tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112297736891344212011-11-27T16:35:10.695-08:00....a roundup of Chopiniana: current news, views, reviews, recordings and performances in the runup to the 200th birthday of the matchless Polish keyboard composer.The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.comBlogger1401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-27550776549272441542008-08-07T11:22:00.000-07:002008-08-07T11:25:21.618-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SJs-BscMCMI/AAAAAAAAAks/dZgT-hIBEbc/s1600-h/Picture+3.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SJs-BscMCMI/AAAAAAAAAks/dZgT-hIBEbc/s320/Picture+3.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231843590951143618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/07/the-chopin-currency-august-7-2008/">here</a> for the Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/07/the-chopin-currency-august-7-2008/">August 7th, 2008</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2755077654927244154?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-52052604597270754532008-08-06T15:47:00.000-07:002008-08-06T15:57:27.165-07:00Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/06/the-chopin-currency-august-6-2008/">here</a> to find The Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/06/the-chopin-currency-august-6-2008/">August 6th, 2008</a><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5205260459727075453?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-62855684256178483412008-08-05T12:57:00.000-07:002008-08-05T13:03:02.369-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><br />click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/05/the-chopin-currency-august-5-2008/">Here</a> for The Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/05/the-chopin-currency-august-5-2008/">August, 5, 2008</a>.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6285568425617848341?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-48747219580394804132008-08-04T13:04:00.000-07:002008-08-05T13:13:35.399-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;">Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/04/the-chopin-currency-aug-4-2008/">Here</a> for the Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/04/the-chopin-currency-aug-4-2008/">Monday, August 4th, 2008</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4874721958039480413?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-57651486934684040492008-08-03T13:17:00.000-07:002008-08-05T13:21:09.900-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;">Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/03/the-chopin-currency-aug-3-2008/">Here</a> for the Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/03/the-chopin-currency-aug-3-2008/">Sunday, August 3, 2008</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5765148693468404049?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-13137920529855140942008-08-02T13:14:00.000-07:002008-08-05T13:16:24.061-07:00<span style="font-size:130%;">Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/02/the-chopin-currency-aug-2-2008/">Here</a> for the Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/02/the-chopin-currency-aug-2-2008/">Saturday, August 2, 2008</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1313792052985514094?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-10693522278572033132008-08-01T13:33:00.000-07:002008-08-06T15:47:47.044-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SJjDG1VdHcI/AAAAAAAAAkk/7NYrPElZA5Y/s1600-h/chopin_duszniki.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SJjDG1VdHcI/AAAAAAAAAkk/7NYrPElZA5Y/s320/chopin_duszniki.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5231145489354530242" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Click <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/01/the-chopin-currency-friday-august-1-2008/">Here</a> for The Chopin Currency for <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/08/01/the-chopin-currency-friday-august-1-2008/">Friday, Aug. 1, 2008</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1069352227857203313?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-34304201024054269322008-07-09T06:18:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.671-07:00<span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Broadcasts:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><a target="_blank" title="the Chopin Project: &quot;L'Adieu&quot; Waltz" mce_href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/03/19/waltz-in-a-flat-op-69-no-1-ladieu/" href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/03/19/waltz-in-a-flat-op-69-no-1-ladieu/">Waltz in A-flat, Op. 69, no. 1 "L'Adieu"</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.performancetoday.org/">Performance Today</a> - American Public Media<br /></span><p><img src="http://chopinproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/chih-long_hu-226x300.jpg" mce_src="http://chopinproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/chih-long_hu-226x300.jpg" alt="" title="chih-long_hu" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-387" height="199" width="151" />Today's edition of <a title="Performance Today from American Public Media" href="http://www.performancetoday.org/" mce_href="http://www.performancetoday.org" target="_blank"><i>Performance Today</i></a> - the most popular classical-music show in the USA - will feature a performance from <a href="http://chopinproject.com/">The Chopin Project</a>: <a target="_blank" title="The Chopin Project: Chih-long Hu" mce_href="http://chopinproject.com/the-chopin-project-participants/Chih-long-Hu/" href="http://chopinproject.com/the-chopin-project-participants/Chih-long-Hu/">Chih-Long Hu</a>'s live interpretation of Chopin's <a target="_blank" title="the Chopin Project: &quot;L'Adieu&quot; Waltz" mce_href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/03/19/waltz-in-a-flat-op-69-no-1-ladieu/" href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/03/19/waltz-in-a-flat-op-69-no-1-ladieu/">Waltz in A-flat, Op. 69, no. 1 "L'Adieu"</a></p> <p>Produced and distributed by <a title="American Public Media" href="http://www.americanpublicmedia.org/" mce_href="http://www.americanpublicmedia.org" target="_blank">American Public Media</a>, <i>Performance Today</i> is broadcast on 245 public radio stations across the country and is heard by about 1.1 million people each week. Each station individually decides what time to air the program. To find out where and when to hear <i>Performance Today</i>, check out<a title="Public Radio Fan" href="http://www.publicradiofan.com/" mce_href="http://www.publicradiofan.com" target="_blank"> publicradiofan</a>, an independent website that is an excellent guide to online streaming of US public radio stations. You'll also be able to hear the show on the <a href="http://www.performancetoday.org/" mce_href="http://www.performancetoday.org">Performance Today website</a> for up to seven days after the broadcast.</p><span style="font-size:180%;"> <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, and Reviews:</span></span><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHS_I7-zgPI/AAAAAAAAAkc/_-4HOZ_Kkxs/s1600-h/firkusny.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHS_I7-zgPI/AAAAAAAAAkc/_-4HOZ_Kkxs/s320/firkusny.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221008028290220274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4458" target="_blank"> Rudolf Firkusny, piano = SCHUBERT: Three Pieces, D. 946; MARTINU <b>...</b></a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Audiophile Audition - USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Review of a BBC Legends CD featuring the renowned Czech pianist in a 1980 London recital at Queen Elizabeth Hall: "If Firkusny wanted to be Vladimir Horowitz, he could be."</span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote> The Chopin and Smetana offerings play as encores. The Op. 63 <em>Mazurka </em>is the pearl of the set of three--what Cortot called an exquisite, aristocratic dream--Firkusny’s touch is a mite pesant, but the natural lilt and grace of the shifting accents retain their innate, mesmeric charm.</blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b> <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.audaud.com/article.php%3FArticleID%3D4458" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3430420102405426932?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-21177510317739971442008-07-07T14:56:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.677-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHPm_1T-xaI/AAAAAAAAAkM/yWrQDj9JJjY/s1600-h/horowitz+in+hamburg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHPm_1T-xaI/AAAAAAAAAkM/yWrQDj9JJjY/s320/horowitz+in+hamburg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220770377369568674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span></span></p><p><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nysun.com/arts/a-souvenir-from-vladimir-horowitz/81280/" target="_blank"> A Souvenir From Vladimir Horowitz</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">New York Sun - United States</span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A just-released "souvenir" CD from "one of the great uneven performers in all history" <a href="http://web.telia.com/%7Eu85420275/discography.htm">Vladimir Horowitz'</a>s very last recital (from June of 1987) hits its highest points with Chopin: "The event took place in Hamburg, allowing the record label, Deutsche Grammophon, to call the album "Horowitz in Hamburg." A little alliteration is always appreciated." </p> <blockquote> <p>We then have a Chopin mazurka, the one in B minor, Op. 33, No. 4 — and Horowitz plays it with perfect rhythmic sense. The bend and snap of that thing are amazing. He plays it very purely, too, with complete refinement.</p> <p>In this piece — on this track — Horowitz is in total control of his fingers. There is no old-man faltering.</p> <p>He ends the printed program with Chopin's "Heroic" Polonaise — so often associated with Rubinstein, but played for decades by Horowitz, too.</p> <p>Does Horowitz have enough technique — in 1987 — to get through it? Yes. And he summons up plenty of charisma. Or rather, he doesn't summon it up: It simply flows from him, naturally.</p> </blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nysun.com/arts/a-souvenir-from-vladimir-horowitz/81280/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pawelmazbio.blogspot.com/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHPkh-l1r7I/AAAAAAAAAkE/VZxir8KHo7w/s320/pawel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220767665441058738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp?newsitemid=71894" target="_blank">Discovering Poland’s heritage at St James Cavalier</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><br />Malta Independent Online - Malta</span><span style="display: block;" id="formatbar_Buttons"><span class="on" style="display: block;" id="formatbar_CreateLink" title="Link" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseup="" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);"></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >If there's Polish culture on display in Malta, Chopin cannot be far from the picture....</span></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-family: georgia;font-size:100%;" ><blockquote>A piano recital by the pianist <a href="http://www.pawelmaz.blogspot.com/">Pawel Mazurkiewicz</a> from Poland preceded the opening of the exhibition. He performed works by Bach, Chopin, Scriabin, Grieg, Gershwin and Debussy.<br /><br />Prizewinner of the prestigious Swiss music prize, Prix Credit Suisse – Jeunes Solistes 2003, Pawel Mazurkiewicz was born in Warsaw and graduated with distinction from the Frederic Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw in 2000. In 2004 he graduated also with distinction and with Eduard Tschumi Music Prize from the University of Arts in Bern. He is currently assistant professor of the Piano class at the University of Arts in Bern, Switzerland. He has started composing, arranging and performing jazz music as an addition to his classical repertoire...</blockquote></span><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.com.mt/news.asp%3Fnewsitemid%3D71894" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://pillowbook.co.uk/2008/07/06/my-favourite-chopin-recordings/" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHPpgjMylVI/AAAAAAAAAkU/NO_XrRU5KXs/s1600-h/grainger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHPpgjMylVI/AAAAAAAAAkU/NO_XrRU5KXs/s320/grainger.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220773138466510162" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://pillowbook.co.uk/2008/07/06/my-favourite-chopin-recordings/" target="_blank">My favourite <b>Chopin</b> recordings</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Stephanie Delacey<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;">A nice post that's both entertaining, and well-researched, with audio to boot: "Here are my top ten Chopin recordings (all, interestingly enough, historical recordings made more than fifty years ago…):" In the Top 10: <a href="http://www.arbiterrecords.com/musicresourcecenter/lipatti.html">Dinu Lipatti</a>, <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Solomon.htm">Solomon</a>, <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Cortot-Alfred.htm">Alfred Cortot</a>, and even <a href="http://www.percygrainger.com/">Percy Grainge</a>r...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://pillowbook.co.uk/" title="http://pillowbook.co.uk" target="_blank"> Stephanie's Pillowbook - http://pillowbook.co.uk </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2117751031773997144?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-38246499411028506952008-07-06T17:02:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.683-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHIXYeNiScI/AAAAAAAAAj0/seg7yhBaWn8/s1600-h/sembrich.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHIXYeNiScI/AAAAAAAAAj0/seg7yhBaWn8/s320/sembrich.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220260627269962178" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/jul/06/0706_sembrich/" target="_blank"> ‘The Year of Sembrich’ features pianist Simon Mulligan as part of <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Schenectady Gazette - Schenectady,NY,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">News of a series of events marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Polish-American soprano and vocal instructor <a href="http://www.cantabile-subito.de/Sopranos/Sembrich__Marcella/hauptteil_sembrich__marcella.htm">Marcella Sembrich</a>, (1858-1935) sponsored by the <a href="http://www.operamuseum.org/">Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum</a> on the shores of Lake George, NY. "Programs will include works by composers she either knew personally or whose arias she sang — she took walks with Brahms and discussed the fine points of vocal production with Puccini."</p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">A Frederic Chopin Festival will be held from July 23 to 27. “It’s an apt time,” said <a href="http://www.schirmer.com/Default.aspx?TabId=2419&amp;State_2872=2&amp;composerId_2872=2847">Richard Wargo</a>, the museum’s artistic director and opera composer. “Sembrich was born 10 years after Chopin’s death. She was very particular to end her solo recitals with his ‘A Maiden’s Wish’, in which she sang and played piano. Because he was her compatriot, we thought him a likely composer to celebrate.” Both she and Chopin were Polish.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">Pianist <a href="http://www.simonmulligan.com/">Simon Mulligan</a> will set the tone of the season at his recital on Saturday, July 12, with a program that includes Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Lucia”, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin’s Ballade in G minor</span> and his “Raindrop” Prelude and Mulligan’s own transcription of Offenbach’s Barcarolle from “The Tales of Hoffman.”<br /><br />[...]<br /><br /></span><p><span style="font-size:100%;">The Chopin Festival (July 23 to 27) begins at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday with Ruth Albert Spencer’s talk on the liaison between the writer George Sand and Chopin. Pianist Christopher Johnson will also play.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">“It’s the scholarly approach as opposed to the Hollywood fanfare of the film ‘Impromptu,’ ” Wargo said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The 1991 movie will be shown at no charge that night at 7:30 p.m. in the Bolton Town Hall.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, pianist <a href="http://community.middlebury.edu/%7Efanning/">Diana Fanning</a> will play several solo Chopin works and with cellist Dieuke Davydov will play Chopin’s Cello Sonata and his Polonaise Brilliante. Johnson returns at 7:30 p.m. Friday with narrator Lindsay Gates, who will give a dramatic reading about Chopin’s affair with the singer <a href="http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/lind-jen.htm">Jenny Lind</a>, known as the Swedish Nightingale.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">In 1848, Chopin was broken in health and spirit after his breakup with Sand and took a trip to England and Scotland, where he met Lind.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">“She wanted to marry him, but Chopin felt it was too late,” Wargo said.</span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/jul/06/0706_sembrich/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin Videos:</span> </span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/2008/07/fchopin-valse-moll-chopin-pragnienie.html" target="_blank"> F.<b>Chopin</b> "Valse a moll" "<b>Chopin</b>-Pragnienie milosci"</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Daria(Daria)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/2008/07/fchopin-valse-moll-chopin-pragnienie.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SHIcc-FaPII/AAAAAAAAAj8/93lxYQ8baD8/s320/chopin+polka.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220266202103430274" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From the </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/2008/07/fchopin-valse-moll-chopin-pragnienie.html">Famous Polka Dancers and Musicians</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> blogsite, Chopin on the Squeezebox...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br />Frederic Chopin`s "Waltz in a minor", romantic music from the movie "Chopin: The need for love". Solo accordion <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xju6mEtNv4">Miroslaw Marks.</a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/" title="http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Famous Polka Dancers and Musicians - http://famouspolkadancers<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3824649941102850695?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-8798212705519026052008-06-24T03:47:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.689-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SGDTWo-u0sI/AAAAAAAAAjY/MiUgjSQVU7Y/s1600-h/book_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SGDTWo-u0sI/AAAAAAAAAjY/MiUgjSQVU7Y/s320/book_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215400754406150850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, &amp; Previews:<br /><br /></span></span> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/the-magazine/books/783056/flying-bison-and-half-a-cup-of-coffee.thtml" target="_blank"> Flying bison and half a cup of coffee</a></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Three out of four stars in this review in the UK Spectator of Michael Moran's much-discussed new book </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Country-Moon-Travels-Search-Poland/dp/1847080014/ref=pd_bbs_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1214304873&amp;sr=8-1">A Country in the Moon: Travels in the Heart of Poland.</a></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><br />The author’s uncle was a concert pianist who harboured a passion for Chopin. He extracted a deathbed promise from his nephew to ‘visit those places Chopin frequented as a young man . . . to better understand the patriotic roots of Chopin’s music’ and implored him ‘to scatter his ashes over the Mazovia plain near Chopin’s birthplace’. This was the genesis of the author’s engagement with Poland. [...]<br /><br />There is so much to admire in this well-researched and hugely entertaining book, and so much to learn. Certainly, I did not know that Poles regard their country as ‘the reincarnation of the suffering Christ’. That Schumann described Chopin’s music as ‘cannons hidden among flowers’. That the national composer of Poland left Poland at the age of 20, never to return. That Polish aristocrats once claimed descent from nomadic archers of Iranian stock related to the Scythians. That under communism, Poles could buy half a cup of coffee if they were too poor to afford a full cup. That many Poles hold that entry into the European Union was ‘the onset of moral decay’.</blockquote><b></b><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://www.spectator.co.uk/" title="http://www.spectator.co.uk" target="_blank">Spectator - The Magazine - http://www.spectator.co.uk </a></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> </p><span style="font-size:180%;"> </span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin Videos:<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://vintage.videosift.com/video/Alfred-Cortot-Great-Interpreter-of-Chopin" target="_blank">Alfred Cortot - Great Interpreter of <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:130%;">By Issykitty</span></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://vintage.videosift.com/video/Alfred-Cortot-Great-Interpreter-of-Chopin"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 288px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SGDUDEXMQHI/AAAAAAAAAjg/MygBdqnVPBU/s320/Picture+11.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215401517670744178" border="0" /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:130%;"> (<a href="http://issykitty.videosift.com/" target="_blank">http://issykitty.videosift.com</a>)</span><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">From a new video-sharing site called </span><a href="http://www.videosift.com/"><span style="font-style: italic;">Videosift: </span><span style="font-style: italic;">"He looked for the opium in music"</span> </a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://vintage.videosift.com/unsifted" title="http://vintage.videosift.com/unsifted" target="_blank"> http://vintage.videosift.com<wbr>/unsifted </a></span></span> </p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://ferrisguitar.com/blog/2008/06/18/frederic-chopin-1810-1849/" target="_blank"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Frédéric <b>Chopin</b> 1810-1849</span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:100%;" >By Administrator </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://ferrisguitar.com/blog" title="http://ferrisguitar.com/blog" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Great Composers and their Lives... - http://ferrisguitar.com/blog</span> </a></span></span> <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><br /></span></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Blog entry from a guitarist-turned-webucator regarding our man Chopin...</span></span><br /></p> <blockquote><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"><br />The first concerts that he gave abroad were in Vienna, Austria. He was charmed by life outside his country and eventually ended up leaving Poland for good, settling in France in 1831. His father was originally a Frenchman, hence the name he was given Frédéric Chopin.<br /></span></span><span lang="EN-GB"><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;">(*His name is pronounced by correctly reading the following in English accenting the bold print: fre der <strong>eek</strong> – shou <strong>pa</strong>)</span></span></blockquote><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-879821270551902605?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-53727590453318581812008-06-23T02:44:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.695-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF9y2oJXfII/AAAAAAAAAiQ/2B8ksMPhsKI/s1600-h/chopinheart.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF9y2oJXfII/AAAAAAAAAiQ/2B8ksMPhsKI/s320/chopinheart.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215013176333532290" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;" href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hlgSnrgcPV8f8GewQyE3O-QHRlzA" target="_blank"> In Poland, Chopin's heart may hold secret of his death</a> </span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;color:#666666;" >AFP -<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">"Leading Polish medical experts are betting that DNA tests on his heart -- perfectly preserved in what appears to be cognac -- could prove he suffered from cystic fibrosis." <span style="font-weight: bold;">But will they be successful in opening up to prove it</span>? </span><br /></p><p></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Their request to Poland's culture ministry for tissue samples to check for the CFTR gene marking cystic fibrosis sufferers has, however, sparked mixed feelings over the prospect of picking over a national icon.</blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>There, inside a crystal urn filled with alcohol lies Chopin's heart, brought home in 1849 -- as he had wished -- by his elder sister Ludwika from Paris, where the rest of his remains lie in the Pere Lachaise cemetery.</p><p>Leading Polish cystic fibrosis specialist Wojciech Cichy said the symptoms Chopin suffered throughout his life were typical of cystic fibrosis, a genetic illness which clogs the lungs with excess thick and sticky mucus.</p><p>"From early childhood he was weak, prone to chest infections, wheezing, coughing," Cichy said.</p><p>Records show that as an adult weighing 40 kilograms (about 88 pounds) at a height of 1.70 metres (five foot seven inches), Chopin was chronically underweight -- another telltale symptom of cystic fibrosis.</p><p>Cichy also pointed out that despite a passionate romance with flamboyant French writer George Sand, Chopin had no known children, suggesting infertility -- another telling clue. And few cystic fibrosis sufferers live past 40.</p><p>"If we can prove Chopin suffered from cystic fibrosis, it would be a huge inspiration for our patients, especially children, to know they can accomplish a great deal like he did," Cichy told AFP.</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b> <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hlgSnrgcPV8f8GewQyE3O-QHRlzA" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF90WDWt_oI/AAAAAAAAAiY/vgI678jf97Q/s1600-h/Picture+8.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF90WDWt_oI/AAAAAAAAAiY/vgI678jf97Q/s320/Picture+8.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215014815724863106" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.theunion.com/article/20080622/NEWS/198473782/1053/SPORTS&amp;parentprofile=-1" target="_blank">Promising pianists</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">The Union of Grass Valley - Grass Valley,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Panning for the next generation of gold-medal pianists in an old mining town. Is there any connection between Chopin's death and the California Gold Rush happening the same year (1849?)</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>Komendera is a Polish student attending the annual piano workshop offered by the Gold Country Piano Institute, a Nevada City non-profit.<br /><br />"It's great," Komendera said about the workshop. "It's another culture, another climate, beautiful instruments and great teachers."<br /><br />She also likes the charm of historic Nevada City.<br /><br />For the past nine years, the Piano Institute's workshop at the Miners Foundry has attracted piano students and instructors from across the globe.<br /><br />This is Komendera's second visit to Nevada City. She's a third-year student at The Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw.<br /><br />A $1,600 full-scholarship from Susan Costello, a patron of the Piano Institute, helped Komendera attend the workshop this year. A music group from Warsaw paid her airplane fare.</blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.theunion.com/article/20080622/NEWS/198473782/1053/SPORTS%26parentprofile%3D-1" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF94EWsRbjI/AAAAAAAAAig/5BpYzeSPydk/s1600-h/gwilym_simcock_02_milano2007.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF94EWsRbjI/AAAAAAAAAig/5BpYzeSPydk/s320/gwilym_simcock_02_milano2007.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215018909724405298" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/gwilym-simcock-the-prodigious-pianist-reveals-the-music-that-gets-his-fingers-twitching-850593.html" target="_blank"> Gwilym Simcock: The prodigious pianist reveals the music that gets <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >27-year-old genre-busting pianist <a href="http://www.gwilymsimcock.com/">Simcock</a> submits to a free-association session with UK paper: "The New Review has decided to challenge him to take us to the heart of That Simcock Thing: to name, and discuss while listening, six favourite pieces of piano music that have served to shape the multi-talented renaissance musician that he is today." In the Pick Six Mix: Grieg, <a href="http://www.johntaylorjazz.com/pages/johntaylor.html">John Taylor</a>, (English jazz pianist, not the former <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Taylor_%28Duran_Duran%29">Duran Duran bassist</a>) Keith Jarrett, Herbie Hancock, <a href="http://www.take6.com/">Take 6,</a> and our man Chopin....