So why is it rare? Chopin marked up some of his scores for his piano students which have been fascinating for musicologists to examine. He sometimes added fingerings and other instructions. And occasionally, as here, he added extra notes and even special cadenzas. So . . . listen closely if you know this piece and you’ll hear some lovely original additions by Monsieur Chopin himself.

The complete Opus 9 was originally published as “Les Murmures de la Seine” and dedicated to the wife of Chopin’s friend Camille Pleyel. Marie Pleyel is the woman pictured in the cameo on the album cover.

In celebration of the six month anniversary of Chopin’s 200th birthday, we are offering it as a free download until September 1, 2010.

• Download Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 (original cadenzas) MP3

Arthur Greene:

“Today’s entry takes us into far more familiar Chopin territory. The Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2 comes from around 1830, -after Chopin had left Warsaw forever. But the version I’m playing here has a bit of a twist. There are some scores of Chopin’s works that he marked up for his piano students, and they’ve been a fascinating find for musicologists. You can see where he marked things on the scores, adding fingerings and other instructions for his students. And in some of them Chopin added extra notes – and even little cadenzas! So if you know this beloved Nocturne, listen extra closely, and you’ll hear some things that aren’t usually there.”

From Britton Recital Hall, listen to Arthur Greene perform Chopin’s Nocturne in E-flat Op. 9 No. 2 (original cadenzas)

• Download sheetmusic for Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin
• Download Easy to Play sheetmusic for Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin

“It is rarely played.  Its absolute simplicity of texture may lead performers to experiment with ornamentation, but I believe that it is an expression of Chopin’s new direction, in the difficult few years at the end of his life, towards a directness and purity of expression.  The Polonaise-Fantasy has somewhat the same mood, although it is much more elaborate.  The little nocturne is a tragic whisper.”

Chopin Biographer Arthur Hedley once wrote: “From the great Italian singers of the age [Chopin] learned the art of ’singing’ on the piano, and his nocturnes reveal the perfection of his cantabile style and delicate charm of ornamentation.”

Recent scholarship by some musicologists hear the song of a sorrowful Venetian gondolier (borrowed from Italian opera composer Giaocchino Rossini, whom Chopin greatly admired) in the undulating Nocturne in C minor, the 21st and final essay in the genre that Chopin perfected. It dates from 1847, just two years before Chopin’s death, but was not published until decades later.

• Listen to Nocturne in C Minor, KK 1233-5 by Fryderyk Chopin
  performed by Arthur Greene recorded live at the University of Michigan’s Britton Recital Hall
• Download sheetmusic for Nocturne in C Minor, KK 1233-5 by Fryderyk Chopin

Chopin News, Views, Reviews, and Previews:

“All Robbins” is all pleasure at PNB
Seattle Times – United States

The Jerome Robbins Chopin-dance fever juggurnaut rumbles on in Seattle, with acclaimed productions by Pacific Northwest Ballet of “The Concert” and “In The Night.”

Making its PNB premiere, Robbins’ 1956 comic work “The Concert” is set to sedate piano works by Chopin, played onstage by Dianne Chilgren and witnessed by a motley crowd in pale-blue leotards. The ballerina (a funny, loose Miranda Weese) practically embraces the piano in her joy, while a pair of hatted ladies (Lesley Rausch, Maria Chapman) cross their legs in exaggerated precision. A wife (Carrie Imler) scolds her cigar-chomping husband (Jonathan Porretta) — not noticing that his eye is on the ballerina.

And from these character vignettes, Robbins sweeps us into fantasy: a dimly lit umbrella dance that’s both melancholy and lovely; a cast transformed into gossamer-winged butterflies, suddenly lighter and sillier than air. It’s a wacky dream ballet, performed with airy precision, and the giggling opening-night audience rewarded it with a standing ovation.

“In the Night” is also set to Chopin (also played beautifully by Chilgren), but its velvet mood is a world away: three romantic pas de deux on a starry night. As the most tempestuous of the couples, Louise Nadeau and Karel Cruz were mesmerizing; though they initially seemed physically mismatched (he looks at least a foot taller than she), their shared recklessness and dramatic ardor cast a powerful spell. Ariana Lallone and Stanko Milov, arms reaching to the sky, brought regal strength to their more formal dance. Noelani Pantastico and Olivier Wevers, in their effortless lifts, personified youthful, sparkling love.


