BBC dedicates weekend to Chopin
BBC News – UK

BBC Radio 3 announces a blockbuster weekend dedicated to Chopin (May 17-18, 2008, including the launch of “a dedicated website, launched as part of the Chopin weekend, will feature video piano lessons by pianist David Owen Norris, for those who want to try their hand at some of Chopin’s more approachable pieces.”

BBC Radio 3 is to broadcast every note written by Frederic Chopin during a weekend dedicated to the Polish composer, who died in 1849 aged 39.

The Chopin Experience, which runs on 17-18 May, follows similiar tributes by the station to Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Tchaikovsky.

The weekend will explore how Chopin revolutionised piano music, as well as his troubled personal life.

The weekend will also include the most famous recordings of Chopin’s work.

His set of 24 Etudes will be aired in unbroken sequence featuring 24 different pianists.

Piano lessons

Dedicated programmes will look at the influence of Polish folk music on the composer – and how the composer continues to influence the Polish music scene….

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Radio 3 announces weekend of Chopin

The Press Association –
Every note written by Polish composer Frederic Chopin is to be broadcast in a single weekend on Radio 3. The Chopin Experience follows a Beethoven week, …
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PERFORMING ARTS: Sergio Tiempo
Washington Post – United States

Review of a DC recital by thirtysomething protege of Martha Argerich….critic finds his passion praiseworthy, the technical slips less so…

Sergio Tiempo, the immensely talented Venezuelan-born pianist, uses his colossal technique to produce a spectrum of colors and dynamic nuance from the piano. His program at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater on Saturday afternoon included Haydn’s delightful Sonata in D, Hob. XVI: 37; Chopin’s Sonata No. 3 in B Minor; Ravel’s suite “Gaspard de la Nuit”; and the “Consolation” No. 3 and “Mephisto” Waltz No. 1 of Liszt….

Tiempo also possesses a golden singing sound, ravishingly displayed in the Chopin and Liszt pieces…. The same lyrical impulse pervaded the Haydn sonata, in an interpretation perhaps more operatic than symphonic.

Tiempo’s great strength is his white-hot intensity. When combined with his cultivated musical intelligence, it achieves strikingly original results. Yet his passionate exuberance occasionally overflows into impetuousness. Hyperkinetic momentum resulted in memory slips in movements of the Haydn and Chopin sonatas. And structural integrity in the Chopin finale and the “Mephisto” Waltz was undermined by unchecked fortissimo power surges. But these missteps could not diminish the visceral excitement of the program.

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Alexander Kobrin, Skillful Pianist
Baltimore Sun – United States

Kobrin, The reigning Van Cliburn champ, comes to Bahlmore and gets a mixed review….

Alexander Kobrin, the Russian pianist who took the gold at the 2005 Van Cliburn Competition, breezed through Baltimore – and a Beethoven-Chopin program – Sunday at a packed Har Sinai Congregation in Owings Mills. The free recital, another generous gift to the music community from the Peggy and Yale Gordon Trust, reaffirmed the great technical fluency I observed from Kobrin during the Cliburn finals, but left me somewhat less impressed when it came to his stylistic and interpretive matters. (I wasn’t too keen on the many restless and cell phone-ridden members of the audience, either.)

[...]

Kobrin, who is not yet out of his 20s, maintained a dry-eyed demeanor when he turned to Chopin, avoiding anything strikingly individualistic in the shaping of line or rhythmic pulse, and he continued to push things along when given half a chance. Still, there were elegant touches along the way, especially in a group of Impromptus. It will be interesting to see, and hear, how Kobrin’s career unfolds.

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Cellist Jan Vogler finds voices
Philadelphia Inquirer – Philadelphia,PA,USA

A Jekyll-and-Hyde performance by the East German-born cellist in Philly, featuring boring Beethoven, but captivating Chopin….

He seemed, at first, like one kind of cellist, and then another. Until the end of his Sunday afternoon recital at Independence Seaport Museum, when you realized that Jan Vogler was intent on crafting stylistic approaches so different to each composer, you might have been left searching for the musician’s core personality.

With sturdy and accommodating pianist Louis Lortie as his partner, the cellist with a sweet smile and a straight mop of sandy hair limited his range of colors in Beethoven’s Sonata in A major (Op. 69), and even in Schumann’s Opus 73 Fantasiestücke.

So much so that a certain monotony set in. Vogler’s tone is rather nasal, which to these ears made him a considerably less interesting cellist than one usually hears at these Philadelphia Chamber Music Society concerts.

It made him less interesting, too, than the cellist he became after intermission, in Takemitsu’s Orion (from 1984), Chopin’s Sonata in G minor (Op. 65), and an encore of the Falla Ritual Fire Dance.