</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Chopin: "Fantasie Impromptu" </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"> "A few months ago I got asked to do a concert entirely based on the music of Chopin, and for once I said no, because I didn't know what to do with the music. It is so complete in itself as piano music. There's nowhere you can take it. In the past, I've worked on Shostakovich and Ravel projects because the elements of the music can be separated – you can remove the harmony or the melody or the ostinato [repeated musical motif] from a piece and do something else with it. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Chopin and Rachmaninov are the guys who wrote completely idiomatically for the instrument. All of Chopin is fantastic. I listened to it in the car when I was little, on a cassette, and before I knew anything about music I loved it. A year or so ago I went somewhere with my parents and I found all these old cassettes of music I used to listen to when I was nine or 10, and we listened to them again. I hear them in a completely different way now... There is beauty in Chopin, but there is also something else. It is profoundly impressive."</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/gwilym-simcock-the-prodigious-pianist-reveals-the-music-that-gets-his-fingers-twitching-850593.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5372759045331858181?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-63132136299420822992008-06-22T03:28:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.700-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin Videos:<br /></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2008/06/reilly_chopin_and_strayhorn.html" target="_blank"> Reilly, <b>Chopin</b> And Strayhorn</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">By Rifftides<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From jazz journalist Doug Ramsey's<a href="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/"> Rifftides</a> blog on Artsjournal.com, a fascinating performance by jazz pianist <a href="http://www.jackreillyjazz.com/">Jack Reilly</a>...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"> That led to a search that turned up video of Reilly in a performance that melds <b>Chopin</b> and Strayhorn. His subtle key changes are central to the fun and fascination. .</span></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPgOlH9d9u4&amp;eurl=http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/2008/06/reilly_chopin_and_strayhorn.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF97nzy501I/AAAAAAAAAio/-UaNIR859QQ/s320/Picture+9.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215022817367151442" border="0" /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/" title="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/" target="_blank"> Rifftides - http://www.artsjournal.com<wbr>/rifftides/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pl/chopincracow.html?dro=8702210;dva=10100" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/2008/06/horowitz-chopin.html" target="_blank"> Horowitz - <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">By David Berner(David Berner)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Vancouver BC talk show host/nascent politician posts video of Vladimir Horowitz playing a movment from Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 at the White House in 1986. For No. Apparent. Reason....<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYG-Q-TlC8E&amp;eurl=http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/2008/06/horowitz-chopin.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF99rKfD_UI/AAAAAAAAAi4/FCvku_8mpPU/s320/Picture+10.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215025074020810050" border="0" /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="color:green;"> </span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" title="http://thebernermonologues.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> David Talks/The Berner Monologues - http://thebernermonologues<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6313213629942082299?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-86728605129819220942008-06-21T03:46:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.705-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-DvEMo50I/AAAAAAAAAjA/EtA0Km9M8Lo/s1600-h/joejackson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-DvEMo50I/AAAAAAAAAjA/EtA0Km9M8Lo/s320/joejackson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215031738122168130" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/live_reviews/s/1054955_joe_jackson__bridgewater_hall" target="_blank"> Joe Jackson @ Bridgewater Hall</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Manchester Evening News - Manchester,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Raves for a live show - and new CD - by the "musically literate former Angry Young Man...: "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rain-bonus-DVD-Joe-Jackson/dp/B000WPNKIW">Rain</a> captures all that singular brew of bile and beauty which drove Jackson’s best work." - and apparently helps him find his inner Fryderyk...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>The centrepiece was the new song Solo (So Low), introduced by its creator as “a bit of a wrist-slasher, but it does have its funny side..or maybe that’s just me”. Yes it is just you, Joe, for what the hushed crowd heard was one of the most striking hymns to loneliness ever sung, Jackson’s grand piano underpinning his bleak poetry with something akin to a <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin piano study.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/live_reviews/s/1054955_joe_jackson__bridgewater_hall" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-E7Ot-2YI/AAAAAAAAAjI/voEtT6b2h5g/s1600-h/Ashley+Hsu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 176px; height: 213px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-E7Ot-2YI/AAAAAAAAAjI/voEtT6b2h5g/s320/Ashley+Hsu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215033046616430978" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.fremontbulletin.com/local/ci_9638258" target="_blank"> Sixteen-year-old Fremont grad goes on to Julliard</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Fremont Bulletin - California, United S<span style="font-style: italic;">tates</span></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Local girl Ashley Hsu is packing her bags for the big city, wich help from the Chopin Foundation...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><span id="site"> A talented pianist, Hsu has won multiple awards and scholarships, including a 2006-2007 scholarship from the Chopin Foundation of the United States for her performances of the works of Chopin. She is also the silver medalist in the 2008 Schimmel International Piano Competition where she competed against young artists from China, South Korea, Israel, Canada and other countries.</span></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.fremontbulletin.com/local/ci_9638258" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain?maindoc=6555569&amp;maindocimg=1734483&amp;service=94" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.ana.gr/anaweb/user/showplain%3Fmaindoc%3D6555569%26maindocimg%3D1734483%26service%3D94" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></span></span></p><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-GZyvZZCI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/eUSnKg0wFmY/s1600-h/character_chopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 246px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SF-GZyvZZCI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/eUSnKg0wFmY/s320/character_chopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5215034671193744418" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Could it be the start of a trend? Playing the Eternal Sonata video game is sparking interest in Chopin's compositions?</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://4-ch.net/music/kareha.pl/1206642876/" target="_blank"> oddly enough playing eternal sonata has got me into <b>Chopin</b> (3)</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By ♪ ☆ Anonymous Popstar ☆ ♪ </span><br />can anyone recommend some more songs from that stand out.<br /><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://4-ch.net/music/index.html" title="http://4-ch.net/music/index.html" target="_blank"> Music @4-ch - http://4-ch.net/music/index<wbr>.html</a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://amewsed.livejournal.com/2529.html" target="_blank">What's the story, morning glory? What's the word, humming bird?</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Mew(Mew) </span><br />As much fun as the battle system was and how freakin' pretty <b>Chopin</b> is was, the game was...a little lacking. I didn't feel too attached to the characters, the story seemed a bit rushed, and the plot was a bit boring. <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://amewsed.livejournal.com/" title="http://amewsed.livejournal.com/" target="_blank"> Mew - http://amewsed.livejournal.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://4-ch.net/music/index.html" title="http://4-ch.net/music/index.html" target="_blank"> </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://imperialhotelmanagementcollegestudent.blogspot.com/2008/04/culture-studies-classical-music-chopin.html" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://imperialhotelmanagementcollegestudent.blogspot.com/" title="http://imperialhotelmanagementcollegestudent.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8672860512981922094?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-4716012237395329172008-06-12T05:01:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.711-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SFEZWJTtnwI/AAAAAAAAAiI/HR5jZu98NvM/s1600-h/pollini8_243x199.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SFEZWJTtnwI/AAAAAAAAAiI/HR5jZu98NvM/s320/pollini8_243x199.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210974112090791682" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, and Reviews:</span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/06/12/bmpollini112.xml" target="_blank"> Maurizio Pollini: when inspiration flows through to the third encore</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >London critic finds the essence of the Italian artist's mastery in a brief Chopin etude:</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote><p class="story2">When everything clicks in a Maurizio Pollini recital, as it did here, it can be an absorbing, revelatory experience. This was a vintage example of his fascinating pianism, combining as it does a focused intellect with poetic sensibility, and a passion tempered by reason.</p><p class="story2">You do not expect, nor do you get, anything gratuitously extrovert with Pollini, and there was no more acute example of his essential poise and stylistic awareness than in his second encore, Chopin's famous Revolutionary Study. </p><p class="story2">Where some might launch headlong into it with barnstorming bravura, Pollini was more circumspect, not to the detriment of the music's drama but with a care for colour that went way beyond mere technical virtuosity. [...]</p><p class="story2">Thoroughly in his element, Pollini played Chopin's Four Mazurkas Op 33 with a breathtaking mix of wistful melancholy and rhythmic impetus. In the B minor Scherzo, as in the G minor Ballade given as the third encore, his inspiration flowed seamlessly.</p></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/06/12/bmpollini112.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"><br /></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23370443-details/Maurizio+Pollini/gigReview.do?reviewId=23493801" target="_blank"> Pollini's rare artistry is restricted</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">This is London - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Same recital, entirely different view from the Evening Standard critic....<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Undoubtedly one of the pianistic giants of his generation, Maurizio Pollini offers an increasingly frustrating experience in recital. Now in his mid-60s, he can still pack them in to the Festival Hall and bring them to their feet after three rousing encores. But a disengaged quality in his playing mars too much of what he does.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">[...]<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">It has to be said, though, that Pollini’s technical mastery is no longer unassailable. That insecurity may well account for the scrambled, vertiginous nature of virtuoso passages, such as those of Chopin’s Scherzo No 1 in B minor. There was some impressive playing here, too: Pollini’s tone is always ingratiating and there were many wonderfully nuanced moments. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">But once again expansive gestures were shunned, with the result that too much was flattened out and under-characterised</span></p></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/music/gig-23370443-details/Maurizio%2BPollini/gigReview.do%3FreviewId%3D23493801" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://blog.evanwilder.com/2008/06/chopin-is-the-only-ring-tone-for-you" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b> is the Only Ring Tone for You</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Evan<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>I have a custom ring tone setup on my cell phone when my bride Amanda calls. Yesterday at work I thought I heard her calling … but it was just the internet radio?! How could she call me through the internet radio?<br />My guess is that my cell phone’s built in melody #7 is actually a version of <a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Stanislav+Bunin/_/%C3%89tude+In+G+Flat+Op.10+No.5" target="_blank">Chopin’s </a><span class="sans"><a href="http://www.last.fm/music/Stanislav+Bunin/_/%C3%89tude+In+G+Flat+Op.10+No.5" target="_blank">Étude No. 5 in G-Flat Major “Black Keys</a>.” </span></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://blog.evanwilder.com/" title="http://blog.evanwilder.com" target="_blank"> Wild.er - http://blog.evanwilder.com </a></span></span> <p></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the YouTubeoSphere:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvm2ZsRv3C8" target="_blank"> YouTube - Yundi Li - <b>Chopin</b> "Fantasie" Impromptu, Op. 66</a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Professionally shot and released DG video of the </span></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp minor, Op. 66 No. 1...</span></span><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-471601223739532917?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-56015365324377603692008-06-11T04:41:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.716-07:00<p><a style="color: blue;" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121278089067452659.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank"><img src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PT-AI705_mprobb_20080604155055.jpg" alt="[Robbins ballet photo]" border="0" height="184" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, and Reviews:</span></span> <b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121278089067452659.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank">A Comedic Ballet With Legs</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Wall Street Journal - USA</span></span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">WSJ critic marvels at the staying power of Jerome Robbins' Chopinistic comedic creation....</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p class="times">"Death," one showbiz quip has it, "is easy; comedy is hard." However savvy Jerome Robbins might have been in the mid-1950s as a still-budding master of both musical-theater dances and of classical ballet, he could hardly have predicted the staying power of "The Concert," the comedic ballet he created to Chopin in 1956 and called "A Charade in One Act" and subtitled "The Perils of Everybody."</p> <p class="times">Once his hilarious take on would-be concertgoers hit its stride with a 1971 restaging for his home-base company, the New York City Ballet, "The Concert" showed itself to be a deathless ballet comedy. In recent years, over a dozen ballet companies nationally and internationally, including one in Perm, Russia, have eagerly performed the work....</p> <table style="width: 27px; height: 69px;" class="imglftbdy" align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr><td><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="medcrd"><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="medcptcrd"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121278089067452659.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;">Google Blogs Alert for: <b>chopin</b></span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/2008/06/robbins-chopin-at-nyc-ballet.html" target="_blank">Robbins &amp; Chopin at NYC Ballet</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By oberon481<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Dance-focused blogger's taken on the Chopin/Robbins night at the NYC Ballet:</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>I'm not sure an all-Chopin evening is a great idea; surely the most effective programmes are those that offer musical contrasts. But THE CONCERT was fun tonight with Sterling Hyltin showing a nice flair for comedy (and dancing very well) and several amusing character players including Andrew Veyette's henpecked, vengeful husband and Gwyneth Muller's priceless wife with her droll efforts to maintain a sense of decorum.<b></b><br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/" title="http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/" target="_blank"> Oberon's Grove - http://oberon481.typepad.com<wbr>/oberons_grove/ </a></span></span> </p><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Chopin in the Newsgroups:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings/2008-06/msg01064.html" target="_blank"> Kobrins 2005 <b>Chopin</b> Preludes</a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From the rec.music.classical newsgroup, a discussion on the merits of <a href="www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt3GLrv-EH8&amp;feature=related">Alexander Kobrin's Chopin</a> interpretations...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>Sure emphasizes the dark side, but very effective,original conceptions<br />seemingly not just for effect. He seems to empathize better with this more complex,subtle music than with the more<br />extroverted, emotional Rachmaninoff Etudes,IMHO. But this is<br />2005......</blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings" title="http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings" target="_blank"> newsgroups.derkeiler.com: rec.music.c... - http://newsgroups.derkeiler<wbr>.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music<wbr>.classical.recordings </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5601536532437760369?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-19609469883909732062008-06-10T14:34:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.722-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE7_MTW7E4I/AAAAAAAAAiA/ZF1ekEtm_rk/s1600-h/Picture+6.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE7_MTW7E4I/AAAAAAAAAiA/ZF1ekEtm_rk/s320/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210382405734175618" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nysun.com/arts/rafael-vinolys-musical-refuge/79619/" target="_blank"> Rafael Viñoly's Musical Refuge</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">New York Sun - United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The world-famous <a href="http://www.kimmelcenter.org/building/rvqa.php">concert-hall architect</a> somehow finds time to practice, practice, practice...</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /></p><p>The Uruguayan-born Mr. Viñoly is no mere collector. He is a bona fide musician who once contemplated a career as a pianist; he attended a music conservatory before switching fields, and knows how to finger those 88 ivories.</p> <p style="width: 600px;">"Amazingly, I should confess that I still do consider sitting down to work out something as it deserves to work out," he said. Scores by Beethoven, <a title="Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" href="http://www.nysun.com/related_results.php?term=Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart">Mozart</a>, Chopin, and Schumann clutter his pianos.<span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nysun.com/arts/rafael-vinolys-musical-refuge/79619/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/leblogdanne/2008/06/all-robbins.html" target="_blank"> All Robbins</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Philippe Boucher <br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Ballet-loving blogger goes to the Pacific Northwest Ballet program and finds more fulsome praise for Our Man Jerome and his unique take on Chopin...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> </p><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>In the Night </strong>was stunning set to the Nocturnes of Frederic Chopin, my favorite composer. Nocturne in F minor Op. 55 was played (a piece that I know how to play). What the program said about In the Night: Jerome Robbins' rapturous In the Night features three couples, in varying stages of relationships, who eventually meet in a dance for six. Each couple's pas de deux possesses a distinct character and in the end, all drift offstage in each others' arms like stars fading at dawn. Mesmerizing.<br /> Last, but definetly not least <strong>The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody): </strong><em>A Charade in One Act.</em>It was just hilarious and gorgeous. The curtain lifts up and we see another curtain with a drawing by Edward Gorey. It lifts again. An empty stage with a grand piano to the left. From the right comes the pianist....<b></b><br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/leblogdanne/" title="http://blogsofbainbridge.typepad.com/leblogdanne/" target="_blank"> Le blog d'Anne - http://blogsofbainbridge<wbr>.typepad.com/leblogdanne/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.wuol.org/CMS/?p=11448" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://www.wuol.org/CMS" title="http://www.wuol.org/CMS" target="_blank"> </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.mentalhealthnotes.com/2008/06/09/celebrities-and-depression/" target="_blank"> Celebrities and Depression</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">By Alicia Sparks, NAMI Affiliation Leader</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">It's "Celebrity Health Week" on the Mental Health Notes blogstie, and Fryderyk finds himself A-listed on the Celebrity Depression List amongs Buzz Aldrin and Abe Lincoln...though what is this composition called "Nocturne" she speaks of?</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"></span></p><blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"> </span><strong>Frederic Chopin</strong>, often regarded as the greatest Polish composer (I absolutely love Nocturne and am, as a matter of fact, listening to it right now) battled depression before his death 1849.<b></b><br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.mentalhealthnotes.com/" title="http://www.mentalhealthnotes.com" target="_blank"> Mental Health Notes - http://www.mentalhealthnotes<wbr>.com </a></span></span> </p><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1960946988390973206?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-54181821338828646772008-06-08T14:33:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.728-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE73a29RLcI/AAAAAAAAAhw/wRKtB_KUZqk/s1600-h/warsawspies.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE73a29RLcI/AAAAAAAAAhw/wRKtB_KUZqk/s320/warsawspies.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210373859715395010" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, and Reviews:<br /></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-book7-2008jun07,0,5946551.story" target="_blank"> 'The Spies of Warsaw' by Alan Furst</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Los Angeles Times - CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">"</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Furst's books are like Chopin's nocturnes: timeless, transcendent, universal. One does not so much read them as fall under their spell and to fall in love with those Romantic impulses that compel men and women to act beyond their self-interests."</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>And, like Chopin, Furst is a Romantic. Regardless of their gender or nationalities, his characters share one immutable trait: a heroic belief in the transformative power of love, whether for a nation, an ideal or another human being.<br /><br />"The Spies of Warsaw" is Furst's 10th novel. Like the others, it involves the work of European spies in the 1930s and '40s. Few writers tread such a narrow path so often. Fewer still do it without repeating themselves. Furst's genius is to revisit the same era and character types while making each journey new and fascinating.</blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.latimes.com/features/books/la-et-book7-2008jun07,0,5946551.story" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121275996822651845.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank"> Author Q&amp;A</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Wall Street Journal - USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">No reference to Chopin, but a fascinating Q &amp; A with author <a href="http://www.alanfurst.net/">Alan Furst</a>...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p class="times"><span style="font-size:100%;">In Alan Furst's newly published espionage novel, "The Spies of Warsaw," he paints a convincing portrait of Europe in 1937, told in part through the eyes of a French military attaché. That Mr. Furst's book is atmospheric, convincing and filled with twists and turns will hardly surprise readers of his nine earlier spy books such as "Night Soldiers" and "Kingdom of Shadows."</span></p> <p class="times"><span style="font-size:100%;">Mr. Furst, 67 years old, turned to espionage after writing four earlier novels that didn't sell. A Manhattan native, Mr. Furst lives in Sag Harbor, N.Y., and periodically in Paris. He estimates he has lived in France for roughly 10 years of his life.</span></p></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121275996822651845.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/east-riding-leisure-news/At-the-organ-and-the.4160182.jp" target="_blank"> </a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE76AxNtmvI/AAAAAAAAAh4/mvhWk4LUMyE/s1600-h/concert.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE76AxNtmvI/AAAAAAAAAh4/mvhWk4LUMyE/s320/concert.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210376710032038642" border="0" /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.driffieldtoday.co.uk/east-riding-leisure-news/At-the-organ-and-the.4160182.jp" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/arts/dance/06nycb.html?ref=dance" target="_blank"> A Night for Robbins to Give <b>Chopin</b> a Twirl or Three</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">New York Times - United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">This seems to be shaping up as the Year of Jerome Robbins...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/person/108432/Jerome-Robbins?inline=nyt-per" title="">J<span style="font-weight: bold;">erome Robbins</span></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> would remain one of the most diverse, successful and appealing choreographers of all time if he had never set anything to the music of Chopin. Yet to imagine ballet without Robbins’s Chopin works is to imagine a painful diminution.</span> Though the current Robbins retrospective from <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_city_ballet/index.html?inline=nyt-org" title="More articles about the New York City Ballet.">New York City Ballet</a> has been successfully under way for over a month, its “Definitive Chopin” program, which opened on Wednesday night at the State Theater, brings us closer to the choreographer’s heart than any other evening this season.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"> The program contains just three ballets. (Robbins’s “In the Night,” to Chopin nocturnes, was part of a separate bill that went out of repertory Thursday night.) It begins with a film clip of Robbins in 1990 rehearsing Darci Kistler in his first Chopin work, “The Concert” (1956). She’s really good, but he’s much better, wonderfully funny in the way the music makes him go weak at the knees: not an immediate collapse, but a rich, rippling-through-the-body plunge...