See all stories on this topic

Chopin Downloads of Apparent Legality:

Free Download of the Week: Chopin’s Nocturne No. 1 in B Flat Minor …
By Laura(Michael)

From the new site Musopen, boasting “copyright free classical music.”

In the mood for a more melancholy tune? Take advantage of music in the public domain and download this beautiful piece by Chopin, courtesy of Musopen.com. Click to download Chopin’s Nocturne No.1 in B Flat Minor, Op.9 …

Fastcase – Accelerated Legal Research – http://fastcase.blogspot.com/

Cross-posted from our companion daily blog site The Chopin Currency: By “Currency” we mean just how contemporary – and how powerfully it resonates in our own time, nearly 200 years since the composer’s birth.

This month we’re getting a compelling reminder of just how “current” Chopin’s music is from, of all places, MTV Networks, who commissioned this powerful and moving PSA/Web film called “None of Us Are Free” to raise awareness for disaster relief in Myanmar (a/k/a Burma). The film begins with Chopin’s Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1 (as well as a bit of the Fantaisie-Impromptu at the end…)…to dramatic effect:

None Of Us Are Free- the Burma Film

Now that you’ve heard that snippet,

Hear pianist Polina Khatsko play this poignant Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 in a Chopin Project live performance at the University of Michigan’s Britton Recital Hall.

Now, some details as to how Fryderyk C’s music got involved, courtesy of motiongrapher.com:

When and how the music was incorporated?
The music played a huge role in setting the tone and pacing of the piece. We knew that it would be huge in setting the right mood so it had to be perfect. We listened to a lot of tracks when we were cutting the first previz [sic] edits and when we heard Chopin’s nocturnes, we knew we found the right music. It had all the right elements, movement, and form.

Dante Nou who was working in—house with us took the two pieces we had roughly cut together and started tweaking them. Nate, our editor had some ideas about cadence and drawing out notes and keys and we just started fucking with it. By the time we finished the edit, the music had developed equally—it was then the foundation of what we took to Good Sounds. They replayed the original pieces and put their own loveliness in the mix—more sound design and tweaking, and by the time we finished the picture the music had finished as well.

There’s more about the “making of” the PSA on Gossipfeast.com as well, quoting from the MTV Press Release: “With the powerful melody from the feted virtuoso pianist Chopin, viewers will watch the beautiful red flowers float and dance towards Burmese soil.”

• Listen to Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin
• Download sheetmusic for Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin

This video is a terrific example of why current US copyright laws are industry-favoring pieces of trash that don’t give creative people enough leeway to create. This artist could never make a dime off this piece in the US, without Radiohead’s agreement. Personally, I think that’s wrong. I think that artists should be encouraged both to create and to RE-create. This amalgam of Radiohead and Chopin is beautiful, and we should be encouraging musicians to find ways like this to reuse and reinvigorate the works of the past.

Other citations:

Radiohead/Chopin Matchup
By buck19
Effing Brilliant!!!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0X-PR…chopin_matchup And one of his own written songs. YouTube – Jack Conte – Operation.
Tampa Forums – http://www.tampaforums.com/forums

VideoSong 4 – Radiohead/Chopin Matchup
By DICE
1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice). 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds). Radiohead’s Exit Music for a Film matched with a prelude by Chopin, Op. 28, no. 4 …
YETANOTHERMUSICWEBLOG – http://www.yetanothermusicweblog.com/

Chopin/Radiohead Mashup!
By rekcehcsopa
Has everybody seen this? http://youtube.com/watch?v=0X-PRpqj7N4 :jonny2: approves.
Mortigi Tempo – Radiohead Message Board – http://www.mortigitempo.com/too_bored

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

All over again
The Phoenix – Boston,MA,USA

Playing with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Evgeny Kissin has dazzle if not depth, and puzzles with his choice of encores…

At the opening concert on April 8, however, the symphony plodded, and though Kissin played the late B-flat concerto, No. 2, with phenomenal dexterity and large-scale grandeur, he seemed to have no clue about the reflective and searching nature of the music. The piece sounded like Rachmaninov. The Andante is one of the glories of Brahms. It opens with a great cello solo, which Jules Eskin played with ravishing and glowing warmth. But in this most emotionally and intellectually but least technically challenging section of the concerto, Kissin merely hit all the notes. Still, he wowed the audience, and after being called back repeatedly, he played Chopin’s charming “Minute” Waltz (though with only the barest hint of charm). Did it matter that Chopin had no connection with the rest of the program? At least on the following night, I was told, one of his two encores was a Brahms waltz (along with a Chopin scherzo).

