion of the twelve tone scheme and the Second Viennese School, we’re going to talk today about the method itself. I’m going to be up front with you, though. I’m not a professional musician, I am not … Continue reading Dodecaphony: Part 2
If you haven’t noticed, it’s that time of year. Lots of graduation recitals and concerts and things. It’s a great time of year to be a concertgoer, and I’m sure many students heave huge sighs of relief once their performances are over. It is also often hardly the end, but a beginning of more, better things. I’ve talked before about my thoughts about concerts and recitals and performances in an academic setting. There are two main ones, the first being that the people in the room (at the university where these recitals are [most often] held) are the real professionals … Continue reading Concert Review: 陳柔安鋼琴獨奏會
performed by Krystian Zimerman and the Polish Festival Orchestra, (Zimerman also conducting) This is one of the earliest piano concertos we have talked about, certainly the earliest in our little string of four or five here. Actually the second of … Continue reading Chopin piano concerto no. 1 in Em, op. 11
This is something that baffles and fascinates me. I may have mentioned it here in passing before, but let’s talk about it some more. We’re on a little string of piano concertos here (first Arensky, then Rachmaninoff, then Prokofiev, and the next two weeks [well, this week and next week] [at least]), and Mahler is getting VERY in the way of me preparing for these. I’ve been on a kick with listening to LOTS of different interpretations of his pieces (at the time of this writing, I’m currently finishing up a listen to Boulez’s performance of the eighth with Staatskapelle … Continue reading 184 Years is a Long Time
performed by Idil Biret As I mentioned in last week’s music post, I started my foray into classical music with the goal of familiarizing myself with the piano repertoire. To that end, I started with Chopin. This piece was one … Continue reading Chopin Piano Sonata no. 2 in Bbm, op. 35
Fugue for Thought 