</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/06/arts/dance/06nycb.html%3Fref%3Ddance" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5418182133882864677?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-54879800018592325602008-06-06T08:13:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.734-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE7mHrUlePI/AAAAAAAAAho/4eYuZEqtUzY/s1600-h/dc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SE7mHrUlePI/AAAAAAAAAho/4eYuZEqtUzY/s320/dc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5210354838476781810" border="0" /></a><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings/2008-06/msg00490.html" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the blogosphere: </span></span><br /><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://nahnopenotquite.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/robbins-definitive-chopin/" target="_blank"> Robbins’s Definitive <b>Chopin</b> at the NYC Ballet</a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By nahnopenotquite </span><br /><span style="color:green;"><br /></span></span><p></p><blockquote><p>The <a href="http://nahnopenotquite.wordpress.com/2008/05/02/jerome-robbins-celebration/">Jerome Robbins Celebration</a> for the 2008 spring season at the New York City Ballet is on now. I saw a program last night called <em>Definitive Chopin</em> that consisted of three pieces set to the music of, uh, Frederic Chopin (who else?).</p> <p>It is hard to me to overstate how much I loved this performance. Dance is the highest expression of human physicality, the absolute apotheosis of human grace and beauty. You can see why men were always falling in love with prima ballerinas in 19th century novels. Ballet is pure elevation of the female form, so feminine, so seductive, so… The dance exults in the human body, and the dancers perform with such strength and skill that I left the theater amazed and elated. I kid you not. It was genuinely sublime.</p></blockquote><p></p><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://nahnopenotquite.wordpress.com/" title="http://nahnopenotquite.wordpress.com" target="_blank">Nah, Nope, Not Quite - http://nahnopenotquite.wordpres<wbr>s.com</a><br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://thechroniclesofastudentpianist.blogspot.com/2008/06/prelude-in-c-minor-frdric-chopin.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin Videos:</span></span></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://thechroniclesofastudentpianist.blogspot.com/2008/06/prelude-in-c-minor-frdric-chopin.html" target="_blank"> Prelude in C Minor, Frédéric <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Hari Ram Narayanan(Hari Ram Narayanan)</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From a blog called "Chronicle of a Student Pianist..."</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"></span><br /><blockquote> Frédéric <b>Chopin</b> referred to as "the poet of the piano", is a polish composer. He composed almost exclusively for the piano. This piece is from his set of 24 preludes, each of which is composed in a different key. <b>...</b></blockquote><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://thechroniclesofastudentpianist.blogspot.com/" title="http://thechroniclesofastudentpianist.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> The Chronicles of a Student Pianist - http://thechroniclesofastudentp<wbr>ianist.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><br /><span style=""><b></b></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5487980001859232560?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-43386764597457359952008-06-05T06:44:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.740-07:00<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><br /><b></b></span> <p style="width: 600px;"> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgE0JbyxcI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Q-OqffhoYfI/s1600-h/PiersLane160.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgE0JbyxcI/AAAAAAAAAhg/Q-OqffhoYfI/s320/PiersLane160.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208418262986180034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=18&amp;objectid=10514396" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=18&amp;objectid=10514396" target="_blank"> Preview: Playing a fugue of his favourite things</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">New Zealand Herald - New Zealand</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Aussie pianist <a href="http://www.pierslane.com/">Piers Lane</a> prepares to play a "friendly" in neighboring New Zealand...Chopin friends and colleagues <a href="http://www.alkansociety.org/">Charles Alkan</a> and Liszt, not to mention Liszt's student <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_d%27Albert">Eugene d'Albert</a> are represented in the first half; Chopin after intermission....</span></span></p><p></p><blockquote><p>The second half of Tuesday's programme will be the complete cycle of Chopin Preludes, a rare privilege in this part of the world. "Everybody knows certain of the Preludes, but there are others that people won't recognise, as you don't get to hear them apart from as part of the whole set," Lane says. "They are a wonderful kaleidoscope of ideas and emotions and it's extraordinary to hear how Chopin feels about each major and minor key on the piano because he goes through all 24 just as Bach did in his Well-Tempered Clavier."</p><p>Lane says he likes stories about the composers he plays and has thought about how Chopin might have played his own music. "Later in his life, he was frail. When he played in England towards the end, they complained they couldn't hear him at the back of the concert hall. In fact, his main criticism of other pianists was that they made the piano bark like dogs. He didn't like big-scale playing. His style was an intimate one; he drew people in rather than going out to meet them."</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm%3Fc_id%3D18%26objectid%3D10514396" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgEnZy9cHI/AAAAAAAAAhY/jQCLp_OP8zI/s1600-h/full.999132pipers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgEnZy9cHI/AAAAAAAAAhY/jQCLp_OP8zI/s320/full.999132pipers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208418044040015986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2316711.0.Glasgow_team_piped_into_Paris_to_bid_for_role_as_City_of_Music.php" target="_blank"> Glasgow team piped into Paris to bid for role as City of Music</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">The Herald - Glasgow,Scotland,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >More on the Glaswegan's bid to become a UNESCO City of Music...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><b></b><blockquote><b>...</b> only nationally but internationally - Mendelsohn visited and was inspired by Scotland's landscapes, and <b>Chopin</b> took his first train ride in the city. <b>...</b></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.2316711.0.Glasgow_team_piped_into_Paris_to_bid_for_role_as_City_of_Music.php" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=18&amp;objectid=10514396" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm%3Fc_id%3D18%26objectid%3D10514396" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080604005341/en" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080604005341/en" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080604005341/en" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080604005341/en" target="_blank"> Audible.com Wins Audiobook of the Year: The <b>Chopin</b> Manuscript <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Business Wire (press release) - San Francisco,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Multiple articles abound...</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote>The Audie Award judges heralded the many innovative and collaborative aspects of The <b>Chopin</b> Manuscript, an original work that has continued to win praise <b>...</b></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080604005341/en" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.ecocoma.com/news.aspx?id=449532913" target="_blank"> Audible.com Wins Audiobook of the Year: The <b>Chopin</b> Manuscript <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""> NEWARK, NJ----The leading provider of premium digital spoken audio information and entertainment, Audible, Inc., an Amazon.com, Inc. subsidiary , today announced the groundbreaking, original novel The <b>Chopin</b> Manuscript has been named <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.ecocoma.com/" title="http://www.ecocoma.com" target="_blank"> eCocoma Web Consultant - Web... - http://www.ecocoma.com </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4338676459745735995?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-30561002166865151632008-06-04T05:48:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.747-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgAFWfLvhI/AAAAAAAAAhI/oc-0BEKAXhQ/s1600-h/glasgowintro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgAFWfLvhI/AAAAAAAAAhI/oc-0BEKAXhQ/s320/glasgowintro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208413060989697554" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Views, Reveiws and Previews:</span><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article4061769.ece" target="_blank"> Musical home of <b>Chopin</b>, Mendelssohn and Lou Reed? It's Glasgow, of Course! </a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Times Online - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Glasgow civic officials are in Paris on a mission to convince UNESCO that the city deserves world City of Music status..."</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><p> Making his city's case, Mr Winter himself pointed out that <span style="font-weight: bold;">Frédéric Chopin</span>, the great composer, is said to have taken his first train ride in Glasgow, while his contemporary, Felix Mendelssohn, had been inspired by the countryside nearby - or to be more precise, Fingal's Cave on the Island of Staffa, more than 100 miles to the northwest. </p> The bid document itself employed an unashamedly broad and colourful brush to the city's musical heritage. Vienna had Mozart and Beethoven; New Orleans had jazz; but Glasgow cites artists ancient and modern including Simple Minds, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Clare Grogan and (to the confusion of any Austrians at the Unesco reception) Franz Ferdinand. Some of those name-checked were only visitors to the city, including the Move (from Birmingham), Oasis (Manchester) and Lou Reed (New York)</blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/article4061769.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgDsRgEPZI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/nkaFW97Bx9s/s1600-h/eternal%2Bsonata.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 157px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEgDsRgEPZI/AAAAAAAAAhQ/nkaFW97Bx9s/s320/eternal%2Bsonata.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5208417028201004434" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://ps3.thegamereviews.com/story-1104-Thus-Far-PS3-Eternal-Sonata-Exclusive-to-Japan.html" target="_blank"> Thus Far, PS3 Eternal Sonata Exclusive to Japan</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Game Reviews - Phoenix,AZ,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Want to play the acclaimed <a href="http://thegamereviews.com/article-590-Eternal-Sonata-Review-.html">Chopin-flavored video game</a> on something besides an xBox? Rotsa ruck...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>PS3 owners/lovers of eccentric RPGs based on the delusions of a dying composer are out of luck, unless you live in the Land of the Rising Sun that is. A <a class="content" href="http://kotaku.com/5012522/no-plans-for-us-ps3-eternal-sonata-release-at-the-moment">Namco Bandai US spokesperson has stated</a> that the PS3 version of Eternal Sonata, the RPG based on the fictional world dreamed up by a fever-wracked Chopin on his deathbed, "is only announced for... Japan right now."<b></b><br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://ps3.thegamereviews.com/story-1104-Thus-Far-PS3-Eternal-Sonata-Exclusive-to-Japan.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.wdsu.com/news/16463973/detail.html" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:+1;" >Chopin-related podcasts:</span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.kuow.org/podcast/SoundFocus20080603.mp3" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> to Dr. Dre: The Sounds of the Carillon</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By <a href="mailto:webhelp@kuow.org" target="_blank">webhelp@kuow.org</a> (KUOW 94.9 Public Radio)<br /></span></span></p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Seattle public radio profile of "Carillonist" Charlotte Dyke, and her choice of music for the University of Washington's set of bells...</span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">If you walk the UW campus on a weekday morning, you'll hear a tradition that is nearly 100 years old. There are tuned bells called the carillon. We meet a student who plays everything from Mozart to hip hop. <b>...</b></span></blockquote><b></b><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://programs/sound_focus.asp" title="/programs/sound_focus.asp" target="_blank"> Sound Focus Podcast - /programs/sound_focus.asp </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977360749&amp;grpId=3659174697247372&amp;nav=Groupspace" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3056100216686515163?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-54646770974431764592008-06-03T05:27:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.753-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEU6po4taII/AAAAAAAAAhA/rgRsV5rNGjw/s1600-h/profCichy_01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEU6po4taII/AAAAAAAAAhA/rgRsV5rNGjw/s320/profCichy_01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207633031148169346" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin CSI News:<br /></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul83802_Chopin_did_not_die_of_TB.html" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b> did not die of TB</a><br /></span> <span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Polish Radio External Service - Poland</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">It was </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis">Cystic Fibrosis</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (not classified as a disease until 1932) that felled him, according to professor</span></span></span><b style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://ecorn-cf.eu/index.php?id=120">Wojciech Cichy </a>of the Medical University in Poznan </b><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span>..</span><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><div id="news" class="news"><b></b><span class="desc"><p> </p> <p>According to Professor Cichy, the presence of nodules on the surface of the composer’s heart, cited in the autopsy report, could be a symptom of the disease, which is a genetic disorder affecting primarily the lungs. Also, the medical history of members of Chopin's immediate family supports this theory: two of his three sisters died of lung diseases, and the youngest one, who was of very fragile health, died at the age of 15. Chopin died at 39. </p> <p>Cystic fibrosis and its genetic ramifications were not fully described until 1932, 83 years after his death. Professor Cichy’s team hopes to be able to carry out further genetic research on the basis of the material taken from the remains of Emilia Chopin, who was buried at Warsaw’s Powazki Cemetery.<br /></p></span> </div></blockquote><b></b><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/zagranica/news/artykul83802_Chopin_did_not_die_of_TB.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.patriciaebauer.com/2008/06/02/polish-professor-chopin-had-cystic-fibrosis/" target="_blank"> Polish professor: <b>Chopin</b> had cystic fibrosis</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Patricia Bauer </span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Fuller account of the story from a blogsite devoted to disability Issues...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><b><blockquote><p style="font-weight: normal;">A <a href="http://jay.au.poznan.pl/html1/JAG/pdfy/2003_Volume_44/2003_Volume_44_1-77-84.pdf" target="_blank">review article in the Journal of Applied Genetics</a> in 2003 concluded that CF was a “probable cause” of Chopin’s death. The authors called for more research on the subject:</p> <blockquote style="font-weight: normal; font-style: italic;"><p>Is it justifiable to deepen our knowledge about the great Polish composer, but foremost to give hope and meaning to those who nowadays suffer from genetically inherited disorders? Is it not right to make an attempt to prove to many suffering people that many things count in life much more than a weak physical body, and that they are not predestined to vanish without leaving something that will influence, inspire and enrich the generations to come?</p></blockquote></blockquote></b></span><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.patriciaebauer.com/" title="http://www.patriciaebauer.com" target="_blank"> Disability News | PatriciaEBauer.com - http://www.patriciaebauer.com </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5464677097443176459?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-81343475026613352562008-06-02T08:07:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.763-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQUK44taHI/AAAAAAAAAg4/nzhCRmHvVL0/s1600-h/chopinmanuscript.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQUK44taHI/AAAAAAAAAg4/nzhCRmHvVL0/s320/chopinmanuscript.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207309246448625778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Chopin News, Views, Reviews, and Previews:<br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> </p> <p style="width: 600px;font-family:arial;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/241470" target="_blank"> '<b>Chopin</b> Manuscript' wins top Audie</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Arizona Daily Star - Tucson,AZ,USA</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">And the winner is... The <a href="http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/theaudies/">Audie Awards</a> (the so-called "Oscars of the Audiobook Industry") hand out the top prize to <a href="http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/showreview_pub.cfm?Num=32799">The Chopin Manuscript</a> -- a "serial thriller" named <a href="http://www.audiofilemagazine.com/theaudies/aboty.html">Audiobook of the Year</a>at the 13th annual Audie Awards banquet Friday in Los Angeles.</span> </p> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote> But don't go looking for "The Chopin Manuscript" on the bookshelf.<br /></blockquote> </span></div> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote> <div><span style="font-size:100%;">There is no print version. </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />For the first time ever, the top audio production is available only as a download from its producer, Audible Inc. Read by Alfred Molina, this World War II-era thriller revolves around the search for a document that may or may not have been connected to composer Frederic Chopin. </span></div> <div><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />It is reported to have been hidden by the Nazis in Kosova. Nine best-selling mystery-thriller writers, headed by Jeffery Deaver, wrote "The Chopin Manuscript," which came out in serial form starting last September. This is very much the way Stephen King's "The Green Mile" debuted in 1996. </span></div> </blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/241470" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-590-Eternal-Sonata-Review-.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQQIo4taGI/AAAAAAAAAgw/3pbjQYimVlk/s1600-h/eternal+sonata.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQQIo4taGI/AAAAAAAAAgw/3pbjQYimVlk/s320/eternal+sonata.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207304809747408994" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-590-Eternal-Sonata-Review-.html" target="_blank"> Eternal Sonata Review</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Game Reviews - Phoenix,AZ,USA</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The Chopin-based video game gets high praise from the major game-review site TGM (8.5/10 overall)</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span class="content"><span style="font-size:100%;">Eternal Sonata, developed by Japanese studio tri-Crescendo and published by Namco, is a JRPG with a difference. I<span style="font-weight: bold;">t takes you on the final journey of famed Polish classical pianist Frederic Chopin through his final dream when lying in his bed just before dying in his house in Paris in 1849. </span>It won’t come as a surprise to learn that the design team behind this captivating game are all musicians. Hiroya Hatsushiba is an audio programmer who has worked with fellow tri-Crescendo founder Motoi Sakuraba, who is in fact a composer, on many other JRPG’s including the likes off Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile for parent studio tri-Ace.<br /><br />Eternal Sonata is one of those rare and wonderful games completely based on musical history. Throughout the game you will hear wonderful music from the famed pianist that the game is based on. In addition, there are some original songs that round off an amazing soundtrack....</span></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thegamereviews.com/article-590-Eternal-Sonata-Review-.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/classical/365244_pnb31q.html" target="_blank"> All-Robbins program doesn't miss a step</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;color:#666666;">Seattle Post Intelligencer - USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Another rave review for the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.pnb.org/">Pacific Northwest Ballet</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> production of two Chopin-based Jerome Robbins creations: "Into the Night, and "The Concert:"<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>One of the opening gambits of Peter Boal, as PNB artistic director, was "In the Night." It is among Robbins' most memorable ballets for its limpid moodiness and subtle shifts of tone. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Three couples dance to Chopin's evanescent nocturnes, played with nuance by pianist Dianne Chilgren. </span>The first is young and perfect; the second more formal and restrained, and the third restless and troubled. Pantastico and Olivier Wevers, who danced in the original cast, repeated their performances. They were a perfect realization of idealized love. The second couple, Ariana Lallone and Stanko Milov, were new to the roles, at least to me. They are a distinctive couple, and they offered distinctive dancing. The action of the third couple is realized more with the woman than the man. Nadeau, who danced in the original cast, was turbulent yet appealing. Karol Cruz was her able partner.</p> <p>"The Concert" was given its PNB premiere at the fall gala. It was a sensation then and is so now. There is so much that is amusing or outright hilarious. It is supposed to be a parody of a concert, thus the name, but goes so far beyond those perimeters that one easily forgets the premise....</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/classical/365244_pnb31q.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic, including</span></a></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://seattlest.com/2008/05/30/all_robbins_sho.php" target="_blank"> All Robbins Showcases PNB's Acting Chops</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Seattlest - Seattle,USA</span></span></p><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></span></span></p><p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/2008/05/best-audio-book.html" target="_blank"> Best Audio Book Of The Year</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By M.J. Rose <br /></span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Amazement at the Chopin Manuscript victory: "As one of our esteemed authors said - beating God and Harry Potter is one thing -- but beating <a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/the_colbert_report/index.jhtml">Colbert</a>? Now that's impressive."</p><p><span style="font-size:-1;"> The <b>Chopin</b> Manuscript is an original serialized thriller created exclusively for audio by a stellar list of thriller writers -- for a joint project between Audible.com and ITW - a project that Steve Feldber and I only imagined would <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/" title="http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/" target="_blank"> Buzz, Balls &amp; Hype - http://mjroseblog.typepad.com<wbr>/buzz_balls_hype/</a></span></span><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /><b></b></span></p><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8134347502661335256?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-22060543548668210302008-05-31T05:55:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.773-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQIW44taFI/AAAAAAAAAgo/U2_zwN0c5ak/s1600-h/chopinrobbins.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEQIW44taFI/AAAAAAAAAgo/U2_zwN0c5ak/s320/chopinrobbins.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5207296258467522642" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Views, Reviews, and Previews:<br /><b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004448365_pnb31.html" target="_blank"> "All Robbins" is all pleasure at PNB</a><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Seattle Times - United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The <a href="http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&amp;entitY_id=3792&amp;source_type=A">Jerome Robbins</a> Chopin-dance fever juggurnaut rumbles on in Seattle, with acclaimed productions by <a href="http://www.pnb.org/">Pacific Northwest Ballet</a> of "The Concert" and "In The Night."</span><br /></p>Making its PNB premiere, Robbins' 1956 comic work <span style="font-weight: bold;">"The Concert" is set to sedate piano works by Chopin</span>, played onstage by <a href="http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20030803&amp;slug=behind03">Dianne Chilgren</a> 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. <p>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.</p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">"In the Night" is also set to Chopin </span>(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.<br /><span style=""><br /><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2004448365_pnb31.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"> <span style="font-size:180%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.euractiv.com/en/opinion/eu-quest-meaning-europe-final-goals/article-172880" target="_blank"><br /></a></span><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin Downloads of Apparent Legality:</span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://fastcase.blogspot.com/2008/05/free-download-of-week-chopins-nocturne_30.html" target="_blank">Free Download of the Week: <b>Chopin's</b> Nocturne No. 1 in B Flat Minor <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Laura(Michael)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From the new site <a href="http://www.musopen.com/">Musopen</a>, boasting "copyright free classical music."<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>In the mood for a more melancholy tune? Take advantage of music in the public domain and download this beautiful piece by <b>Chopin</b>, courtesy of Musopen.com. Click to download <b>Chopin's</b> Nocturne No.1 in B Flat Minor, Op.9 <b>...</b></blockquote><b></b></span><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://fastcase.blogspot.com/" title="http://fastcase.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Fastcase - Accelerated Legal Research - http://fastcase.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=200383" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/" title="http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com" target="_blank"> </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2206054354866821030?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-24845873818782998742008-05-30T17:55:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.783-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEC5q44taEI/AAAAAAAAAgg/4jSYp0QX2jI/s1600-h/perelachaise.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SEC5q44taEI/AAAAAAAAAgg/4jSYp0QX2jI/s320/perelachaise.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206365315716180034" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700230058,00.html" target="_blank"> 'Forever' captures architecture, 'personality' of French cemetery</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Deseret News - Salt Lake City,UT,USA</span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">"To be honest, a 90-minute documentary about a cemetery sounds — at least on paper — about as exciting as spending 90 minutes in a cemetery. But surprisingly, <a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0906743/">Foreve</a><a href="http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0906743/">r</a> turns out to be a much-better film than that would suggest....."