[...]

…the early D-minor concerto, No. 1, with which Brahms struggled so hard (should it be a piano piece, and if so, for how many pianos? should it be a symphony?), with its even greater bravura and fewer demands for “interpretation,” was more up Kissin’s alley…. His encores were more Chopin — both in C-sharp minor: the ambitious Scherzo (with its solemn chords and feathery descent of heavenly snowflakes played with so much emphasis on texture and color, it sounded more like Liszt) and the famous little Waltz (which had so little ¾-time “lift,” it sounded more like a nocturne).

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Emerging star keeps hitting the right notes
Fort Worth Star Telegram – Fort Worth,TX,USA

After the big-build up in Fort Worth (see the Chopin Currency for April 16th) Ingrid Fliter does not disappoint…

Her program began with the Impromptus Nos. 1 and 2 by Schubert. It was capped by Chopin — his Nocturne in B major, Sonata No. 3 and, for her first encore piece, the Grand Valse Brilliante. Her style and approach seemed more natural on the Chopin and showcased her wonderful lyrical phrasing and a singing, golden tone. Her fine control of fingers and pedals created melodies chiseled in silver against an airy rainbow of lingering sound.

Fliter’s playing sent thrills through the audience gathered under the Kimbell’s vaulted ceiling. It heralded the emergence of a major piano star.

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Pianist André Laplante delivers grand recital
Barre Montpelier Times Argus – Barre,VT,USA

Canadian pianist plays South of the Border to great acclaim….

Laplante, one of Canada’s great pianists, is first and foremost a romantic pianist in that he imbues a lot of personal emotion in his work. But unlike many romantic pianists, he is rhythmically disciplined and has great reverence for the composer’s score as is the focus of more classical pianist.

Laplante’s freely lyrical melody line, the hallmark of a romantic pianist, shone most in works of Chopin. The major work of the program was Chopin’s Sonata in B-flat minor, Opus 35, a big, powerful work that runs the gamut of emotions, from unbridled passion in the first and second movements to the delicate tenderness of the third movement – dubbed “Funeral Match” – to the rapid and turgid finale. Throughout, though, Laplante projected the structure as well as the deep emotions of the work. Much the same could be said Chopin’s Sonata in f minor, Opus 49….

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Gach plans all-Chopin recital at Escondido arts center
North County Times – Escondido,CA,USA

Palomar College pianist Peter Gach prepares for his annual appearance….

Gach has had a lifelong love affair with the music of Chopin, and he loves any opportunity to share it with an audience.

Gach first discovered Chopin’s music as a boy, when he found some Chopin scores while sifting through a box of sheet music at his parents’ farm in Pennsylvania.

“I grew up in the country. We weren’t a musical family, but just by chance this box fell into my lap,” Gach said of the experience a few years ago. “It was like a magic box of wonders. I read it like a kid would attack a box of chocolates. It introduced me to a whole new world.”

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TIME OUT WITH … Hayley Kelly
St. Helena Star – St. Helena,CA,USA

Star high school athlete in Montana reveals her dream meeting….

Kelly: I think I would want to meet Mozart or Chopin because I play piano and those are my two favorite composers. They were both insanely gifted, …

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Chopin Videos (sort of)

Chopin – Nocturne in e Flat
By the undomiciled sophisticate(the undomiciled sophisticate)

Classic recording of the Nocturne in E-flat (Op. 9 No. 2) in a violin-and-piano arrangement featuring Mischa Elman…

Played here by Mischa Elman. I have a flac version of this song that is much better, but its 40 megs, for a 4 minute song. Plus i don’t think blogger will play lossless formats as such. This is a pretty good surrogate though. …
The Undomiciled Sophisticate – http://undomiciled.blogspot.com/

Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Enjoying Chopin
By James(James)

Cheers for Chopin from a blog that promises “a forum for the discussion of relevant issues pertaining to society. Influenced by the teachings of Vatican II and inspired by the life of Pope John Paul II, we seek to engage every positive aspect of our culture (politics, current events, the arts, science, etc.) with the goal of infusing them with an authentic Christian humanism…”

I’ve been listening quite a bit to the works of the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin. It’s hard not to fall in love with his genius. His music for the piano is romantic and passionate yet ordered and elegant, uplifting and airy while not void of a certain melancholy.