Who was that playing those beefy pizzicato notes in the Falla? In the Takemitsu, where Debussy was never too far harmonically, microtones and slides granted Vogler permission to become almost vocally expressive. And where had that cellist been who was now intensely searching each phrase for emotional meaning in the Chopin?

Beethoven can withstand that kind of treatment, too – happily so, though not on this day.

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Award gave Argentine’s career a lift
Fort Worth Star Telegram – Fort Worth,TX,USA

Texas-sized profile and Q & A with Gilmore Award winner Ingrid Fliter, who reveals that literally owes her life to Chopin…

Why did you choose to feature pieces by Chopin on your new CD?

My father used to play the piano. That’s the way my parents met at a party — my mother noticed my father while he was playing on the piano some Chopin waltzes. So I have to say that I exist thanks to Chopin.

What do you love about Chopin’s Sonata No. 3, which you’ll play Tuesday at the Kimbell?

I think it is one of the most important and one of the most beautiful pieces Chopin wrote. That sonata gives you a very huge spectrum of Chopin’s sound world. I have the feeling that all the human experiences are put in that sonata. It is very touching to me

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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/

The secret of Gabriela Montero’s improvisations
Times Online – UK
From the improvised vocal polyphony, called discantus, of medieval times to the extravagant exhibitions of Chopin and Liszt in the salons of 19th-century …
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A night out with Chopin!
Huddersfield Examiner – Huddersfield,UK
In Monday’s concert, which begins at 7.30pm, he will play Chopin’s Ballade No 1 in G minor, Nocturnes No 13 in C minor and No 14 in F sharp minor, …
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Waleed Howrani lives up to reputation at AUB
Daily Star – Lebanon – Beirut,Lebanon
By the time Howrani began playing Chopin’s etudes, the audience was transfixed. An etude is a composition designed to challenge an instrumentalist to …
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• Symphony, guest artist set auditorium aglow
The Grand Rapids Press – MLive.com – Grand Rapids,MI,USA
Kobrin, Gold Medalist in the 12th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, was guest soloist in Frederic Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1. …
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Cyber snapshot
Dubuque Telegraph Herald – Dubuque,IA,USA
Project Gutenberg volunteers also have been digitizing public-domain sheet music, including works by Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Mozart and others. …
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Step Up
By George Jackson
Wheeldon’s intermingling of Frederic Chopin and Kurt Weill songs takes getting used to. When the Washington Ballet first performed the work a couple of seasons ago (staged by Ashley Wheater), Chopin’s lyric ardor and Weill’s gritty …
danceviewtimes – http://www.danceviewtimes.com/

Chopin in the blogosphere:

Preludes
By mallorcaphotoblog
Frédéric Chopin spent three months in Mallorca in the Winter of 1838-39, some 169 years ago. He came in the company of George Sand and her two children from her marriage with Count Dudevant. Chopin suffered from tuberculosis and had …
– http://mallorcaphotoblog.wordpress.com

Chopin Preludes
By wolfy(wolfy)
Chopin’s first prelude is welcoming. Being in a Major key (c)and having a simple form suggests a certain amount of accessibility. The The two-note melodic gestures that make up this piece make me think of a visual welcoming gesture. …
Music of the Spheres – http://fanfarefortheuncommon.blogspot.com/

Eternal Sonata
Eternal Sonata is the latest RPG from Tri-Crescendo, starring – of all potential heroes – Frederic Chopin. Yes, that Chopin – the Poet of the Piano, the famous composer who tragically died of tuberculosis aged only 39. …
– http://www.bonafidereviews.com

Warsaw’s inadequate airport
By W-wa Jeziorki(W-wa Jeziorki)
“On behaf ow LOT Połlysz Erlajnz, aj łud lajk tu łelkam ju tu Fryderyk Chopin Internaszonal Erport. Lokal tajm iz tłenty tu ten…” Sorry – Fryderyk Chopin what? No one – and I mean no one – calls Okęcie Airport by this name, …
W-wa Jeziorki – http://jeziorki.blogspot.com/

Chopin Audios & Videos

Chopin: Mazurkas, Valses & autres danses / Arthur Schoonderwoerd
By e-man
Com This recording reconstructs an imaginary ball of the 1840’s, with all dances to Chopin’s polonaises, ländler, écossaises, mazurkas… The use of a piano by Ignaz Pleyel built in 1836 gives a special dimension to the [...]
All Free Download Links – http://allfreedownloadlinks.com

Steinway & Sons Model B Grand Piano Demo II: Chopin Mazurka
By admin
This recording is of my Steinway & Sons model B. Sorry it’s incomplete. This video was also made to demonstrate the tone of the piano, which I was selling at the time. I no longer own this instrument. ShareThis.
Mess Video – http://www.messvideo.com/