</p><p></p><blockquote><p> Director Heddy Honigmann and cinematographer Robert Alazraki spend much of the 90 minutes capturing the architecture and "personality" of said cemetery, which turns out to be <a href="http://www.pere-lachaise.com/">Pere-Lachaise</a> in France.</p><p style="width: 600px;"> For those who don't know, the cemetery is the final resting place of such luminaries as Doors frontman Jim Morrison, composer Frederic Chopin, cinematic trickster Georges Melies, actress Simone Signoret, author and critic Marcel Proust, and many, many others.<br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700230058,00.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><p></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin-related Downloads:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=54504" target="_blank"> 9. PIANO FILLS—<b>CHOPIN</b> INTRO 2.aif by hammerklavier</a></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">From the <a href="http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/">Free Sound Project</a> website, a Chopin-flavored offering...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><blockquote><table><tbody><tr><td><br /></td> </tr> <tr> <th style="width: 150px;"><br /></th> <td> Another improvised opening (by me) in the style of Chopin or Liszt. Very florid and purposely fiery. Recorded some years back---has some tinniness and distortions. Slightly processed to overcome them...</td></tr></tbody></table></blockquote></span><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/" title="http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/" target="_blank"> The Freesound Project - http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2484587381878299874?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-15174871667570699772008-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.789-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECoD44tZ_I/AAAAAAAAAf4/zgsabGA4rUw/s1600-h/hallbook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECoD44tZ_I/AAAAAAAAAf4/zgsabGA4rUw/s320/hallbook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206345954003609586" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"> </a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank">The scared boy who dreamed... and the man who triumphed</a><br /></span> <span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Yorkshire Post - Leeds,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Approving profile of Yorkshire pianist-turned-textile-magnate-turned-arts-</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >developer-turned-philanthropist <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/7i3t8/">Sir Ernest Hall</a>, developer of the renowned <a href="http://www.deanclough.com/">Dean Clough</a> arts and business complex, upon the publication of his memoir "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Failure-Succeed-Ernest-Hall/dp/customer-reviews/1846241634">How to Be a Failure and Succeed</a>."</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >What lies ahead for him conquer? A certain composer...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The story of Dean Clough (he retired as chairman this year) will be told in a second book, which he hopes to finish by the end of the year. "But I'm very busy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">I've still got the Chopin project,</span>" he says, with enthusiasm. It has long been his ambition to record the complete works of Chopin – 14 CDs in all, of which he has so far recorded seven. He plans to complete the project in time for the bicentenary of Chopin's birth, in 1810. "I shall be 80 years old," he says. At 78, he's still reaching, still transcending boundaries. "Dreams of achievement have an amazing power in your life," he says. "You find that you are elevated by ambition itself."</span></blockquote></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECpY44taAI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2pOB6UX8x4M/s1600-h/chris_hess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECpY44taAI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2pOB6UX8x4M/s320/chris_hess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206347414292490242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Concerts_at_the_Cadillac_Piano_for_the_People_by_Chris_Hess_5711.html" target="_blank"> Concerts at the Cadillac: "Piano for the People" by Chris Hess</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Beyond Chron - San Francisco,CA,USA</span></span></p><p face="arial" style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;">If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to visit the <a href="http://www.noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf176.asp">Cadillac Hotel</a>, for a concert called <span class="maintext">"Piano for the People: a Classical Piano Concert for Non-Classical Listeners."</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span class="maintext" style="font-size:100%;"> Chris will connect music written from 1840-1960 with the present day Tenderloin to excite and educate a general audience. Chris will play Chopin, Rachmaninoff and other romantic composers, interspersed with personal stories. For example, he will syncopate different rhythms in the right and left hands, show you how, and explain why it builds community.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Concerts_at_the_Cadillac_Piano_for_the_People_by_Chris_Hess_5711.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECtBI4taBI/AAAAAAAAAgI/aavLknX0LCI/s1600-h/fliter3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 217px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECtBI4taBI/AAAAAAAAAgI/aavLknX0LCI/s320/fliter3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206351404317108242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=105581" target="_blank"> MKM Attila ilhan Hall / Ingrid Fliter / 8:00 pm</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Turkish Daily News (subscription) - Ankara,Turkey</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No day is complete her at the Chopin Currency without an <a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter</a> posting, today in advance of an appearance at the </span>Caddebostan Culture Center with the <a href="http://www.borusansanat.com/en/orchestra/bipo_info.aspx">Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra</a><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">"Chopin's music has been one of the great standards of the classical repertoire for generations, and many audiences have enjoyed hearing it played well; however, and especially in this unique class of the art, there is to be found a rare, untouchable nuance that speaks directly to the heart," as Fliter says, "and it is truly an extremely rare artist who can well demonstrate this treasure." She is in love with her work, and it is her love that gives life to her art, so much appreciated by the public.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php%3Fenewsid%3D105581" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECuBI4taCI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/1xjjAu5yNMI/s1600-h/kapellredisc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECuBI4taCI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/1xjjAu5yNMI/s320/kapellredisc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206352503828736034" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4252" target="_blank"> Kapell Rediscovered: The Australian Broadcasts - 2-CD set</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Audiophile Audition - USA</span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" class="summary">Typically thoughtful (if a bit wordy!) review from esteemed online publication that nonetheless pithily summarizes the new-old release from the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kapell">William Kapell</a>: "Collectors will listen to it often, in spite of the sonic defects that make some moments almost unbearable...</p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote> Kapell always performed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin </span>as a strong suit, and I remain fond of the B Minor Sonata and several of his<em> mazurkas</em>, the Op. 50, No. 3 in particular. His <em>Barcarolle</em> opens with massive chords and flamboyant ornaments; nothing effeminate in those trills. The gondolier’s waves become Charybdis and could swallow the world. The comeliness and confidence of the piece--the ease of period transitions--shine through despite grim sonic reproduction. The E-flat Major Nocturne has Ignaz Friedman as its champion, but Kapell finds his own treasures in its pearly, unhurried elegance, several times hinting at the E Minor Nocturne, Op. 72, No. 1. Brilliance and blazing speed of the Horowitz order for the pounding <em>Scherzo in B Minor</em>, whose middle section lullaby Kapell softens the entire ethos, permitting the polyphonic voices their blessed, embowered noels. The two stunning <em>da capo</em> chords and the final pages are Kapell’s version of the Atomic Bomb.<b></b><br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.audaud.com/article.php%3FArticleID%3D4252" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=16823&amp;c=6" target="_blank"> </a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECwTY4taDI/AAAAAAAAAgY/buxUBzsSeBc/s1600-h/175.Ed-Harcourt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECwTY4taDI/AAAAAAAAAgY/buxUBzsSeBc/s320/175.Ed-Harcourt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206355016384604210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=16823&amp;c=6" target="_blank">Ed Harcourt: Revolution Of The Heart MP3</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Filter Magazine - Los Angeles,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">New Chopin-themed download from piano-playing UK singer-songwriter....</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="">"Revolution Of The Heart" is Harcourt at his best: pouring his heart and soul out over <b>Chopin</b> piano progressions and delightful sha-na-nas, sung by members <b>...</b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php%3Fid%3D16823%26c%3D6" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/soloist-and-friends.html" target="_blank">Soloist and Friends</a><br /></span><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:130%;">By Stephen Smoliar(Stephen Smoliar) </span><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">San Francisco writer blogs about a noontime concert by pianist </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Corbett-Jones-William.htm">William Corbett-Jones</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> featuring new Preludes by </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.opusmusic.net/Nixon/RogerNixon.html">Roger Nixon</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">, and not Preludes, but polonaises, by Chopin... </span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote>There <i>was</i> at least one "Chopin connection" in the conception of the overall program: Liszt preceded the selections by Nixon and Mechem and Chopin followed them. The program concluded with two polonaises, Opus 40, Number 1 in C minor and Opus 53 in A-flat major. The latter is sometimes known as the "Heroic" polonaise, although, as the most familiar in the collection of polonaises that Chopin composed, it might better be called the "War-Horse!" Like the earlier "Military" polonaise, Opus 53 performs an interesting experiment with an ostinato pattern subjected to a gradual crescendo; and Corbett-Jones did a wonderful job of making that crescendo the backbone of the middle section of the work.</blockquote><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/" title="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> The Rehearsal Studio - http://therehearsalstudio<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1517487166757069977?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-26312874904993825142008-05-28T08:45:00.002-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.794-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2zgo4tZ-I/AAAAAAAAAfw/6yu9_nz91Z4/s1600-h/Benjamin_Grosvenor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2zgo4tZ-I/AAAAAAAAAfw/6yu9_nz91Z4/s320/Benjamin_Grosvenor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205514117622622178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Previews, and Reviews:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/27/bmclassicalben127.xml" target="_blank">Benjamin Grosvenor: Teenage Prodigy Comes of Age</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">An object lesson in how to nuture a burgeoning concert career... resulting in "a beguiling, stylish and richly rewarding performance of Chopin's E minor Piano Concerto played by the 15-year-old <a href="http://www.benjamingrosvenor.co.uk/base.php?page=home.htm">Benjamin Grosvenor</a>."</p><p class="story2"></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Many will recall that he won the keyboard final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2004, when it was clear that he possessed a talent beyond mere technical accomplishment. Sensibly, in the years since, his gifts have neither been sensationalised nor exploited for short-term gain or fame. [...]<br /><p class="story2">In this performance of the E minor Concerto, no allowances needed to be made for Grosvenor's age. You could shut your eyes and readily imagine that it was someone of far greater years, though at the same time a pianist who had not let familiarity with the music dull its freshness, exuberance and lyrical grace. His was an interpretation with a personality and impulse of its own, while remaining true to Chopin's spirit.</p><p class="story2">One crucial aspect of the music that Grosvenor had absorbed was the fine balance that exists between whim and structural security, the way in which Chopin's decorative filigree can seem impromptu or relaxed, while having an architectural purpose that fuels and sustains the overall shape and momentum.</p><br /></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/27/bmclassicalben127.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&amp;id=41313&amp;type=wbj" target="_blank"> A season for <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Warsaw Business Journal - Poland</span><br /></span></p><div class="text" style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><span class="bold">"It wouldn't be summer in Warsaw without the echo of Frederic Chopin's music..."</span></div> <span class="text" style="text-align: justify;"><table style="padding: 10px 10px 0px; width: 10%; float: left;"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://www.wbj.pl/lib/showImage_art.php?select=image_big&amp;from=article&amp;where=id=41313" style="padding: 10px;" alt="The Sunday All-Chopin Recitals are a Warsaw tradition" align="left" border="1" /></td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: left;"><span style="position: relative; top: -10px;">The Sunday All-Chopin Recitals are a Warsaw tradition</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span class="text" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><p>Hundreds of people lounging on the lawn by the Frederic Chopin monument in the Royal Łazienki Park, listening as the Polish master's work is performed live by world-renowned artists - this is one of the fundamental Warsaw experiences. The charm of the Sunday All-Chopin Recitals, of which these concerts are part, has been captivating audiences for almost 50 years. The recitals are held every Sunday between May and August....</p></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.wbj.pl/%3Fcommand%3Darticle%26id%3D41313%26type%3Dwbj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2631287490499382514?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-13593127313272033502008-05-27T19:46:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.800-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2xSo4tZ8I/AAAAAAAAAfg/CH_Oz2g3V1Q/s1600-h/SofyaGulyak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2xSo4tZ8I/AAAAAAAAAfg/CH_Oz2g3V1Q/s320/SofyaGulyak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205511678081198018" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"></blockquote>Vaguely Chopin-connected News, Previews, and Reviews:</span> </span><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052601672.html" target="_blank">At Piano Showdown, Hard Choices</a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><br />Washington Post - United States</span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"Year after year, standards of piano playing seem to improve, subtly yet perceptibly. The latest demonstration was Sunday afternoon in the </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/John+F.+Kennedy+Center+for+the+Performing+Arts?tid=informline" target="">Kennedy Center</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'s Terrace Theater, where a half-dozen spectacularly talented young pianists performed before a distinguished jury and a large, enthusiastic audience."</span><span style="font-family:arial;">....and, it appears, a rather disinterested critic....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>Esther Park, a 23-year-old American, was extraordinarily polished, with deft balances and voice-leading. Yet the sultry perfume of Granados and drama of a Chopin sonata seemed to elude her. [...]<br /><br />At age 28, the Russian <a href="http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu/2007/c/kapell2007/competitors/sofya_gulyak">Sofya Gulyak</a> was the oldest of the finalists. Her <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart?tid=informline" target="">Mozart</a> Rondo in A-Minor was the most satisfying classical playing of the afternoon. In her sensational performance of Liszt's evocation of little bells in "La Campanella," fierce technical demands took the back seat to flights of aural imagination and exquisite musicality. Gulyak was last year's first-prize winner in the Kappell International Piano Competition. [...]<br /><br /><p> The Takemitsu was the only piece written since World War II, and it seemed almost an anomaly. It is in the romantic (Chopin, Schumann, Liszt) and early modern (Ravel, Prokofiev) repertoires in which these young players are most at home. After an hour's deliberation by the judges, competition chairman Immanuela Gruenberg read the results, including the tally of audience ballots. </p> <p> First prize: none awarded. Second prize: Gulyak. Third prize: none awarded. Audience prize: Wayne Weng. </p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052601672.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/bayofplenty/4562113a6014.html" target="_blank"> Concert to aid quake victims</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Independent Community Newspaper - Bay of Plenty,New Zealand</span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Kiwis call on Chopin and other composers to aid Chinese quake victims...<br /></span><b><br /></b><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"><p><strong>A charity concert for victims of the devastating earthquake in China will be held in the Concert Chamber on Saturday.</strong></p> <p>The concert is being organised by the Rotorua Music Federation and will raise funds to aid the victims.</p> <p>Well-known Rotorua musicians taking part include baritone John Bond, soprano Charlotte Christmas, and pianists Jim McGregor and Li Can Wei.</p> <p>The programme ranges from Mozart, Chopin and Debussy to songs from the shows. Entry is by donation at the door.</p></blockquote></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1359312731327203350?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-42015623027787891722008-05-26T08:45:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.807-07:00<p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Previews, and Reviews:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a>Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz</a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242"></a><a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Audiophile Audition - USA</span></span></a></p> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="5"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td><p align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.audaud.com/photos/20080525200517_michelangelix.jpg" alt="Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz - Tahra" title="Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz - Tahra" border="1" /></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Chopin plays a bit part in this reissue CD that has this critic reaching for superlatives...</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></strong><blockquote>When you purchase this magnificent CD, better have asbestos gloves on and a fireproof CD player! Rarely have I heard even the great Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920- 1995) in such blistering form, his tensile strength and febrile temperament thoroughly in accord in all three collaborations, 1953-1956. For the collector, the Rachmaninov Fourth Concerto ( 12 May 1956), previously unpublished, with Franco Caracciolo (1944-1992) will more than complement Michelangeli’s commercial recording with Gracis for EMI. [...]</blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">The posthumous waltz by Chopin</span> hardly qualifies as “charming,” but it has a granite-like glitter thoroughly in keeping with the Rachmaninov lusters.</blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.audaud.com/article.php%3FArticleID%3D4242" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article4003124.ece" target="_blank"> BBCSO/Belohlávek at the Barbican</a><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Times Online - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Today's Ingrid Fliter installment finds our heroine at the piano bench at the Barbican...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Turning up to a concert hall to find that Chopin has been substituted for Szymanowski is a bit like turning up to a dinner party to find that the roast beef has been swapped for crème brulée. But for the young Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter, Chopin is a serious business. And just moments into her dynamic performance of the Piano Concerto No 2 I had stopped missing the indisposed Piotr Anderszewski (originally down for Szymanowksi's Sinfonia Concertante) and was hooked. </span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Yes, there was a rich sweetness to Fliter's playing - you cannot have Chopin without sugar, not least in the luscious larghetto - but plenty of fibre and muscle as well. Not for nothing has Fliter been compared to her great compatriot Martha Argerich: there's a similar vitality, an engaging restlessness that imbued some of Chopin's most dreamy sub-plots with enough snappiness and tang to keep us on our toes.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article4003124.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://poeticpianist.livejournal.com/" title="http://poeticpianist.livejournal.com/" target="_blank"><wbr> </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4201562302778789172?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-9381645603181756202008-05-25T08:44:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.816-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2bu44tZ4I/AAAAAAAAAfA/JLbXNPycTRc/s1600-h/fliter350.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2bu44tZ4I/AAAAAAAAAfA/JLbXNPycTRc/s320/fliter350.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205487974156691330" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"> Ingrid Fliter: 'In the middle of my salad, he told me I'd won'</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"><br /></span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A "Get To Know Her" introduction to UK readers of It Girl <a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter ...<br /></a></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"></p><blockquote><p class="story2">Born in Argentina and now living in Milan, Fliter (pronounced Fleeter) has in the past toured Japan and the US and won the silver medal in the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2000. But the Gilmore was an important catalyst, bringing her an EMI contract, management in the US and Europe, and a place on the BBC's New Generation Artists scheme. And now a series of dates in the UK will introduce her to wider audiences, with a Wigmore Hall recital and appearances at the Cheltenham and City of London Festivals. </p><p class="story2">"The Gilmore changed my life deeply, completely," she says. "In the beginning I had to deal with a lot of pressure and expectations," she admits. "But after two years I'm now really starting to enjoy this very hectic, intense concert life." Her London debut last year, together with her first disc of Chopin for EMI, confirmed her phenomenal technique and the spontaneity of expression she brings to music. There is also a fluent, singing quality to her playing. [...]<br /></p><p class="story2">"Chopin made me discover the beauty of piano-playing," she says. "I was very lucky to be introduced to his music from the very beginning. Pianistically speaking, it develops the imagination and good taste as regards rubato - where to give and where to take, in a natural way that a singer would do. Rubato in Chopin is very often exaggerated, but I imagine him as a Classical composer, not as a Romantic, though that doesn't restrain you from being dramatic and dark. Sometimes the music reaches moments of deep sorrow."</p></blockquote><p class="story2"> </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2fvY4tZ6I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/YRrbV1hDmj0/s1600-h/radio3_logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2fvY4tZ6I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/YRrbV1hDmj0/s320/radio3_logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205492380793137058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank">The <b>Chopin</b> Experience, Radio 3</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">More musings on the effect of the BBC's </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience...</a><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">In conversation with the pianist <a href="http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=demidenko">Nikolai Demidenko</a>, the latter revealed that Chopin knew his limitations as a composer, but said that he knew that his work appealed particularly to women. "A short, direct line straight to the heart," he said, and Walker said "Mmm", and I was reminded of a friend of mine who said that the only time he really "got" Chopin was when he was in love. So, if you were in love during the weekend of 17-18 May, then you will have enjoyed The Chopin Experience immensely.</span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/rambert-mixed-bill-sadlers-wells-londonbrroyal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-833851.html" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/reviews/story/0,,2282090,00.html" target="_blank"> Who needs Rudolf Nureyev?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">The Observer - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">No question what's the hot dance ticket in London town....this UK scribe says the current production of "Dances at a Gathering" (bodies by Robbins, soul by Chopin) is on par with the best ever...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">Jerome Robbins's Dances at a Gathering (1969) is a plotless work set to piano pieces by Chopin. Tender, dreamy and shot through with a sense of long-ago love affairs, the piece acquires a different dynamic with every cast. When the Royal Ballet danced it in the 1970s, it became a signature piece, a group portrait of an unforgettable constellation of stars. When the company performs Robbins's piece today, the layers of allusion are dense. But in a good way: the new cast has new things to tell us and is not about to be crowded off the stage by ghosts....</span><b></b><br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/reviews/story/0,,2282090,00.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News from Outside of London:<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2jd44tZ7I/AAAAAAAAAfY/6ZnFOlhFODQ/s1600-h/kapell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 239px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2jd44tZ7I/AAAAAAAAAfY/6ZnFOlhFODQ/s320/kapell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205496478191937458" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121157899109018393.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank">After the Good Die Young</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Wall Street Journal - USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Beautifully-written article on the tragically short-lived pianist <a href="http://www.williamkapell.com/">William Kapell</a>, occasioned by the release of a just-discovered 1953 live concert performance in Australia that turned out to be Kapell's last recording...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>You'd think that Kapell's youthful and spectacular demise would have captured the imagination of the listening public and ensured his lasting fame. Charlie Parker, who died two years later at the equally untimely age of 34, remains to this day a cultural icon. Likewise Jackson Pollock and James Dean, whose lives were cut short around the same time. Why, then, did Kapell slip through the cracks of renown? [...]