The Forum – http://catholicpublius.blogspot.com/

“Magnificent in its breadth, it profound expression, and its tremendous sonority.” Dr. Frank Cooper’s summation of this Chopin Nocturne, composed in 1841, just about says it all. But if you want to know more, click here. Or else check out the marvelous collection of Chopin early editions at the University of Chicago library.

Hear pianist Polina Khatsko play this poignant Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 in a Chopin Project live performance at the University of Michigan’s Britton Recital Hall

• Listen to Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin
• Download sheetmusic for Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin

Rachmaninoff fails to fill the hall
Arizona Daily Star – Tucson,AZ,USA

Not “news,” but an interesting time capsule from February 1925:

Maybe folks went to the literature club’s discussion of “Modern English Novels” or possibly the talk at the Tucson Fine Arts meeting on “Artists of the Nineteenth Century,” but for some reason, on February 2, 1925, when Rachmaninoff performed in Tucson, he did not fill the auditorium. [...]

The Saturday Morning Musical Club was responsible for bringing many well-known artists to Tucson. They brought Rachmaninoff here as a special attraction. Tickets for the event were $1.50, 2.00 and 2.50. Season ticket holders received special rates.

The composer chose selections from Schuman, Liszt and Chopin, in addition to several of his own works. He played with only one brief intermission.

“Rachmaninoff was the quiet, reserved master of his instrument. Not for him the physical accompaniment of his forte passages with the sway of head or body, other than that wrought by flying arms, nor any eye-closed dreamy posture, for such dainty bits as Chopin’s “Ballade” offered.”

According to the reviewer, his playing of “Ballade” “may be likened only to delicate lace, the melody coming from beneath his fingers with magic ease, making a sweetly appealing selection, thrice applauded.”

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Pianist Ralph Votapek instills sweep and grandeur at Brock Hall …
The Birmingham News – al.com – Birmingham,AL,USA

Ralph Votapek, the very first Van Cliburn Competition winner, wows ‘em in Alabam…

He rendered Chopin’s Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1, with sweep and grandeur. The “Tarantelle,” Op. 45, was pure energy. The Chopin set converged in the perfect sturm und drang of the Ballade in F minor, Op. 52. Cascading chromatic scales were fluid, quick and flawless. With a masterful touch, Votapek shaped this work with countless gradations of dynamics while instilling it with Lisztian fervor.

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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Chopin: Favorite Piano Works
By admin0

From a used-vinyl and CD site, a nod to a 1996 compilation by Vladimir Ashkenazy:

This is a masterful performance by the great Vladimir Ashkenazy of Chopin’s favourite piano works. If you love Chopin’s music and Ashkenazy’s magic touch, this 2-disc CD is a must.
Seek & Buy Audio CD – http://vinylrecords.890m.com/wordpress

Misc. Chopiniana:

The Chopin Hotel HDR
By nobody@flickr.com (David Giral)

Nice arty image of the Hotel Chopin in Paris, posted on flickr.com:

Photos from David Giral – http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepretender/

Hear pianist Dmitri Vorobiev play this poignant Nocturne in B major, Op. 62, No. 1 in a Chopin Project concert performance.

Here’s how it’s described in the 1905 book A Handbook to Chopin’s Works, by George C. Ashton Johnson:

You can read the entire book on Google Docs here.

• Listen to Nocturne in B, Op. 62 No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin
• Download sheetmusic for Nocturne in B, Op. 62 No. 1 by Fryderyk Chopin

Chopin turns out to be the missing ingredient in the ice-dancing tandem’s Quest for Gold….

[Tanith] Belbin and [Ben] Agosto are the most successful dance team the US has had, and the Olympic silver medalists seem to break new ground every season. But when coach Igor Shpilband suggested they consider a classical piece for this year’s free dance, they worried it might be too much of a stretch.

They turned down some Bach he suggested. When he came back with Chopin, though, they agreed to try it, and the flowing, romantic program has turned out to be the perfect showcase for their skills. It highlights their chemistry, expression, and speed, their traditional strengths. But it has also allowed them to show a maturity and depth of emotion they didn’t have three or four years ago.

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Prince of the piano worthy of crown
Albany Times Union – Albany,NY,USA

Hey! It’s another Yundi Li review!