<br /><br />Kapell died too soon to record more than a handful of the large-scale works in his repertoire, but in recent years a fair number of live recordings have surfaced. RCA, his old label, has just released "<a href="http://www.williamkapell.com/store/">Kapell Rediscovered</a>," a two-CD set of radio broadcasts made during a 1953 tour of Australia. They are his last recordings -- he was killed flying home from that tour -- and they include a number of pieces that he never recorded in the studio, among them <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin's B Minor Scherzo</span>, Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque" and Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata. The sound is only fair, but the performances are pure Kapell, headlong, vital and crackling with a vibrant immediacy that makes you feel as though he were playing in your very own living room.<br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121157899109018393.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/2008/05/chopin-nocturne-in-e-minor-dedicated-to.html" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b> Nocturne in E MinorDedicated to Two Individuals</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Jeremiah Jones(Jeremiah Jones)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><b>Chopin</b>'s Nocturne in E-minor is one of my favorite Nocturnes. It is a short, yet profound work of art that takes the listener through several of life's most important emotions. It can stir the soul and awaken the spirit. <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/" title="http://www.signmypiano.com/" target="_blank"> - http://www.signmypiano.com/ </a></span></span> </p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.unquality.com/?p=574" target="_blank">Jack Conte’s Video Song - The Giant, Radiohead/<b>Chopin</b></a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By robkwok </span><br />A VideoSong is a new Medium with two rules:. 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). The Giant. Radiohead and <b>Chopin</b> Combination <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.unquality.com/" title="http://www.unquality.com" target="_blank"> Unquality: Retarded Videos for... - http://www.unquality.com </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-938164560318175620?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-27864640966578144922008-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.823-07:00<span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews</span></span>:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2V2o4tZ2I/AAAAAAAAAew/UAr1NLm4r64/s1600-h/fliter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2V2o4tZ2I/AAAAAAAAAew/UAr1NLm4r64/s320/fliter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205481510230910818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/20/classical_tracks/" target="_blank"> New Classical Tracks: The allure and the thrill of <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> Radio review of <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Prize</a> winner Ingrid Fliter's new CD...</p><div class="intro"> <p class="regular"><strong> The young Argentine musician Ingrid Fliter is one of the brightest rising stars in the piano world. The composer she's most identified with is Chopin, and his music is the focus of her latest disc. </strong></p> </div> <p class="regular"></p><blockquote><p class="regular"> For her part, Ingrid Fliter has just released a new solo recording featuring works by Chopin, a composer she believes she was born to play. </p> "It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that if it had not been for Chopin's music, I wouldn't have been born," she explained. "My mother noticed my father for the first time while he was playing some Chopin waltzes during a party!<b></b><br /></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/20/classical_tracks/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/culture/?id=82931" target="_blank"> Ingrid Fliter replaces Anderszewski</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Speaking of the Gilmore, one winner subs for another at the Barbican in London...</span></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span><b>Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski was forced to cancel his appearance at London’s Barbican Centre tonight on the advice of his doctor. </b></span><span style="font-size:-1;">He is replaced by the Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter, Second Prize winner at the <b>Chopin</b> International Competition in Warsaw in 2000. <b>...</b></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/culture/%3Fid%3D82931" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://news10now.com/content/health/116483/new-technology-opens-doors-for-blind-musicians/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Uio4tZ1I/AAAAAAAAAeo/ov5uMP4V4Io/s1600-h/dances_gathering_group3_500,jpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Uio4tZ1I/AAAAAAAAAeo/ov5uMP4V4Io/s320/dances_gathering_group3_500,jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205480067121899346" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> </p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/royal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-832016.html" target="_blank"> Royal Ballet Double Bill, Royal Opera House, London</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Rave review for the Royal Ballet revival of the Chopin-centric "Dances at a Gathering...."<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Dances at a Gathering looks simple. Jerome Robbins' 1969 ballet puts 10 dancers on a bare stage, with a blue backdrop, <span style="font-weight: bold;">set to Chopin piano pieces</span>. The numbers are full of invention, yet they have to look easy. Robbins demands clean musicality and a sense of atmosphere. They're all there in this wonderfully fresh performance. </span></p><!--proximic_content_off--> <!--proximic_content_on--> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">It's more than 30 years since the Royal Ballet put on Dances at a Gathering. People who saw it in its early years still go dreamy over it. The ballet's atmosphere is fragile. This revival, staged by Susan Hendl and Ben Huys, has real warmth....</span></p></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/royal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-832016.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Y144tZ3I/AAAAAAAAAe4/TrI8R5qd5iY/s1600-h/bbcchopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Y144tZ3I/AAAAAAAAAe4/TrI8R5qd5iY/s320/bbcchopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205484795880892274" border="0" /></a>Mostly having to do with fallout and feedback from the BBC's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience:</a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/the-chopin-experience/" target="_blank">The <b>Chopin</b> Experience</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By vhk10 </span><br />I listened to bits of this all-<b>Chopin</b> weekend on Radio 3. (I used to listen to and indeed play <b>Chopin</b>’s music a lot, and though it has retreated a bit in my musical consciousness he is still a favourite of mine). <b>...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"> The best aspect was hearing recordings from different eras and with different interpretations, rather than just good recent performances.</span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> I recommend trying the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/chopinquiz.shtml">Chopin Audio Quiz</a>, which is not trivial, mainly because the extracts are from the middle of pieces.<br /><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com/" title="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com" target="_blank"> VHK's singing - http://vhkssinging.wordpress<wbr>.com </a></span></span> </p> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/375053.html" target="_blank"> Bad to the bone</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">By Sawyl(Sawyl) </span><br />I like to think of Radio 3 as the rebel of the BBC family, hanging back while the others chase after listeners, growing its toenails and listening to <b>Chopin</b>. A classical music-fancying rebel; every family needs one. <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/" title="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/" target="_blank"> Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - http://sawyl.livejournal.com</a></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2786464096657814492?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-83267808789866934302008-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.829-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2NtI4tZ0I/AAAAAAAAAeg/44TAjKo4iuA/s1600-h/chopin%27s_piano.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2NtI4tZ0I/AAAAAAAAAeg/44TAjKo4iuA/s320/chopin%27s_piano.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205472550929131330" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></p><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/47608/Chopin%E2%80%99s+Pianos" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b>’s Pianos</a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >From the blog <a href="http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/47608/Chopin%E2%80%99s+Pianos">earideas</a>, a chance to listen to one of the programs from the BBC's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience</a> programs. (The BBC's rather maddening policy is to pull all of their audio after 7 days). The audio is a bit distorted and "swimmy" and of a rather low bandwidth, but still worth a listen..</span><span style="font-family:arial;">.<span style="font-style: italic;">listen for a performance of the Barcarolle, Op. 60, on the Pleyel piano to your left, from <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/2007/chopin%27s_piano_20070322.html">collector Alex Cobbe's house in Surrey, England</a>...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"> Catherine Bott, Radio 3’s early music guru, presents a programme about <b>Chopin</b>’s pianos, part of the station’s ‘<b>Chopin</b> Experience‘ from last weekend. Fascinating social and economic history plus loads of music. <b>...</b></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://earideas.com/" title="http://earideas.com" target="_blank"> - http://earideas.com </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/columnists/2008/05/gw20080523fields" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8326780878986693430?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-12603536152110958662008-05-22T08:41:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.834-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"> </a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/files/cubaheadlines.com/images/music_resize.jpg" alt="Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize &quot;Cle d Or&quot; of Superior level in France." title="Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize &quot;Cle d Or&quot; of Superior level in France." class="image nodeimage" height="200" width="250" /></span></span></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:130%;">Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize <b>...</b></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Cuba Headlines - Ciudad Habana,Habana,Cuba</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our first dispatch from the island's news agency....</span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote style="font-family: courier new;">Virtuous interpretations of "Nocturne" by Frederic Chopin and Concert Studies of Franz Liszt made possible for the young Cuban pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan to win the Prize "Cle d Or" of Superior level in France.<br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6653401619774378"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; google_ad_format = "336x280_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; //2007-06-23: CubaHeadlines Node Picture google_ad_channel = "7635552704"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "008000"; //--> </script> <script style="display: none;" type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><div style="width: 250px;" class="image-attach-body"><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6653401619774378"; google_ad_width = 250; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = "250x250_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_ad_channel = "3283257585"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "008000"; //--> </script> <script style="display: none;" type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></div> <!-- google_ad_section_start --> Gonzalez Buajasan, only 13, performed this Sunday in "Les Cles d Or" (Gold Keys) piano contest in the superior category, in Ile de France region, carried out in the Parisian locality of Villemomble.<br /><br /> He played "Nocturne Opus 27", number two of Chopin and "A Sigh", from Concert Studies of Liszt, with meticulous elegance.<br /><br /> He is a very talented-boy and plays with exquisite loudness, although he should involve slow movements when playing "Un suspiro", members of the jury told the student of the Caribbean island when congratulating him for the prize obtained, Prensa Latina corroborated.<br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2KP44tZzI/AAAAAAAAAeY/uOYn9PYrNr8/s1600-h/RB08_Dream%5B1%5D_243x243.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2KP44tZzI/AAAAAAAAAeY/uOYn9PYrNr8/s320/RB08_Dream%5B1%5D_243x243.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205468749883074354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23389974-details/The+Royal+Ballet:+Dances+At+A+Gathering/The+Dream/showReview.do?reviewId=23485654" target="_blank"> Actions speak louder in dance story</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">This is London - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Jerome Robbins may say "no plot, no roles" in his hour-long "Dances At A Gathering," but critic nonetheless finds plenty of story lines in his Chopin-based dance...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The solos, duets and group dances that follow may be an evocation of his past or just dances, as Robbins said. Either way <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin’s music, </span>and Robbins’s gestures and steps, evoke people falling happily in and resignedly out of love. There are flirtations and friendship, and the comforts and misunderstandings of each. The style is polite — these are pretty steps and tidy tears — but in showing us what we long for, Robbins reveals all that we don’t have.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23389974-details/The%2BRoyal%2BBallet:%2BDances%2BAt%2BA%2BGathering/The%2BDream/showReview.do%3FreviewId%3D23485654" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20730/the-kirov-ballet-chopiniana-the-kingdom-of" target="_blank"> The Kirov Ballet - Chopiniana/The Kingdom of Shades/Le Spectre de <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Stage - London,England,UK</span></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >More Chopin on the dance stage in the UK...</span><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The second splendid programme, presented by the Kirov, is an excellent example of the diversity of this prestigious company. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopiniana</span>, with Fokine’s classical choreography set to Chopin’s music, is a superb showcase for the superior corps de ballet, which danced with precision timing but retained the important lyrical feel. Principals Anastasia Kolegova and Evgeny Ivanchenko also made a mark.</span></blockquote><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20730/the-kirov-ballet-chopiniana-the-kingdom-of" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1260353615211095866?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-76026203499200390342008-05-21T08:39:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.840-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2EXo4tZyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/jAAKTI6eysQ/s1600-h/yundili460.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2EXo4tZyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/jAAKTI6eysQ/s320/yundili460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205462285957293858" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews</span></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/05/in_the_crisisladen_economy_of.html" target="_blank"> Must male pianists be pin-ups?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="http://guardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">guardian.co.uk</a> - UK</span></span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Provocative column from Guardian blogger about "making glamourpusses out of pianists..." The readers think it's more of a generation gap...</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>In the crisis-laden economy of classical music concerts, pianists today are often marketed as "hunka hunka burnin' loves," however inappropriately. A few years ago, I interviewed the talented, poetic young Chinese pianist Yundi Li in his New York manager's office. Then in his early 20s, gawky and skinny, with tousled hair under a baseball cap, Yundi <a href="http://e.cnci.gov.cn/eWebEditorNet/UploadFile/2007421431138428.jpg">looked like the provincial Chinese youth he was</a>. I was amazed to see how his recording company packaged his remarkable CDs of Chopin and Liszt, adding <a href="http://www.usu.edu/wassermann/yundi%20li%20casual.jpg">heavy makeup</a> and <a href="http://www.nashvillesymphony.org/img/0708guests/yli_lg.jpg">swooning poses</a> for an <a href="http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/cmsobjects/f2/f2b541b1eb48346d5ca63b1a0a152f92.jpg">androgynous look</a>. Yundi Li's artistry was the same, but he became a different artist to look at.....</blockquote><span style=""><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/05/in_the_crisisladen_economy_of.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2BjY4tZwI/AAAAAAAAAeA/h5GOzkMvjpg/s1600-h/MrChopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2BjY4tZwI/AAAAAAAAAeA/h5GOzkMvjpg/s320/MrChopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205459189285873410" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/05/20/arts/939beethoven052008.txt" target="_blank"> Piano Lessons</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Voice of San Diego - San Diego,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Review of the San Diego premiere of "Beethoven As I Knew Him," the latest installment in <a href="http://www.amrep.org/people/hershey.html">Hershey Felder</a>'s trilogy of composer portraits....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">First, Hershey Felder presented his fantastic one-man show, "George Gershwin Alone," and urged theater-goers to join in on a sing-along of Gershwin hits. It was like drawing flies to honey; the enthusiastic Felder inspired gleeful audience members young and old to sing their hearts out. It was a sight (and sound) to behold. </span><!--This file is needed, but intentionally left blank--> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Then came Felder's portrayal of the emotionally intense Fredéric Chopin which gave audiences a peek into the cultural sophistication of the 19th century Parisian salon.<br /><br />Now, the Old Globe presents the final installation (and world premiere) of Hershey Felder's "Composer Sonata" trilogy of one-man performances based on famous composers' lives with "Beethoven, As I Knew Him." [...]<br /><br />A natural and engrossing storyteller, Felder was at his best during "Beethoven" at the piano bench. Using discourse and music, Felder took the audience through pieces like Beethoven's Fifth symphony, expounding on the famous fate-at-the-door theme. The "Moonlight" sonata rendering was exquisite. Throughout the night, Felder used anecdotes and visuals (conducting to the night sky of stars!) to enhance the overall musical performance.</span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Though starker and narrated at a more measured pace than both "Gershwin" and "Chopin," "Beethoven, As I Knew Him" offers a poignant introspection into the austere composer's beloved music....</span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/05/20/arts/939beethoven052008.txt" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/design/article.php/3748031" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2C544tZxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/HetQnUAIKQE/s1600-h/prometheuschopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2C544tZxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/HetQnUAIKQE/s320/prometheuschopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205460675344557842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/05/20/prometheus_celebrates_a_distinctive_vision" target="_blank"> Prometheus celebrates a distinctive vision</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Boston Globe - United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >20th-anniversary production by the <a href="http://www.prometheusdance.org/">Promotheus Dance Compan</a>y of Boston gets high marks for everything <span style="font-weight: bold;">but</span> a Chopin-based performance...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>The world premiere on the program, "Lignage," seems disappointingly tame in comparison. <span style="font-weight: bold;">A work for eight women set to a series of Chopin preludes</span>, it contrasts slow floor work with flurries of sweeping movement - swirling turns with arms outstretched, legs carving great arcs. The women roll, cradle one another, then rise in rushes about the stage. There are a lot of stops and starts, and it has the crowded, slightly aimless feel of a work created to showcase young dancers.</blockquote></span><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/05/20/prometheus_celebrates_a_distinctive_vision" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7602620349920039034?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-91565783927918943622008-05-20T04:19:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.845-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD132Y4tZuI/AAAAAAAAAdw/E_EOwgXLdBQ/s1600-h/book_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD132Y4tZuI/AAAAAAAAAdw/E_EOwgXLdBQ/s320/book_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205448520587110114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-country-in-the-moon-by-michael-moran-828941.html" target="_blank">A Country in the Moon, by Michael Moran</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;"><br />Independent - London,England,UK<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Review declares <a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/">Michael Moran'</a>s new book about Poland to be an "absorbing, exasperating and ultimately rewarding travelogue."</span> <p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p> Moran emerges from these pages as a romantic, a bon viveur, a music lover and a film buff, equally versed in the polonaises of Chopin, the novels of Joseph Conrad and the movies of Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieslowski. He conducts a clandestine affair with unhappily married Zosia, and together they explore the historic cities of her country. His sojourn comes to a premature end when the project's rackety finances expire. The last chapters briskly fast-forward up to the death of Pope John Paul II. As for his romance with Zosia, reader, I wouldn't dream of giving the game away.</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-country-in-the-moon-by-michael-moran-828941.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/Ent/971781890/1038/Ent" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080515/Ent/971781890/1038/Ent" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD16j44tZvI/AAAAAAAAAd4/9SH7SChVbo8/s1600-h/jacekkortus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD16j44tZvI/AAAAAAAAAd4/9SH7SChVbo8/s320/jacekkortus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205451501294413554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.orangenews.com/ocn/entertainment/music/article/chopin_master_returns_to_barboursville/21919/" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> master returns to Barboursville</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Orange County Review - Orange,VA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Somewhat confusing review of young Polish pianist <a href="http://www.uk.wia.swiatuslug.pl/strona.php?32290">Jacek Kortus</a>' performance in Virginia Wine Country....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote><span id="article_font"> Kortus’ return engagement was the fourth in a series of benefit concerts for the <a href="http://chopinfound.brinkster.net/ip.asp?op=Testimonials&amp;m=x00120ChopinForAll">Chopin Foundation</a>. This year’s event was hosted by Barboursville Winery and sponsored again by Premier Virginia Properties. As a special treat, Washington National Opera Conductor Maestro <a href="http://www.giovannireggioli.com/">Giovanni Reggioli</a> introduced Kortus and the Chopin pieces he would perform in the first half of Thursday’s concert. [...]<br /><br />Joking aside, the maestro described Chopin as “good music of the people” and said the composer’s works were “good for the first-time person or for the person who studies it for life.”<br /><br />Kortus, a serious and intense young man of supreme focus, opened the program with Frederic Chopin’s Nocturne in C Minor Op. 48, No. 1. He followed with Waltz in A Flat Major Op. 34, No. 1 that conjured images of a gilded 19th century ballroom full of lords and ladies that finished with such an uplifting flourish everyone in the audience was smiling.<br /><br />The third selection was Mazurkas in B Flat Major Op. 18, No. 1 and No. 4 in A Minor which began rather chillingly sad only to finish with an offer of hope. In his last selection before the intermission, he performed Chopin’s Sonata in B Flat Minor, Op. 35 where he balanced the emotion of the piece with his technical skill in moments both fiercely fast and smoothly slow. At times the piece sounded otherworldly with such vibrations it seemed the piano might simply explode from the music.</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.orangenews.com/ocn/entertainment/music/article/chopin_master_returns_to_barboursville/21919/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-9156578392791894362?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-85078782328533444442008-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.851-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1yTo4tZtI/AAAAAAAAAdo/vwZl2o-K0Xs/s1600-h/scaled.0516_art_accordion02_t652.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1yTo4tZtI/AAAAAAAAAdo/vwZl2o-K0Xs/s320/scaled.0516_art_accordion02_t652.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205442426028517074" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank">Virtuoso introducing America toclassical music on the accordion</a><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" ><br />Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas,NV,USA</span><br /></span><p><span style=""><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >“<span style="font-weight: bold;">No, I don’t play polkas</span>,” says <a href="http://www.lidiakaminska.com/">Lidia Kaminska</a>, "the first and still the only accordionist in the United States who has a doctorate in accordion (received from the University of Missouri, Kansas City). The Polish native is a proud graduate of the <a href="http://www.chopin.edu.pl/angielskie/">Chopin Academy of Music</a> in Warsaw....<br /></span></p> <p></p><blockquote><p>“I can play a four-voice fugue, no problem,” Kaminska says playfully with a thick accent, speaking from her home in Philadelphia. “But nobody asked me to play polka music in Poland.”</p><p>That’s probably because in Poland the accordion is accepted as a serious medium for classical music, particularly Baroque. And if you haven’t heard someone knock out a Bach chaconne on accordion, now is your chance...</p> <p>As it turns out, there is a slew of original literature for accordion, composed mostly by Europeans. What isn’t written for the accordion can usually be transcribed. Same sonatas and concertos, vastly different instrument.</p> <p>“<a href="http://www.lidiakaminska.com/music/discography.html">Breaking Boundaries</a>,” Kaminska’s debut CD, released in 2005, includes selections from Bach’s “The Well-Tempered Clavier,” two pieces by Argentine tango composer Piazzolla and a sonata by Italian Baroque composer Scarlatti. Its mission was educational: Convince listeners, particularly those in America, that the accordion is a serious classical music instrument. It’s been an ongoing effort since she first stepped off the plane.</p> <p>“We were not sure what was going on in America about accordion because I had not seen students from America in competitions,” Kaminska says. “So there were a lot of questions and I had a one-way ticket.”</p> <p>She’s since performed with chamber orchestras, contemporary ensembles, dance groups and orchestras, and is a virtuoso unlike any other....