“The 25-year-old piano prince then caught the audience’s attention with his Chopin: four of the Mazurkas, followed by the well-known Nocturne in E flat and “Andante Spianato” and “Grande Polonaise.” The Mazurkas are more relaxed and reflective pieces and quickly showed Yundi is more than a technically proficient virtuoso. He was particularly effective in the fourth number, which recalls the work of Robert Schumann, a friend of the composer.”

The young Chinese musician won the International Chopin Competition some years ago, and has made four recordings for the prestigious Deutsche Gramophon …
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Lang Lang delights, confounds with his individualism
Philadelphia Inquirer – Philadelphia,PA,USA

Hey! It’s another Lang Lang review!

Sure, his recital of Schubert, Bartók, Debussy and Chopin was full of strangely mannered playing. But there’s a trade-off: His ideas, all his own, are convincingly expressed…

.…Here, on this night, marginalization of classical music was a specious myth. After a particularly convulsive and artless reading of Chopin’s Polonaise in A flat major (Op. 53), “Heroic,” an audience of seniors, teens, hipsters, nerds, 20ish Asian girls, aficionados, newbies, and a surprising number of 6- to 9-year-olds jumped to their feet. Whistles and cheers. Flowers. Flashbulbs.

Who else on the classical stage can claim as close a connection with as diverse a public? Right now, maybe no one.
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Chopin Videos:

Artur Rubinstein Plays Chopin Polonaise “Heroic”
By admin
Lovely excerpt from the 1947 movie Carnegie Hall. Great close-ups of Rubinstein’s fingers in action, though the music is quite obviously dubbed…

From picture “Carnegie Hall”. ShareThis.
Next VDO – http://nextvdo.com/

Literary Chopin:

♯Six
By Frederic Francois Chopin(Frederic Francois Chopin)

Another installment from the pianopoet…

[Private//Easily Hackable] I have been thinking about that world again….The world I once called just a passing dream. Traveling in that world, I faded faster than it. It was mostly due to my physical state more so than my mental state …
The piano is his way of life – http://pianopoet.livejournal.com/

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Method & madness: The oddities of the virtuosi
Independent – London,England,UK

This just in: A lot of great pianists of the ages have been more than a little crackers. A dissection on the eccentricities and downright madness of Shura Cherkassy, Glenn Gould, Artur Benedetto Michalangeli, Vladimir Horowitz, and a host of lesser knows, including…

Some pianists based brilliant careers on seeming mad, when they weren’t, the most notable being the diminutive Viennese “pianissimist” Vladimir de Pachmann, aka “the Chopinzee“, whose antics prompted George Bernard Shaw to write of his “pantomimic performance, with accompaniments by Chopin”

Yet his Chopin and Schumann had such panache that dozens of live recordings have been issued since his death. I regret never having heard Arturo Benedetti …
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Nanowires prefer Deep Purple
ABC Science Online – Australia’

In the brand-new world of silicon nanowires, Chopin lags behind Deep Purple in promoting their growth – though it seems there are “kinks” to work out….

Parlevliet tested the effect of Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke on the Water’, Chopin’s ‘Nocturne Opus 9 No 1′, Josh Abrahams’ ‘Addicted to Bass’, Rammstein’s ‘Das …
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WEST SIDE STORY SUITE – Standing Ovation for San Francisco Ballet …
SanFranciscoSentinel.com – San Francisco,CA,USA

Account of San Francisco Ballet program currently in production that includes Jerome Robbins’ “In the Night,” danced to a recording of three Chopin Nocturnes by Artur Rubinstein…(Opus 9 No. 2, Opus 27 No. 1, Opus 55, No. 1 and No. 2.)

The evening includes three separate works featuring the music of Leonard Bernstein and Frédéric Chopin. 2008 marks the 90th birthdays of Bernstein and …
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“Her Name Is Sabine,”
IFC – USA

Review of new indy film by French actress Sandrine Bonnaire “making a patient, respectful, thoroughly unnarcissistic documentary about her own handicapped sister, and stumping for policy change as she considers painful mysteries about family and the passage of time in the process. “Her Name Is Sabine” (2007) is a simple, unpretentious piece of work…”

… teen and young adult, she was different, “off,” but lucid, literate, energetic and capable of playing Chopin. She went without diagnosis for decades. …
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Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Music and ‘the Man’

In-depth profile of pianist Byron Janis, who describes his affinity for Chopin:

But it was a Polish composer who may have had the greatest influence: Chopin was always a favorite, and Janis returned the favor, credited with discovering two once-lost Chopin waltzes, a find called “the most dramatic musical discovery of our age.”