</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8507878232853344444?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-69740308322174041362008-05-18T20:12:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.859-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1wYI4tZsI/AAAAAAAAAdg/ydbBM_eYzdg/s1600-h/panov.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1wYI4tZsI/AAAAAAAAAdg/ydbBM_eYzdg/s320/panov.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205440304314672834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Reviews, &amp; Previews:<br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668646409&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull" target="_blank">'Carmen' reincarnated</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Jerusalem Post - Israel</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Russian-Israeli choreographer (and Kirov vet) <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/valery-panov?cat=entertainment">Valery Panov'</a>s dance company offers a twin-bill of Carmen and Chopin in Tel Aviv...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Les Sylphides</i>, set to the music of Chopin by Russian choreographer <a href="http://www.yonkershistory.org/fokine.html">Mikhail Fokine</a> in 1908, is a Romantic, dreamlike piece, featuring 20 women and one man. For ballet enthusiasts, this will be a dream come true, as the male role is performed by Panov's electrifying principal dancer Valery Kuklachov. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The May 18 performance will be attended by several dignitaries, Panov adds proudly. Among the invited guests are the ambassadors of the US, Lithuania, Germany and Belgium. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Another source of pride for Panov is the financial support he is receiving from the Ministry of Culture. "My dance company is growing like the cosmos," he says. </span></p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1210668646409%26pagename%3DJPost%252FJPArticle%252FShowFull" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6974030832217404136?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-35154909374784859632008-05-17T18:00:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.864-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" ><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1eWI4tZqI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/kCIY2JcV_Y8/s320/bbcchopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205420478745634466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3938465.ece" target="_blank">A <b>Chopin</b> extravaganza</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Times Online - UK</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nice Times of London summation of the BBC Radio 3 </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/">Chopin Experience:</a><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> After the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky Experiences and the Bach Christmas it’s time for Frédéric Chopin to sit in a deckchair in the Elysian Fields, sip a piña colada and wince as Radio 3 exposes every recorded note he ever wrote (including the bad ones, as only a mediocre talent is always at its best). </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> What’s different about <i>The Chopin Experience</i> (from today, 7am) is that Radio 3 has not redrawn its usual programme schedule to accommodate it. Which throws up a few apparent anomalies. Take, for example, <i>The Early Music Show</i> (today, 1pm). Or, in this instance, the Earlier Music than Now Show, since Chopin, era-wise, is no John Dowland. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> That aside, it’s a fascinating listen in which three piano performances are compared – one Chopin’s, one by a pupil of his, and one given on a restoration of a Pleyel square piano similar to one that he might have played. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> The cultural documentary strand <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/pip/ax0ef/"><i>World Routes</i></a> (today, 3pm) is a better fit, in that Lucy Duran is in Warsaw, exploring some of the traditional folk forms associated with Chopin. Then, in programming guaranteed to further enrage those listeners who tune in to Radio 3 only to be enraged by it, <i>Jazz Lineup</i> (today, 4pm) includes a talk with the foremost proponent of classics-to-jazz, <a href="http://www.telarc.com/biography/bios.asp?aid=58">Jacques Loussier</a>. He’s best known for reinterpreting Bach, but his trio has dabbled with Chopin, and his thoughts are illuminating.</span> </p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3938465.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1ij44tZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/9Ey_Q18TtpI/s1600-h/chopin_385x185_338349a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1ij44tZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/9Ey_Q18TtpI/s320/chopin_385x185_338349a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205425113015346866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank">Fancy a Romantic weekend with Frederic <b>Chopin</b>?</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br />Times Online - UK</span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Accompanying sidebar essay about "why many pianists find him too weepy." Worth a read! And check out the recommended recordings (Perahia, Cortot, Rubinstein, etc) at the bottom...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Is the man worth this much fuss? In principle, yes. Chopin may not have had any imitators, but that’s only because his individuality as a composer is so strong. His melodies curl about and stick in the mind like no one else’s. His harmonies waft a pungent perfume all their own, and invite you into an imaginative, mercurial world unique in music history. </span></p><!--#include file="m63-article-related-attachements.html"--><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> True, he wrote no epic symphonies, no operas, no oratorios, no sacred passions – none of the period’s usual outlets for lofty musical thoughts. But he used his preferred short forms with such a degree of innovation and imagination that even people who feel distaste at his music’s emotional atmosphere respect Chopin for his craft. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Well, not everyone respects him. In a 1981 radio interview the notoriously eccentric Canadian pianist Glenn Gould brashly announced that Chopin (and Liszt and Schu-bert) “had no idea of how to write for the piano”. On another occasion, Gould called Chopin “not a very good composer”. Heavens above, you might think, if those keyboard composers couldn’t get past Gould’s pearly gates who could? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Such idiosyncratic opinions should not be rejected completely. Chopin, for all his wide popularity, remains a complex, often misunderstood, figure, and if this weekend’s bonanza helps us to peer into his many-sided character and find a man who wrote much more than pretty music, the world will be a better place. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> The truth is, Chopin is a tricky customer. Even pianists in full sympathy with him approach his music with some trepidation. The British pianist Stephen Hough, the veteran of a fine CD of the Ballades, declares his music to be so fearfully perfect, so polished, lacking a single ugly bar, that “if a piece doesn’t naturally sound beautiful it can only be the performer’s fault”. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> For Simon Trpceski, responsible for one of the most volcanic of recent CD Chopin recitals, playing this composer also carries risks. “There’s a Macedonian saying,” he says, “about going with your hat to break a wall.” And we should remember Tamás Vásáry’s comment to Jeremy Siepmann in the 1990s about Chopin leaving nowhere to hide. “With Chopin,” he said, “you often feel quite naked.”</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3515490937478485963?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-9241695993562357352008-05-16T20:11:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.871-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Videos:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.noneofusarefree.org/the-film.html">The Film - "None of Us Are Free"</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">How "current" is Chopin? Look no further for powerful testimony than from this current PSA produced on commission from MTV networks to raise awareness for disaster relief in Myanmar (a/k/a Burma). First, watch the film, which uses Chopin's music (beginning with the <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/04/04/nocturne-in-c-minor-op-48-no-1/">Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1</a>) to compelling effect:</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.noneofusarefree.org/the-film.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 567px; height: 343px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SDD4qozqXiI/AAAAAAAAAdI/KTljTP9oUEc/s320/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201930981005221410" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Now, some details as to how Fryderyk C's music got involved, courtesy of <a href="http://motionographer.com/2008/05/06/the-people-of-burma/">motiongrapher.com:</a><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><blockquote><p style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>When and how the music was incorporated?</strong><br />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 <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >[sic]</span> edits and when we heard Chopin’s nocturnes, we knew we found the right music. It had all the right elements, movement, and form. <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >[Ed. note: - it's actually one nocturne and the Fantaisie-Impromptu.]</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:georgia;">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.</span></p></blockquote></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >There's more about the "making of" the PSA on <a href="http://gossipfeast.com/mtv-enlists-quotinnovative-film-techniquesquot-and-chopin-soundtrack-save-burma">Gossipfeast.com </a>as well, quoting from the MTV Press Release: "</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >With the powerful melody from the feted virtuoso pianist Chopin, viewers will watch the beautiful red flowers float and dance towards Burmese soil."</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote></blockquote><br /></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-924169599356235735?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-46341418539602492892008-05-13T09:20:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.878-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnIVIzqXgI/AAAAAAAAAc4/7gW2L6CszpE/s1600-h/large_GilmoreGala.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnIVIzqXgI/AAAAAAAAAc4/7gW2L6CszpE/s320/large_GilmoreGala.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199907510242926082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_artist_ingrid_fliter_k.html" target="_blank"> Gilmore artist Ingrid Fliter, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra team up <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The penultimate performance at the <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Fest</a> draws raves...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;">One might consider Mozart as Fliter's specialty -- until she played Chopin. </p><p>Chopin's "Concerto No. 2 in F Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 21," the evening's final work, offered Fliter the perfect vehicle for her numerous keyboard strengths. Here, she cultivated a different musical voice. Controlled rubato throughout lent effective freshness and variety. Fliter was born to perform Chopin.</p> <p>Her runs at first sounded overly fast but not for long. Pianissimos were a favorite for Fliter, who possessed a magical light touch. Yet the opening "Maestoso" also could reflect intense drama.</p> <p>"Larghetto" became a personal cadenza for Fliter, she massaged malleable passages into her personal vision of Chopin's intents. Runs were pearly smooth, and limitless technique helped master filigreed passages. The music here was mesmerizing.</p> <p style="width: 600px;">The closing "Allegro Vivace" became a frolicking dance comprised of continuous runs soaring across the keyboard. The KSO kept pace, as baton deferred to soloist. A standing ovation and six callbacks from the audience only hints at the ardor felt for Fliter.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_artist_ingrid_fliter_k.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/COMMUNITY/805120332/1029/OPINION03" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnJlozqXhI/AAAAAAAAAdA/YjOJCaBaPsI/s1600-h/billholm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnJlozqXhI/AAAAAAAAAdA/YjOJCaBaPsI/s320/billholm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199908893222395410" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/09/holmaward/" target="_blank">Bill Holm named McKnight Distinguished Artist</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">Radio piece about Minnesota poet and essayist <a href="http://www.billholm.com/">Bill Holm</a>, $50,000 richer thanks to an award from the <a href="http://www.mcknight.org/">McKnight Foundation</a>. The author reveals that his immediate plans include reconsidering (and mastering) Chopin:</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/news/features/2008/05/12_ekerr_distiguishedholm" class="audio">Listen to feature audio</a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p class="regular"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Holm also has a book of poetry about Iceland to finish. In fact, he said he has a goal of writing better poetry and improving his skills at the piano, particularly with the works of Bach. </span></p> <p class="regular"><span style="font-size:100%;"> "And I've started another project that pianists shouldn't avoid for too long, and that is trying to play Chopin decently. I used to make fun of Chopin, but now, the more I play him, the better he gets," said Holm. "He's an extraordinary genius. So I am going to see if I can play a half dozen Chopin pieces decently before I can't remember who Chopin was."</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/09/holmaward/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4634141853960249289?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-43910365520972512442008-05-12T19:07:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.884-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnBkYzqXdI/AAAAAAAAAcg/var8J1EnThU/s1600-h/sejmrpb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 227px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnBkYzqXdI/AAAAAAAAAcg/var8J1EnThU/s320/sejmrpb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199900075654536658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/news/?id=82100" target="_blank"> Sejm declares 2010 Year of <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The Polish Parliment makes an Official Proclamation, preceded by "lively debate." And just what DID happen to the Piano in the House?</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>The Sejm, Polish lower chamber of parliament, has unanimously passed a bill declaring 2010 the Year of Frederic Chopin.</b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The vote on the bill was preceded by a lively debate. Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski stated that the primary objective would be to celebrate and popularize the work of Chopin, adding that the celebrations around the Year of Frederic Chopin, which also marks his 200th birthday anniversary, will require a certain amount of organized effort.<br /><br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Zrojewski concluded in saying that some work is already in progress, like renovating the seat of the Frederic Chopin Association (TFIC) in Warsaw.<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Wide-ranging preparations for the Chopin Year also include a thorough refurbishment of the manor house in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw, the composer's birthplace, and the opening of a Chopin Centre in Warsaw.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">MP Tadeusz Cymanski from the Law and Justice (PiS) opposition reminded his colleagues that there was a piano on display in the parliament's building since 1989 but it was sold last year in what could be regarded as rather unclear circumstances. Cymanski expressed hope that the instrument will return to the Sejm. </span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/news/%3Fid%3D82100" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnD5IzqXeI/AAAAAAAAAco/xEgoICNB6I4/s1600-h/bmchopin110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnD5IzqXeI/AAAAAAAAAco/xEgoICNB6I4/s320/bmchopin110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199902631160077794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/10/bmchopin110.xml" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b>: 10 steps to greatness</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Coinciding with the launch of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">BBC Radio 3 Chopin broadcast extravaganza</a> - a Top Ten-type list of reasons of what makes Fryderyk so distinct:</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p style="font-weight: bold;" class="story2"><i>4 Conquering the world</i></p><p class="story2">Chafing in Warsaw, the 21-year-old Chopin set off round Europe, pitching up in 1831 in Paris. Within a few months he was friendly with writers such as Victor Hugo, painters such as Delacroix and of course musicians including Liszt and Berlioz. All these arts were becoming more "poetic", but what Paris lacked was a "poet of the piano". Chopin was attractively melancholy, always à la mode, and had impeccable manners.</p><p class="story2"><i style="font-weight: bold;">5 Being the perfect romantic</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /></p><p class="story2">In 1832 Chopin gave his first concert in Paris. He hated the experience, and in all his life gave no more than 30. But those were enough to make him the perfect image of the romantic pianist. One critic said: "Nothing equals the lightness, the sweetness with which this artist preludes on the piano." Chopin's Nocturnes and Waltzes are the perfection of the Romantic miniature - but small doesn't mean negligible. "Guns buried in flowers" is how Schumann described them.</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/10/bmchopin110.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnFtYzqXfI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYbszzxUaVI/s1600-h/mateusz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnFtYzqXfI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYbszzxUaVI/s320/mateusz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199904628319870450" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=18339" target="_blank"> Whatever Happened to Michal Baranski?</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">All About Jazz - Philadelphia,PA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A check-in on the careers of a trio of teen prodigies from Poland, including jazz/classical pianist <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/mateusz">Mateusz Kolakowski:</a></p><blockquote><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;"> Nine years ago, the clarinetist, improvisational whistler and musical educator Brad Terry hosted in the United States three young musicians he had worked with in Poland. I mean young. </span> <p><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;">Mateusz Kolakowski, the pianist, was thirteen. In this picture from that period,<imgheight="75" alt="Brad Mat.jpg" src="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/Brad%20Mat.jpg" width="104"> we see him with Terry. Bassist Michal Baranski and drummer Tomek Torres were fifteen. Terry toured the country with them in his old Dodge van, overnighting in RV parks and driveways and playing whenever they could, sometimes in paying gigs.<br />[...]</imgheight="75"></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;">As for Baranski's former trio mates, <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/mateusz" target="_blank">Kolakowski </a>is still pursuing Chopin, Paderewski and jazz. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MapLt1nB388" target="_blank">Torres</a>, though he is Polish, is exploring his Latin heritage.</span><br /><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php%3Fid%3D18339" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9186757" target="_blank">Pianist Hamelin sets high bar</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">A preview to a Denver recital appearance by pianist <a href="http://www.colbertartists.com/ArtistBio.asp?ID=30">Marc-Andre Hamelin</a>, where he reveals his Chopin-inspired composing ambitions:</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span id="redesign_default"><p><span style="font-size:100%;">In addition to a couple of Haydn sonatas, two Chopin works and Leopold Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Johann Strauss' "Wine, Women and Song," Hamelin will perform two of his recently composed etudes. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">"They are part of my soon-to-be-completed project to compose an etude in every minor key," said the virtuoso, who began his piano studies at age 5 on the urging of his pharmacist father. "I was much younger when I started the project, but then, composing was never the preponderance of my work. I think of myself as a pianist who writes, not the other way around." </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Hamelin describes his compositional style as "tonal with lots of chromaticism."</span> </p></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9186757" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" ></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4391036552097251244?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-15221783905720944672008-05-10T07:07:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.892-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW-dvmFbMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/l5zvxlFkryw/s1600-h/felder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW-dvmFbMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/l5zvxlFkryw/s320/felder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198770763070794946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/08/entertainment/theater/zac745bf291b593ad88257440006081c8.txt" target="_blank"> Felder completes composer trilogy with 'Beethoven' premiere</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Really having more to do with Ludwig than Fryderyk, a preview of Hershey Felder's new one-man show in San Diego...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>Like the other two plays, "Beethoven, As I Knew Him" is a roughly 100-minute, intermissionless play with music written by and starring Felder (a piano prodigy who grew in Canada's Yiddish theater circuit) telling the composer's story in words and music from the piano bench.<br /><br />"Gershwin Alone" features the brash, Brooklyn-born Jazz Age composer recounting his life up until his tragic 1937 death from a brain aneurysm at age 38. <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Monsieur Chopin" finds the Polish composer Frederic Chopin in his Parisian salon a few years before his 1849 tuberculosis death at age 39, explaining his struggle with "melancholy" (bipolar disorder), his love affair with George Sand and his life and music.</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/08/entertainment/theater/zac745bf291b593ad88257440006081c8.txt" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXKe_mFbRI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oMbBT2ceZIc/s1600-h/monterobuffalo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXKe_mFbRI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oMbBT2ceZIc/s320/monterobuffalo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198783978685164818" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/341645.html" target="_blank"> From disparate halves, a thrilling whole</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Buffalo News - NY, United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Gabriela Montero's first half gets the better grade in Buffalo, though Chopin still suffers...</span><br /></p><blockquote><p>The two halves to Montero’s concert were vastly different. The first half was all classical — the Bach/Busoni, then Chopin’s Ballade No. 3, then the Sonata No. 1, by Alberto Ginastera. </p><p>You would have to have been dead not to have been thrilled and excited by that Bach. Busoni knew how to work a piece for showmanship, how to bring out its contrasts and climaxes, and Montero played right along. Besides drama, the piece had depth and emotion.[...]<br /></p>The Chopin sounded a bit frantic, not as romantic as it could have been. Poor thing. It was sandwiched between that Bach and the stormy Ginastera, and Montero might have worked herself into a bit of a lather...</blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/341645.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXL8_mFbSI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/88J5BleVXgc/s1600-h/hamelin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXL8_mFbSI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/88J5BleVXgc/s320/hamelin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198785593592868130" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/montreal_pianist_marcandre_ham.html" target="_blank">Montreal pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin wows crowd at the Gilmore Festival</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Meanwhile, in Kalamazoo, the parade of A-list pianists continues, with generous amounts of Chopin on their programs:</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>The Chopin Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58 presented a different set of challenges in its stark contrasts between virtuosic outbursts and tender, thinly scored romantic tunes. Hamelin displayed remarkable control at the lowest dynamic levels, caressing every note of Chopin's beautiful melodies.</p> <p>The second movement Scherzo had incredible drive as a result of his very ambitious tempo and meticulous articulation. The precious nature of the scant two- and three-part writing of the third movement Largo was nurtured along with the utmost care. Then, Hamelin unleashed a hitherto unheard power in the "Finale: Presto" non tanto that proved a perfect foil to the delicate third movement.</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/montreal_pianist_marcandre_ham.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Downloads, Legal and otherwise...</span></p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.music-download.cc/index.php/2008/05/09/chopin-24-preludes-op-28-grigory-sokolov/" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> - 24 Preludes op 28, Grigory Sokolov</a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By admin </span><br />Composed by Fryderyk <b>Chopin</b> Grigory Sokolov, piano Live Paris 17th June 1990. Grigory Sokolov (born April 18, 1950 in Leningrad) is a Russian pianist. Sokolov began studying the piano at the age of five, entering the Leningrad <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.music-download.cc/" title="http://www.music-download.cc" target="_blank"> Music-Download.cc - http://www.music-download.cc </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.jamendo.com/album/24534/" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXM7_mFbTI/AAAAAAAAAcY/6lwNk0WeEzI/s1600-h/jorgeous.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXM7_mFbTI/AAAAAAAAAcY/6lwNk0WeEzI/s320/jorgeous.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198786675924626738" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.jamendo.com/album/24534/" target="_blank"> Jorgeous : Tributo a <b>Chopin</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Jorgeous<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Starts off sounding more like Satie than Chopin...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;">Jorgeous - Tributo a <b>Chopin</b>. Jorgeous - Tributo a <b>Chopin</b>.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.jamendo.com/" title="http://www.jamendo.com/" target="_blank"> Jamendo - http://www.jamendo.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"> <b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin Photos:</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"><b><br />Chopin</b>.</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By <a href="mailto:nobody@flickr.com" target="_blank">nobody@flickr.com</a> (ianharrywebb) </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Click on the link to see the row house in the Scottish capital...</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;">ianharrywebb posted a photo:. <b>Chopin</b>. <b>Chopin's</b> home while in Edinburgh.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/" title="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/" target="_blank"> Uploads from ianharrywebb - http://www.flickr.com/photos<wbr>/iansdigitalphotos/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1522178390572094467?