At 80, Janis reflects: “It was a defining moment of my life; I felt like I was being led to them.”

He has taken the lead since that 1967 discovery of the 1832 waltz works, which Chopin had written “for a lady friend; how he loved the women.”
Jewish Exponent – Philadelphia,PA,USA
And Chopin has touched his lively life in many ways. The McKeesport, Pa., kid of Russian-Jewish heritage who was born Byron Yanks is a Yankee Doodle Dandy …
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Two-Part Tribute to Byron Janis Begins March 8

More on Byron Janis….

Playbill.com – New York,NY,USA
At 6 PM March 10, “An Evening of Song with Pianist as Composer with a Touch of Chopin” will be offered. The concert will feature a host of theatre …
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Room for improvement

Fascinating discussion on a music-instruction blogsite using a Chopin Etude to illustrate the teaching of harmony…

By Alan Coady
It’s of Chopin’s Etude Op 10 No 1. There are more professional performances of this on YouTube but many are so fast that it’s difficult to hear the detail. This one, although not entirely error-free does have a certain tenderness about …
Alan Coady’s Musical Blog – http://edubuzz.org/blogs/alancoady

Chopin
By That Canadian Guy(That Canadian Guy)
So apparently there is a videogame based loosely on Chopin’s life. It’s called ‘Eternal Sonata’. Chopin is actually a playable character, and his music is found throughout. The character looks like Chopin as well. …
Life, Love, and Everything In Between – http://madman-ramblings.blogspot.com/

Chopin in the Videosphere:

YouTube – Yundi Li plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2

Ignore the incorrectly-embedded title of it being “Op. 66″

Yundi Plays Chopin! … Related Videos. Maurizio Pollini plays Chopin Nocturne no. 8 op. 27 no. 2. 04:43 From: joynes89. Views: 366648 …

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Diavolo to defy the laws of physics Saturday

Preview of Telluride appearance by innovative LA Dance Troupe incorporating Chopin into their latest show: “Diavolo is comprised of dancers, gymnasts, actors and rock climbers who perform together like teammates with astonishing athleticism. Working with architectural structures and props, the company offers the audience a cinematic experience of powerful images and abstract narratives. Think Cirque du Soleil minus the glitzy production values….”
The Daily Planet – Telluride,CO,USA
“Knock-turne” is a pun on the Chopin composition. “This dance is two duets. In the first, we manipulated Chopin’s ‘Nocturne.’ For the second, we use an …
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Richard Goode

Thumbs-up review from the Guardian of pianist’s much-anticipated Chopin-focused recital in London: “Yet each time Goode returned to Chopin, it was like a homecoming. He found insight in the relative simplicity of the mazurkas, and even virtuoso works such as the Op 54 Scherzo and the Op 44 Polonaise didn’t sound like tricksy showpieces.”

Guardian – UK
There are pianists who give Chopin a bad name, using his showpieces as a vehicle for flashy, brittle brilliance. Then there is Richard Goode. …
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Richard Goode at the Queen Elizabeth Hall

The Times of London, on the other hand, liked the programming, but not the player: “The evening was rewardingly programmed. The spirit of dance transmigrated from Bach to Chopin in Goode’s four Mazurkas, but how I longed for clearer articulation, tauter sinew, more sense of their pungent language. By the time Goode reached the Impromptu in F sharp the loud gurgling of breath which accompanied his performances at their most ardent became not so much an ignorable mannerism as a serious distraction.”

Times Online – UK
The spirit of dance transmigrated from Bach to Chopin in Goode’s four Mazurkas, but how I longed for clearer articulation, tauter sinew, more sense of their …
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Entertainment briefs
Polish-born now-Minnesotan pianist Tadeusz Majewski plays in Rochester, MN: Post-Bulletin – Rochester,MN,USA
Majewski, who began his piano studies at the Chopin Lyceum in Krakow, left Poland in 1981 and settled in Minnesota. He continued his studies and then …
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Thoroughly modern Tomoko