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-60049456072730537722008-05-09T07:06:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.902-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXIQvmFbQI/AAAAAAAAAcA/21bYJloji3o/s1600-h/blechaczproba28_32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 319px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXIQvmFbQI/AAAAAAAAAcA/21bYJloji3o/s320/blechaczproba28_32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198781534848773378" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9184049" target="_blank">Concert review: Young Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz dazzles <b>...</b></a><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br />San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA</span></span><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">A Bay Area reviewer isn't quite ready to hand the Chopin crown to the hot young Polish pianist....</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><span id="mn_Global"><span id="mn_Article"><p><span id="mn_Article"><p> His performance May 4 at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose, which concluded with the Preludes, the full two dozen, was very, very good: Blechacz has an awesome command of the keyboard, plays with a stunning ease.</p><p> But he also seems to realize - I'm projecting here - that he needs to transcend his mechanics, to plumb the depths. So, at least on Sunday, amid the stream of jaw-dropping technique, he kept making these stabs at introspection. They didn't exactly seem premeditated; in fact, they were charming. But they didn't reach their marks.</p><p> He needs seasoning, in other words. And it will be interesting to follow him the next few years, to see where his huge gifts and his intuition lead him. [...]<br /></p></span> After intermission came Chopin's Preludes, exquisite and familiar.</p><p> In the first dozen, comprising Book I, Blechacz didn't get past what we already know about them. For instance, No. 4, the famous E minor "Largo," was all cliche: earnest melancholy.</p><p> But before beginning Book II, he drew out a handkerchief and wiped off the keys. It wasn't meant as a symbolic gesture, yet, from that point on, his performance gained traction: pointillist bursts in No. 18, the F minor; anvil chords and brokenhearted lyricism in No. 20, the C minor; scary agitation in No. 22, the G minor.</p><p> No. 24 in D minor, the closer, ran out of drama; Blechacz seemed tired. But he recovered for the last encore, Moszkowski's "La Jongleuse" ("The Lady Juggler"), a crazily difficult piece through which he flew with the greatest of ease. The amazing young man may as well have been pulling taffy.</p></span></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9184049" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW2yvmFbKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/jsTwyaMtjGM/s1600-h/Warsaw4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW2yvmFbKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/jsTwyaMtjGM/s320/Warsaw4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198762327755025570" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review?gusrc=rss&amp;feed=networkfront" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review?gusrc=rss&amp;feed=networkfront" target="_blank"> Magnetic Poles</a><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="http://guardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">guardian.co.uk</a> - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Another glowing review for a journey through modern Poland by Australian author <a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/">Michael Moran</a>, who "had no links with Poland, other than a death bed pledge to his uncle to try to understand the patriotic roots of Chopin's music."</p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Moran escapes the crumbling school, the book is lifted on to another plane. By following the course of the Vistula – one of the last great natural rivers in Europe – and then criss-crossing the country during the first international car rally in generations, he begins to fill the absences in our knowledge. On the road he relates – for example — the history of Partition, when thousands of intellectuals were forced to walk to Siberia – an 18-month journey – where they were chained to wheelbarrows night and day and worked to death. He considers our debt to the 8,500 Polish airmen whose élan and tactics helped to win the Battle of Britain. He details the iniquity of the Katyn massacre and betrayal of the Warsaw Uprising. He celebrates Chopin and the "frisson of close Polish dancing". His breadth of knowledge is profound, his views opinionated, his writing passionate and heart-felt. The result is the best contemporary travel book on Poland, reminiscent in its finest moments of Patrick Leigh Fermor's masterful <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Gifts-Constantinople-Holland-Classics/dp/1590171659">Time of Gifts</a></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review%3Fgusrc%3Drss%26feed%3Dnetworkfront" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXGm_mFbPI/AAAAAAAAAb4/yOadCsO6IkM/s1600-h/hough.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXGm_mFbPI/AAAAAAAAAb4/yOadCsO6IkM/s320/hough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198779718077607154" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_festival_performer_ste.html" target="_blank"> Gilmore Festival performer Stephen Hough masterfully executes <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The British pianist (recipient of a </span><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&amp;entity_id=3464&amp;source_type=A">MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >) writes the notes, then plays the program, to memorable effect...</span><br /></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>The printed program notes, written by Hough himself, explained the first half of the concert centered on "Variations," the second on the Waltz. He opened with Mendelssohn's "Variations Serieuses," Op. 54, comprised of two dozen very different variations. Quickly evident were Hough's incredible hands and touch. Master of pianissimo and presto, he also commanded double fortes and andante passages; meanwhile his octave runs were unfailingly prodigious. [...]<br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Wed to his sensitive insights was extraordinary keyboard technique, evidenced further in the remainder of the program featuring Weber, Saint-Saens, Chabrier, Debussy and, fortunately for all, Chopin and Liszt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Two familiar Chopin Waltzes --the C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2, and the A-flat Major, Op. 34, No. 1 -- were gorgeously played. Each note was given full attention, as though never heard before. In the A-flat Major waltz, Hough showed uncanny ability to sound different melodic lines, played by a single hand. The effect was astonishing.</span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_festival_performer_ste.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXEw_mFbOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/2ARwiH_qb7c/s1600-h/concert_ohlsson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXEw_mFbOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/2ARwiH_qb7c/s320/concert_ohlsson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198777690853043426" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/18729364.html" target="_blank">Recital shows pianist Ohlsson at top of his game</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Whenever <a href="http://www.garrickohlsson.com/">Garrick Ohlsson</a> plays, Chopin is never very far away. First line says it all: "Garrick Ohlsson makes a virtue of middle age."</p><blockquote><p class="storytext">Continuing in the key of C-sharp minor, Ohlsson knocked out a thrillingly fast and accurate version of the Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 4. It was a wild ride that could only make you smile.</p> <p class="storytext">''One more?'' Ohlsson silently mouthed to someone at the front of the audience, grinning as he asked. He proceeded with the Chopin Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2. Here, he dazzled with the delicacy and lightness of his playing.</p> <p class="storytext">Oh, yes, there was more before the encores. [...]<br /></p> <p style="width: 600px;">Finishing the first half with Chopin's Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 was a move well calculated to get everyone buzzing with oohs and aahs. This was not the Chopin of a delicate aesthete but of a full-blooded romantic, with jaw-dropping fast runs and a galloping rhythmic drive in the finale.<br /><span style=""><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/18729364.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Ohlsson's performance (above) also inspires a video posting on the blog below:<br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><b></b></span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chopin-prelude-op-45-prelude-no16-op25.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> Prelude Op 45 Prelude No.16 Op.25 Garrick Ohlsson</a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Cheryl and Janet Snell(Cheryl and Janet Snell) </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="">Janet took our mom to see this pianist last night. He played three encores after a finger-crunching program. The <b>Chopin</b> was a sonata, not this Prelude, but you get the idea.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/" title="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Scattered Light - http://snellsisters.blogspot<wbr>.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6004945607273053772?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-88452067795869378672008-05-08T01:43:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.913-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWwY_mFbII/AAAAAAAAAbA/v-ZTvugNmkA/s1600-h/countrymoon_175x125.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 147px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWwY_mFbII/AAAAAAAAAbA/v-ZTvugNmkA/s320/countrymoon_175x125.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198755288303627394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html?in_article_id=146274&amp;in_page_id=28" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html?in_article_id=146274&amp;in_page_id=28" target="_blank"> A Country In The Moon is a poetic exploration</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Metro - London,UK</span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Echoes of Chopin abound in a new travelogue through post-Communist Poland by an Australian author </span><span style="font-family:arial;">'"honoring a deathbed pledge to his uncle– an eccentric concert pianist obsessed with the music of Chopin...."</span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/forthcoming.htm"></a></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/forthcoming.htm">Michael Moran</a> spent the best part of two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall based mostly in brutalist Warsaw. </p><p class="article"> He also travelled extensively elsewhere through Poland, often in the footsteps of his beloved Chopin, who provides a silent accompaniment to his wanderings. </p><div id="intelliTXT"><p class="article"> Recalling something of WG Sebald, Moran's poetic exploration of Poland's deeply chequered past mixes the recent rapid changes that followed the collapse of communism with Poland's wider, shifting history of loss, occupation and mass population displacement under the Russians and the Germans. </p><p style="width: 600px;"> Moran is a sensitive, intelligent companion, as able to capture the rapacious spirit and chaotic conditions of modern Poland as he is the mournful, savage ghosts of its past - the result is moving and absorbing.<br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html%3Fin_article_id%3D146274%26in_page_id%3D28" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p></div></blockquote><div id="intelliTXT"><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html%3Fin_article_id%3D146274%26in_page_id%3D28" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWvTfmFbHI/AAAAAAAAAa4/FvxQTk_eO0Q/s1600-h/weilerstein.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWvTfmFbHI/AAAAAAAAAa4/FvxQTk_eO0Q/s320/weilerstein.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198754094302719090" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/05/07/a_cellist_with_fervor_and_maturity_beyond_her_years" target="_blank">A cellist with fervor, and maturity beyond her years</a></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Boston Globe - United State</span>s</span></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Fiery young cellist<a href="http://www.alisaweilerstein.com/"> Alisa Weilerstein</a> gets generally high marks for her performance and personality at a Boston recital with pianist <a href="http://www.inonbarnatan.com/">Inon Barnatan </a>, though her Chopin is hardly the high point....</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>...She closed the program with Barnatan returning to the stage for a jointly sensitive reading of Chopin's Cello Sonata (Op. 65). In this case, however, the Chopin sounded a bit too similar to the Beethoven, highlighting the way that Weilerstein's strong musical personality seems to flood everything she plays. In other words, she is still grappling with the paradox of how to perform with such a distinctive individual stamp while avoiding a creeping sense of sameness; how to have a strong interpretive voice while still granting the temperature, moods, colors, and sensibilities of a work their own radically independent lives</blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/05/07/a_cellist_with_fervor_and_maturity_beyond_her_years" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW09vmFbJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/6JGZHOjdaH8/s1600-h/montero.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 112px; height: 174px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW09vmFbJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/6JGZHOjdaH8/s320/montero.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198760317710331026" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=747909" target="_blank">Montero's true talent lies in the improv</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Things go better for</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5240321"> Gabriela Montero</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> once she departs from the script...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Pianist Gabriela Montero played Chopin and Bach/Busoni as if she were making it up as she went along, and not in a good way.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">Montero's bangy dynamics and lurching phrasing made for an awkward, inelegant Ballade No. 3. And that implacable forward drive that is the essence of Bach's Chaconne, as its chord pattern turns over and over, was nowhere to be found....<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />In the second half, Montero did make it up as she went along, and in a very good way.</span> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Reviving a practice common in the days of Mozart, Clementi and Beethoven, she improvised on themes called out by the audience. The lively give and take between performer and patrons resulted in: Paganini's 24th Caprice for Violin, woven into clever and sophisticated two- and three-part inventions; "The House of the Rising Sun," percolating in ragtime and jumping in stride style; "Summertime," re-imagined as Rachmaninoff; "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," in dizzying Art Tatum jazz turns and an intense Astor Piazzolla tango twist; <span style="font-weight: bold;">and an "Amazing Grace" after Chopin at his most intimate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">In every case, she showed an astonishing ear, vivid imagination and canny sense of historical style. Every improvisation took the theme somewhere you never would have imagined but that made perfect sense in context. In every case, the theme went on a plausible but surprising harmonic adventure and came to satisfying closure. Montero wasn't just noodling over tunes, she was composing on the spot at a high level. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lots of pianists can play better Chopin, but almost no one can do what she did in the second half of this concert.</span></span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx%3Fid%3D747909" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></div><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://ca.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idCAL0524642020080507" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://ca.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idCAL0524642020080507" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW7MPmFbLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JEOaJwEpaYc/s1600-h/albanese.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW7MPmFbLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JEOaJwEpaYc/s320/albanese.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198767163888200882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/06/festival-puts-fleet-fingers-to-good-use-italian/" target="_blank"> Festival puts fleet fingers to good use</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Ventura County Star - Camarillo,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Italian pianist <a href="http://www.classiccat.net/performers/albanese_giuseppe.htm">Giuseppe Albanese</a> hits the Ventura highway...</span><br /></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p><a href="http://www.venturamusicfestival.org/">Ventura Music Festival </a>artistic director Nuvi Mehta had it just right when he said Saturday's concert was destined to create "an illusion that pianists have four hands."</p> <p>Giuseppe Albanese, a 29-year-old Italian keyboard artist who made his West Coast debut at last year's festival, had his hands full with a program of some of the most demanding pieces in piano literature: Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, Schubert's "Wanderer" Fantasie, Chopin's Polonaise-fantasie in A-flat Major and Liszt's "Reminiscences de Norma."</p>But the young Italian has more than fleet fingers. He also has a well-honed musicality that captures the relative buoyancy and melodic profusion of Schubert's "Wanderer," the Polish themes and rhythms so elegantly summoned by Chopin and the bravura style of Liszt.<br /><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"></span></p></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/06/festival-puts-fleet-fingers-to-good-use-italian/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8845206779586937867?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-33940548374981732082008-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.921-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHXe4lbywI/AAAAAAAAAao/xaOgD2BIGSs/s1600-h/karachi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHXe4lbywI/AAAAAAAAAao/xaOgD2BIGSs/s320/karachi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197672370547706626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, &amp; Previews:</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=110699" target="_blank"> A scintillating fiesta of melodies</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">The News - International - Pakistan</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">It's not often we get Chopin reviews from <a href="http://www.world66.com/asia/southasia/pakistan/karachi">Karachi</a>!<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The evening’s programme opened the Polish-French composer Frederick Francois Chopin’s Waltz in F Major. <a href="http://karachi.metblogs.com/2008/05/02/karachi-vocal-ensemble-performing-live/">Ayesha Tariq </a>gave a delightfully precise interpretation of the composer’s characteristic style, buoyant, perky and lively. The way her fingers moved over the keyboard in quick time with perfect ease, really made the rendition come alive with exuberance and vivacity.<br /><br />Ayesha, originally from Uzbekistan, and married to a Pakistani in Karachi, is a graduate of the Tashkent Conservatoire and has been playing the piano since she was seven. She certainly stole the show of the evening with her wizardry at the keyboard.</span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp%3Fid%3D110699" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHWZIlbyvI/AAAAAAAAAag/xn4xDi2FxKs/s1600-h/fliter5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHWZIlbyvI/AAAAAAAAAag/xn4xDi2FxKs/s320/fliter5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197671172251831026" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"> Review: Fliter plays with passion, precision</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kansas City Star - MO,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter</a>'s fingers fly impressively in KC....<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">The second half of the program displayed Fliter’s comfort with Chopin, from the intimacy of the Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3, to the complexity of the Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">While Fliter impressed with the ascending left-hand chromaticism of the Allegro maestoso and the presto flash of the opening measures of the Molto vivace, it was the third movement, the Largo, that was representative of this 34-year-old pianist’s manner: a flow of beauty in the arpeggios, and a delicate precision of melody and passionate crescendoes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Fliter played two encores, the first was the crowd-pleasing Minute Waltz.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">But it was the second that provided another highlight (besides the Chopin Largo): Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s “Danza del gaucho matrero.”</span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://ennienyc.livejournal.com/228254.html" target="_blank"><br /></a><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2008/05/chopin-in-motio.html" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHabolbyxI/AAAAAAAAAaw/bNCUzFMOv6M/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHabolbyxI/AAAAAAAAAaw/bNCUzFMOv6M/s320/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197675613248015122" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2008/05/chopin-in-motio.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> in Motion: Simplicity, Virtuosity, Structure</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By George Jackson<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A <a href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com">Danceviewtimes</a> review of an <a href="http://www.isadoraduncan.org/About_Isadora/about_isadora.html">Isadora Duncan </a>revival in Bethesda, MD takes a fascinating detour into the history of Chopin and Dance....</p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: georgia;"></p><blockquote>Six of the pieces were to Chopin’s music and particularly the “Prelude” (Duncan 1902; Chopin Opus 28 #7) and the “Mazurka” (Duncan undated; Chopin Opus 33 #3) reminded me of Mikhail Fokine’s ballet “Les Sylphides” that historians tell us was “supposedly” influenced by Duncan. . The Duncan dances move persistently, they pulse musically and posses a purity and simplicity [...]<br /><br />There were other Chopin ballets in the early 1900s. Stockholm had one and so did Vienna. The Viennese one, “Chopin’s Dances”, might have influenced Fokine. Formally at least, it sounds like the first version Fokine made of his Chopin ballet and titled “Chopiniana”. “Chopin’s Dances” premiered two years earlier than the Fokine, on 16 April 1905 at the Court Opera in Vienna on a bill with the operas “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “I Pagliacci”. It had choreography by Josef Hassreiter and initially was to have told a bit of a story – “… Chopin would have appeared on stage, and loved and died in the course of a pas de deux and ballabile”. That “starting” notion was rejected. The result was plotless. “Chopin’s Dances” proved to be long: an hour and a quarter’s worth of national character and classical dances. “The unfortunately piecemeal nature of the music was countered by the charm of the dances.” Particular praise went to the “Minute Waltz”, a pointe variation for ballerina Irene Sironi. “The familiar and beloved music together with the precision and dance joy of the ensemble earned the work much applause and secured it a place in the repertory”. Actually, “Chopin’s Dances” lasted only three seasons in its entirety and totaled just 20 performances in the years 1905 to 1907. However, some of its numbers were added to the divertissements in Johann Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus."....<br /><b></b><br /></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/" title="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/" target="_blank"> danceviewtimes - http://www.danceviewtimes.com/ </a></span></span> </p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1013769" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3394054837498173208?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-78498058650165281892008-05-06T08:52:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.929-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS8UfwApS9Q"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCimVZxVvI/AAAAAAAAAZY/N0rkf9H_eCk/s320/sedaka+chopin.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197332749449516786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Video of the Day: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Neil Sedaka Plays Chopin, c. 1965</span><br /></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The crooner shows off his classical chops by playing the Fantaisie-Impromptu after stumping the panel on the game show <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044270/">I've Got A Secret...</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09330843214406281 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09330843214406281 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCcflZxVtI/AAAAAAAAAZI/ZcDsXsAIaSo/s1600-h/mihaela.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 109px; height: 166px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCcflZxVtI/AAAAAAAAAZI/ZcDsXsAIaSo/s320/mihaela.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197326036415633106" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/18580549.html" target="_blank">Romanian pianist gives strong premiere of challenging Kernis work</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Nicely-written review of Romanian pianist <a href="http://www.ursuleasa.com/">Mihaela Ursuleasa</a>'s Twin Cities recital...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>T</b>he piano recital was hatched in the romantic era; the society that suckled it is long dead. Yet the institution still stirs, as evidenced by Mihaela Ursuleasa's sterling recital Sunday at Macalester College -- the culmination of the <a href="http://www.chopinsocietymn.org/">Frederic Chopin Society</a>'s 25th-anniversary season.</p> The center of interest was the world premiere of <a href="http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&amp;State_2872=2&amp;ComposerId_2872=824">Aaron Jay Kernis</a>' "Ballad(e) Out of the Blues: Superstar Étude No. 3," commissioned for the occasion. Invoking Gershwin in its opening moments, the piece, which honors the memory of Kernis' late father, is one of his characteristically complex negotiations with the musical past -- a continuously absorbing "battle with history," as the composer put it in a pre-concert talk...</blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>In Ursuleasa's Chopin group, preceding intermission, the two scherzos were more sharply characterized than the two ballades (which nonetheless resonated intriguingly with Kernis). The haunted euphoria of the B-flat minor Scherzo, in particular, was conveyed with startling intensity, although here and elsewhere a bit more rhythmic freedom would not have gone amiss.<br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/18580549.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> </p> </blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCh0FZxVuI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/9rQbm4rPyDM/s1600-h/blechaczproba28_32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCh0FZxVuI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/9rQbm4rPyDM/s320/blechaczproba28_32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197331886161090274" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=14947f44-ba8b-4b13-9454-37526750f320&amp;k=25518" target="_blank">Review: Rafal Blechacz, Vancouver <b>Chopin</b> Society</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada</span></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"A big jump into prominence for the Vancouver Chopin Society," says the Canadian scribe, , adding "We were lucky to have heard this concert. Chopin needs him."</span><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p></p><blockquote><p>From the wings of the Chan came the remarkable winner of the 2005 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the 23-year-old Rafal Blechacz, who placed first in all five categories and was so superior to the other contestants that the judges decided not to award a second place, which is really saying something. This was Blechacz's only Canadian stop on a current five-city first tour of North America.