Experimental Japanese pianist/visual/performance artist Tomoko Mukaiyama plays Prague: ” Along with changing the visual context of her performances, Mukaiyama has also changed the aural content, essentially borrowing a visual arts technique to construct “collages” of disparate pieces that take on new meanings through unusual juxtapositions. “I take small parts of pieces and make a mosaic,” she explains. “You might hear Chopin, but because I put Chopin between Thelonious Monk and Sergei Zagny, the identity of Chopin disappears.”
She will be using that technique for her Sonic Tapestry piece at Archa this week, zigzagging from Chopin and Debussy to Monk and Ligeti, with original improvisational passages serving as transitions. No visuals for this performance; instead, the centerpiece is a Fazioli piano. “I’m not making a commercial about it, but it’s a favorite of mine, a beautiful Italian instrument with singing tones and gorgeous harmonics,” Mukaiyama says.

Prague Post – Czech Republic
“You might hear Chopin, but because I put Chopin between Thelonious Monk and Sergei Zagny, the identity of Chopin disappears. …
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Chopin

A modern-day interpretation…

By Beatrice Feo Contemporary Art
Beatrice Feo Contemporary Art has posted a doc:
Everyone’s docs – http://www.ipernity.com/explore/latest/doc

Chopin’s Birthday …
By hoa_dao(Eternal Sonata / Trusty Bell: Chopin’s Dream)
Our dear Chopinetto’s birthday is coming up (March 1) so if you want to do something special for ES, now’s the time! It can be anything, fanart, fanfiction, fanpoetry (?), or any other crazy fan stuff you can think of! …
Eternal Sonata – http://community.livejournal.com/torasuti_beru/

Chopin New, Reviews, and Previews:

Celebrated pianist Brendel to take final bows with Cleveland Orchestra

What will undoubtedly be the first of many “career-retrospective” items about Austrian pianist Alfred Brendel as he begins his farewell tour of the USA. In the article he discusses the situation for concert pianists at the start of his career: “One of the things that helped me sort it out was the fact that in my young years, there were still two types of great pianists: one who mainly played a large Central European repertoire and the other one who was a Chopin specialist. At that time, it was taken for granted that to play Chopin well, one needed specialization.” While Brendel opted for the former route, he believes he might have played more Chopin if he had taken time to explore the composer’s music….

The Plain Dealer – cleveland.com – Cleveland,OH,USA

Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Thursday Thirteen #26 The Saga of Frederick and Georg

More about the relationship between Chopin and Georg Sand from our intrepid LA blogger…interesting graphics to accompany the story….including the picture (left) of a few bars of Chopins’s beloved Nocturne in E flat Major (Op. 9 No. 2) written down in an album of Chopin’s former fiancee Marie Wodzinski.

By Lara Angelina(Lara Angelina)

When we last left our couple, they had just met and while it seems that Georg was “warm for Chopin’s form”, he did not initially return the feeling. However, I need to back up the track a bit, to explain that when Chopin met Sand, …Ain’t Nothin’ Like the Real Thing – http://larachronicles.blogspot.com/

Chopin News, Reviews, & Previews:

Pianist Diana Fanning

Well-traveled Middlebury-based pianist offers a recital in the Vermont state capital with an emphasis on Chopin: “I have chosen pieces that I have loved for years, and I think they illustrate different aspects of Chopin’s artistry, from the utmost delicacy to tremendous power.”
Barre Montpelier Times Argus – Barre,VT,USA
Works of Frederic Chopin comprise the entire second half of the program. Fanning says, “I have so enjoyed thinking about the poetic and passionate music of …
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Debut album ‘Equanimity’ is dream come true for computer consultant

Computer consultant-turned-composer Ryan Stewart cites Chopin as one of his major influences on his new CD that ranges from “solo piano to lush orchestration.”
Deseret News – Salt Lake City,UT,USA
Stewart’s influences range from classical works of Rachmaninoff, Chopin and Debussy to jazz icon Harry Connick Jr., New Age artists Vangelis and film …
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New album shows Alicia Keys as she is
Richmond reviewer notes one of pop diva’s trademarks – showing off her classical chops in concert and on disc…
Commonwealth Times (subscription) – Richmond,VA,USA
Keys begins with a piece that bears a striking resemblance to Frederick Chopin’s “Nocturne in C minor.” The “As I Am (Intro)” ends with a smooth beat laid …
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Learning the keys to success
Charming essay about a life lesson learned when a Chopin Nocturne brought a young overachiever to her knees… University Daily Kansan – Lawrence,KS,USA
I was working on a nocturne by Chopin, and for nearly two hours every night, I would sit at my piano going over and over each scale, chord and trill. …
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Allie Hughes Plays the El Mo

This time, it’s a Canadian singer-songwriter who gives a nod to Monsieur Chopin as a major influence….
Torontoist – Ontario, Canada
… to hear that she counts Kurt Weill and Stephen Sondheim among her diverse list of influences (that also includes Chopin, Brahms and plenty of Rufus). …
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Solo Recital by Pianist Yundi Li

Preview of March 18 Toronto recital by budding Chinese superstar pianist, “propelled to international fame when he won first prize at the 2000 International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Poland at the age of 18.”

Exchange Morning Post – Waterloo,Ontario,Canada
His upcoming program includes works by Chopin, Liszt and Mussorgsky’s powerhouse Pictures At An Exhibition. Yundi Li was propelled to international fame …
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Chopin Videos:

Clip”Scherzo No.1″ by Chopin

From a new music-instruction site called “Click for Lessons” a video of a California piano teacher

By thomaspenders@comcast.net (Thomas P.)
Chopin scherzo no.1 performd by Thomas Penders.
Enspired Video – http://enspired.com/

Chopin Reviews & Previews:

Ivan Hewett reviews Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Cédric Tiberghien at …
Telegraph.co.uk – United Kingdom

French pianist Cedric Tiberghein receives rave reviews for his Chopin Ballades at his recital at London’s Wigmore Hall; critic is less enamored of his Beethoven…

He glided on to the stage like a blond wraith, and as he played all four Chopin Ballades one after another, his hands seem to glance off the keyboard. …
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Alexander Kanchaveli, RSAMD, Glasgow

Meanwhile, in Scotland, Georgian pianist Alexander Kanchaveli (Third Prize winner in the Chopin Competition in Rome) plays the Fourth Ballade….
The Herald – Glasgow,Scotland,UK
Kanchaveli presented a program of minimal fuss and followed the Sonata with Chopin’s Ballade no 4 in F minor, op 52. This piece, though at times wildly …
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Royal Scottish National Orchestra: Perth Concert Hall
Staying in Scotland, a nice description of Markus Groh making his way through the Second Piano Concerto….
Perthshire Advertiser – Perthshire and Kinross,Scotland,UK
The main work in the concert was a performance of Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto, played by the German pianist Markus Groh. This was a virtuoso performance …
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Allan, 80, receives the gift of music
Allan Marlow turns 80 today, (20/02) and is looking forward to the performance by Japanese pianist Haruko Seki….
Buckingham Today – Buckingham,UK
… industry for many years, has requested a programme of his favourite music including pieces by Debussy, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt and Gershwin. …
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Painted Horse adds tasty kick to old faves
Nothing to do with Chopin save for the first line, comparing Rubinstein’s keyboard confections with a chef’s concoctions….
Arizona Republic – Phoenix,AZ,USA
… to eliminate any live-performance mishaps, the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein recorded a Chopin Polonaise with a few wrong notes and unsteady passages. …
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Chopin and choping

Mixing Fryderyk and firewood in Somerset, England, apparently without benefit of a spell-checker….
By james hastings(james hastings)
Chasing up some contacts. Very exciting times for Speaking Out. Writing features on some amazing Christian ministries and ready to tackle the next stage of the book, while listening to some Chopin. Praise be God.
ClearView – http://foraclearview.blogspot.com/

Chopin Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1

Charming site devoted to student piano performances.
By pattisonpiano
This track was laid down by Stephanie at her lesson last week.
pattisonpiano – http://pattisonpiano.podbean.com

Stark-Iochmans: No flash, but a workmanlike effort
Providence Journal – Providence,RI,USA
Stark-Iochmans turned to Chopin to close out the afternoon, the composer’s Fourth Ballade in F Minor. Again this contained some beautiful playing, …
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Chopin: Waltzes, Impromptus
By Bl’ogre(Bl’ogre)
This RCA Red Seal CD boasts Arthur Rubinstein’s interpretation of Chopin. I would have to admit that it is until these recordings that I have a new feeling regarding Chopin. Before, I enjoyed the virtuous line as a chain of fioriture, …
BListener’s Choice – http://blistener.blogspot.com/

Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2
By Candy Mok(Candy Mok)
By Yundi Li.
Cotton Candyland – http://candymok.blogspot.com/