</p><p>A Pole, he seems to have found a way of restoring simplicity and emotional clarity to a birthright composer who is too often tortured out of recognition and made to seem more complicated than he really is, though the difficulties of playing him are often fearsome.</p><p>Blechacz found a way of making him sound natural in a way that reminded me of Christopher Columbus's solution to making an egg stand on end: he just chipped it slightly. That doesn't mean Blechacz cheated on the music in any way; he just made it look easy.</p><p>He started with a first half that was made up of Mozart, Debussy and Szymanowski. The other half was what the audience came to hear and is typical of these concerts in the series: Chopin.</p><p>[...]<br /></p><p>The whole second half was given to the 24 preludes by Chopin. These small miracles, the shortest of them only about half a minute long, were described as "eagle's feathers" by Schumann and one can't speak too highly of them. Every one of them held you rapt under Blechacz's spell. The 16th, which is already perilous for the right hand, was taken at an extreme speed and not a note was lost. The bass tones of the fourth rang out, dense with pure piano tone and in beautiful balance. The 14th was very, very dark and the shockingly dissonant second tolled its despair.</p><p>He made the whole set seem like a stroll through an art gallery, aphorisms that ranged from "a gleam of pure Chopin sunshine," as a writer characterized one of them, to the darkest morbidity, and this modest young man, who looked surprised by the standing ovation and long cheers, played the whole program from memory.</p><p>He's already booked four years in advance. We were lucky to have heard this concert. Chopin needs him.</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html%3Fid%3D14947f44-ba8b-4b13-9454-37526750f320%26k%3D25518" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7849805865016528189?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-39970011134610716172008-05-05T10:36:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.935-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCZx1ZxVsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/lv0HLa9RbjI/s1600-h/800px-Poland_Zelazowa_Wola.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCZx1ZxVsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/lv0HLa9RbjI/s320/800px-Poland_Zelazowa_Wola.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197323051413362370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin at Home:<br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/lifestyle/?id=81667" target="_blank"> Visit <b>Chopin</b>’s birthplace</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A great way to spend your Sundays in the Polish countryside....<br /></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote><div class="articleBox"><div class="note" id="note"><p><b>The 55th season of Sunday concerts in <a href="http://www.polandforall.com/chopins-birthplace-zelazowa-wola.html">Zelazowa Wola</a>, Chopin’s birthplace about 60 kilometres west of Warsaw, has been inaugurated with the recitals by <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Poblocka-Ewa.htm">Ewa Poblocka</a>, one of Poland’s leading pianists of the middle generation.</b> </p> <p>The grand piano is placed in the mansion in which the composer was born. Members of the audience are seated in the salon and in the beautiful park surrounding the mansion. </p> <p>The recitals are held every Sunday at 11 am and 3 pm until the end of September. There is a minibus service to Zelazowa Wola from Warsaw’s Music Academy on Sundays and Saturdays.<br /><br />The programme of the Sunday recitals is available at the website of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute <a href="http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/institute/" target="_blank">www.chopin.nifc.pl</a> (mk)</p></div> </div></blockquote></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/lifestyle/%3Fid%3D81667" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3997001113461071617?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-76015797674712974142008-05-04T08:53:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.942-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kapell-Rediscovered-William/dp/B00167TT8K"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC4EVZxVwI/AAAAAAAAAZg/RJwbHeuk23k/s320/Kapell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197356354589775618" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></p><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/arts/music/03arts-NEWRECORDING_BRF.html?ref=arts" target="_blank">New Recordings of Legendary Pianist</a><span style="color:#666666;"><br />New York Times - United States</span><br /><br />This Tuesday privately made recordings of the American pianist <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=+william+kapell&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a">William Kapell</a>’s last concerts will finally be available. Sony/BMG is releasing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kapell-Rediscovered-William/dp/B00167TT8K">this two-disc set</a>, which has works by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/wolfgang_amadeus_mozart/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.">Mozart</a>, Mussorgsky, Debussy and Prokofiev. Kapell was one of the great pianists of the mid-20th century when he died at 31 in a plane crash in 1953 while on his way home from a concert tour in Australia. A music lover in Melbourne had recorded radio broadcasts of several of his concerts on acetate discs, some of which made their way in 2004 through an intermediary to Kapell’s widow<br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/arts/music/03arts-NEWRECORDING_BRF.html%3Fref%3Darts" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC5ElZxVxI/AAAAAAAAAZo/rewR5hiJE78/s1600-h/20080502_mihaelaursuleasa_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 209px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC5ElZxVxI/AAAAAAAAAZo/rewR5hiJE78/s320/20080502_mihaelaursuleasa_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197357458396370706" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/02/mihaelaursuleasa/" target="_blank"> The passionate and powerful piano of Mihaela Ursuleasa</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The Romanian pianists visits the studios of Minnesota Public Radio in advance of her recital...hear the story </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/news/features/2008/05/02_sstaruch_ursuleasa">here:</a><br /></p><div class="intro"> <p class="regular"><br /><strong> </strong></p><p class="regular"><strong><br /></strong></p><p class="regular"><strong>Mihaela Ursuleasa is a commanding pianist and one of the biggest talents in the piano world. Small in stature, her music making is emotionally large and compelling. She stopped by Minnesota Public Radio to preview her weekend Frederic Chopin Society recital. </strong></p> </div> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/02/mihaelaursuleasa/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank"> </a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC7lFZxVyI/AAAAAAAAAZw/3957XD1bcuk/s1600-h/Constitution02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC7lFZxVyI/AAAAAAAAAZw/3957XD1bcuk/s320/Constitution02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197360215765374754" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank">Dancers celebrate Polish culture, constitution</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >A Steeltown celebration in Heinz Hall of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791">Polish Constitution Day </a>(May 3, 1791</span>)</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>The music of Poland's greatest composer, Frederic Chopin, will figure prominently, of course, including an orchestration of his famous "Military Polonaise." <span style="font-weight: bold;">And Migala says the traditional song "May Third" that will be sung has recently been authenticated as by Chopin.</span> <p>Sunday's concert also is a celebration of 400 years of Poles in America, dating back to 1608 at the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Migala acknowledges that their names "have been lost in history but they set up the first factories in America, which made pitch and tar that were useful for trading." </p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/284210" target="_blank"> <strong style="font-weight: normal;">Chopin, Preludes Op. 28 and Op. 45, with Three "New" Etudes and two works by Mompou. Alexandre Tharaud (Harmonia Mundi).</strong></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">The Capital Times - Madison,WI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Review of </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.alexandretharaud.com">Alexandre Tharaud'</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">s new Chopin/Mompou disc on Harmonia Mundi...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">Speaking of Tharaud, he has just released a volume with the cycle of Chopin preludes as a follow up to his highly acclaimed CD of Chopin waltzes. Once again, Tharaud is well served by his gift as an interpreter of baroque music (J.S. Bach, Couperin and Rameau) on the modern piano. Chopin always had great baroque and classical models in mind, which is why his Romanticism is tempered and moderated compared to, say, Schumann's....</span></blockquote><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/284210" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7601579767471297414?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-11522917838201722892008-05-02T08:49:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.950-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCDglZxVoI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Y4K48OED0tA/s1600-h/KorsantiaA_72dpi.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCDglZxVoI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Y4K48OED0tA/s320/KorsantiaA_72dpi.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197298565804807810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209626987116&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull" target="_blank"> From Georgia with love</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Jerusalem Post - Israel</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Georgian Pianist <a href="http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/faculty/korsantiaA.html">Alexander Korsantia </a>prepares to play a concert with the <a href="http://www.jso.co.il/index-english.php">Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra</a>, whose home venue of Henry Crown Hall just happens to be located on 5 Chopin Street...</p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>I perceive Israel as my country," says pianist Alexander Korsantia, who will perform Chopin's Second Concerto together with the Jerusalem Symphony under Leon Botstein in a special concert celebrating Israel's 60th Independence day and 70 years since the orchestra's founding. "13 years ago Israel embraced me. Since then our relationship only strengthens and I try never to let down the local audience," the pianist adds. Korsantia's career received a significant international push after he won first prize at the <a href="http://www.arims.org.il/competition2008/pages/english/index.php">Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition</a> in 1995. </p> <!-- It will play either video as first choice, or first image if there isn't an image --> </blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1209626987116%26pagename%3DJPost%252FJPArticle%252FShowFull" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html?id=ee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCHPVZxVpI/AAAAAAAAAYo/pZ78jV0cApQ/s1600-h/Toecutter-Zi%26Olesia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCHPVZxVpI/AAAAAAAAAYo/pZ78jV0cApQ/s320/Toecutter-Zi%26Olesia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197302667498575506" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html?id=ee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank">High praise for Chekhov at Hycroft</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Vancouver Courier - BC, Canada</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A rare Vancouver twin-bill of one-act plays by the Russian playwright reveals a heretofore hidden Chopin talent:</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>After the show, back home, I went scurrying to my Chopin CDs--Chopin because not only did actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1905875/">Olesia Shewchuk </a>completely steal my heart with her Natalia Stepanovna (in The Proposal) and Elena Ivanovna Popova (in The Bear), but she plays Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu on the Hycroft grand piano as part of the show. Multi-talented, she also translated "The Bear" from Russian.</blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html%3Fid%3Dee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCJ-VZxVqI/AAAAAAAAAYw/t5Q16A59aiI/s1600-h/blechacz.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCJ-VZxVqI/AAAAAAAAAYw/t5Q16A59aiI/s320/blechacz.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197305673975682722" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1209653439193840.xml&amp;coll=7" target="_blank"> GILMORE FESTIVAL HIGH NOTES</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">From the behind-the-scenes blog at the <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Festival</a> in Kalamazoo, MI:<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Rafal Blechacz CD wins rave </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Rafal Blechacz, who performed Sunday at Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall, is getting great press on his new CD, ``Chopin: The Complete Preludes'' (Deutsche Grammophon). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">``Rafal Blechacz looks on his CD cover like he can't be older than 14 (he's 22),'' wrote Arizona Republic music critic Richard Nilsen in an April 6 review. ``But his new recording of Chopin's Preludes -- and a couple of Nocturnes to fill out the disc -- has to be one of the best debut albums since Glenn Gould's Goldbergs. It's that good. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">``New young pianists pop out of the woodwork almost daily. Some have a great PR campaign behind them; others burst briefly from the many piano competitions before disappearing in the grind of concert tours with every second-rate orchestra in the world. Blechacz is different: He actually has something to say, and a personality that infuses his playing. ... This is truly refreshing pianism.'' </span></p> <p>-- James Sanford, </p> <p>Kalamazoo Gazette </p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf%3F/base/news-28/1209653439193840.xml%26coll%3D7" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><b>Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCM4VZxVrI/AAAAAAAAAY4/whRCOAPN9qQ/s1600-h/kempf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCM4VZxVrI/AAAAAAAAAY4/whRCOAPN9qQ/s320/kempf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197308869431350962" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/2008/05/15-questions-to-freddy-kempf-can-you.html" target="_blank"> 15 Questions to Freddy Kempf Can you tell who Freddy Kempf is by <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By pianoplayer0123(pianoplayer0123<wbr>)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >From the "<a href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/">Solo Pianis</a>t" blogsite, an online Q &amp; A with classical music's "Man in Black"...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>I am at home, in London, – in my wife’s “office” as we have a good friend of ours staying in my room! I am feeling heart-broken and depressed because I have just spent the whole afternoon practising Chopin’s 2nd piano concerto – it is such a wonderful feeling! I also feel great as I went to the gym today and ran my usual 3km in record time – 9 mins. in fact... well just kidding but one day I’ll get it down to 9 minutes... Some day...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What’s on your schedule right now?</span><br />On my schedule? Well tomorrow I fly to Sweden to do Chopin 2nd with a really great conductor friend of mine. I’m really looking forward to it as we always seem to make such good music together as well as having such fun. He sent me an SMS today saying, “Hi Freddy. When you arrive? Dinner? Weather is rubbish orchestra is great."</blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/" title="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Solo Pianist - http://lyudmilachudinova<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://pcpianist395.rticlz.com/2008/05/02/chopin-tracks-on-amiestreetcom/" target="_blank"><br /></a> </p><br /><hr noshade="noshade" size="1"><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1152291783820172289?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-69507348344696751622008-05-01T07:25:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.957-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn9glZxVnI/AAAAAAAAAYY/axU4qraMwkg/s1600-h/chopin-head.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn9glZxVnI/AAAAAAAAAYY/axU4qraMwkg/s320/chopin-head.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195462381386421874" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/chopin-genius-or-monster-817909.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b>: Genius or monster?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Think piece from UK daily: "As Radio 3 prepares to broadcast the composer's complete works, Michael Church says that he's been woefully misunderstood..." Worth a read!<br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><blockquote>The stock images are of the staunch Polish patriot, and of the hypersensitive aesthete coughing his heart out as he pens his romantic melodies. Yet in truth Chopin was a political arch-conservative, an artistic and social snob, and a dandy who hated contact with the rest of the human race. <!--proximic_content_off--> <!--proximic_content_on--> <p> Moreover, though his music may have been revolutionary, he was a stern Classicist, despising the Romanticism of his friends Liszt, Schumann and Mendelssohn. Meanwhile, his phenomenal reputation as a virtuoso rested on a mere 30 concerts. None of this fits the stereotype. </p> <p> Chopin's character still troubles even his most ardent champions. "A very strange person, very hard to like," is the verdict of <a href="http://www.kirshdem.com/artist.php?id=andrasschiff">Andras Schiff</a>, who plays his music with rare insight and sensitivity. Anti-Semitism was only one of Schiff's charges: after researching him in depth for a biographical film, he found he didn't like the man at all.... </p></blockquote></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/chopin-genius-or-monster-817909.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6950734834469675162?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-26135855319331488392008-04-30T17:33:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.967-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span><br /><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.sdjewishjournal.com/stories/xarchive.php?id=601" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn6M1ZxVlI/AAAAAAAAAYI/yfCK1wi9LOE/s1600-h/0508hershey.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn6M1ZxVlI/AAAAAAAAAYI/yfCK1wi9LOE/s320/0508hershey.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195458743549122130" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.sdjewishjournal.com/stories/xarchive.php?id=601" target="_blank">SWEET TRILOGY</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">San Diego Jewish Journal - CA, USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >An interview with Hershey Felder in the run-up to a San Diego presentation of all three of his one-man shows: "<a href="http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=25175">Beethoven At I Knew Him</a>," "<a href="http://www.monsieurchopin.com/">Monsieur Chopin</a>," and "<a href="http://www.gershwinalone.com/home/Home02.html">George Gershswin Alone.</a>"</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote> San Diego theater aficionados will certainly remember Felder for last year’s showstopper “George Gershwin Alone,” which sold out seats and kept audience members singing all the way home. Felder did more than portray the American music master, he became him.<br /> <br /> He followed the same formula in his return months later with “Monsieur Chopin,” bringing the intensely emotional 19th century pianist to life in ways most audience members had never imagined.<br /> <br /> At press time, he was neck-deep in rehearsals for the final piece in his composer trilogy, aptly titled, “Beethoven, As I Knew Him.” <br /> <br /> “This is the completion,” Felder says over the phone. “We’re going backwards.”<br /> <br /> All three parts of the trilogy are one-man shows, marked by Felder’s incredible ability to be both pianist and character actor. In order to provide both a show and an accurate history lesson, hours upon hours of research are required.</blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.sdjewishjournal.com/stories/xarchive.php%3Fid%3D601" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&amp;newsid=38111" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn8hVZxVmI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/_lO1syi6g28/s1600-h/dangtha.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn8hVZxVmI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/_lO1syi6g28/s320/dangtha.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195461294759695970" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/?catid=6&amp;newsid=38111" target="_blank">Chosen by <b>Chopin</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">More press for Chopin Competition winner <a href="http://www.dangthaison.net/">Dang Thai Son</a> during his tour of his Vietnamese homeland....</p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">When he was 12, his mother, one of the first Vietnamese pianists to graduate from the Prague Music Conservatory in what was then Czechoslovakia, brought him some CD’s featuring Chopin’s music from the International Chopin Competition she took part in.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">The youngster was mesmerized by the master’s works.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">His love affair with the piano and Chopin’s music had begun.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“Whenever I play his music, I feel as if it speaks about my own life and expresses my own thoughts and emotions,” Son says.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;">“The piano and Chopin’s works have kept me good company since I was young."...</span></p></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thanhniennews.com/entertaiments/%3Fcatid%3D6%26newsid%3D38111" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />Chopin Downloads:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn4fVZxVkI/AAAAAAAAAYA/zC7w3COyCcQ/s1600-h/Wibi_booklet_front.JPG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn4fVZxVkI/AAAAAAAAAYA/zC7w3COyCcQ/s320/Wibi_booklet_front.JPG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195456862353446466" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://freebooksource.com/?p=10543" target="_blank"> Wibi Soerjadi - Plays <b>Chopin</b> (1998)</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By freebook </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Free download of Chopin works by the Dutch pianist...</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;">Wibi Soerjadi - Plays <b>Chopin</b> (1998). Classical | 1998 | FLAC (single files) | 293 MB. RS.com | 4 files | booklet scans | 01:17:22 | Philips. Wibi Soerjadi was born in 1970 in Leiden, Netherlands. After only four years of studying at the <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://freebooksource.com/" title="http://freebooksource.com" target="_blank"> Free Book Source - http://freebooksource.com </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2613585531933148839?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-87054268230071357042008-04-29T07:30:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.978-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.revver.com/qt/850401.mov"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnrs1ZxVfI/AAAAAAAAAXY/kNqj05On9J8/s320/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195442800630519282" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin Video of the Day:<br /><br /></span></span><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://media.revver.com/qt/850401.mov" target="_blank"> Woody Woodpecker: "Musical Moments from <b>Chopin</b>"</a><br /><span style=""><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda give a piano performance for an audience of barnyard animals. Soundtrack is provided by the duo-piano team of (Thomas) <a href="http://www.naxos.com/artistinfo/Theodore_Saidenberg/38445.htm">Saidenberg</a> &amp; (Edward) <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0714341/bio">Rebner</a>.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://revver.com/" title="http://revver.com" target="_blank"> Revver Media RSS - http://revver.com</a></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/arts/music/29good.html?ref=arts" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnt91ZxVgI/AAAAAAAAAXg/DwutCVm35ck/s1600-h/GOODsoab.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnt91ZxVgI/AAAAAAAAAXg/DwutCVm35ck/s320/GOODsoab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195445291711550978" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/arts/music/29good.html?ref=arts" target="_blank">A Poet of the Piano, in the Company of His Forebears</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">New York Times - United States</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Times critic finds "Listening to the pianist <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/richard_goode/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Richard Goode.">Richard Goode</a> playing Bach and Chopin on Sunday was a perfect, soul-soothing tonic after a busy week..."</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Both Chopin’s life and his music are sometimes overromanticized; his works are either imbued with a sickly sweet perfume and exaggerated rubato or used as Lisztian showpieces. But Chopin adored the music of <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/wolfgang_amadeus_mozart/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.">Mozart</a> and Bach and reportedly sometimes played “The Well-Tempered Clavier” to warm up before concerts. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">When Mr. Goode played Chopin after works by Bach, it made musical sense, and each composer benefited from the diligence of his approach. He played with the clean articulation and voicing essential to Bach’s music, which also highlighted the intricacies and counterpoint of the Chopin selections.</span></p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/arts/music/29good.html%3Fref%3Darts" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnwilZxVhI/AAAAAAAAAXo/etjpYqPmRtk/s1600-h/claire.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 129px; height: 161px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnwilZxVhI/AAAAAAAAAXo/etjpYqPmRtk/s320/claire.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195448122094999058" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/republican/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1209367276186740.xml&amp;coll=1" target="_blank">Young pianist enthralls</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">The Republican - MassLive.com - Springfield,MA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">18 year-old pianist <a href="http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/PressReleaseDetail/0,,CNTID%25253D560442%252526CTID%25253D551576%252526CNTYP%25253DNEWS,00.html">Claire Huangci</a> "brought the audience to its feet with her performance of <b>Chopin's</b> Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor. <b>..."</b></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p> A recent Curtis Institute graduate and prize-winner in the 2006 Kosciusko Piano Competition, Huangci proved to be an elegant technician. </p> <script style="display: none;" src="http://ads.masslive.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_jx.ads/www.masslive.com/xml/story/union_news/e/enmu/@StoryAd" language="JavaScript1.1"></script><script language="JavaScript"> <!-- if (parseFloat(navigator.appVersion) == 0) { document.write('<iframe width="468" height="60" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" hspace="0" vspace="0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" bordercolor="#000000" src="http://ads.masslive.com/RealMedia/ads/adstream_sx.ads/www.masslive.com/xml/story/union_news/e/enmu/@StoryAd"></iframe>'); } --></script> <noscript></noscript><p>She controlled the piano with warm assertion, bringing a broad timbral palette to bear in her execution of Chopin's singular manipulations of the instrument. Neither the bravura passagework general to 19th century piano music nor the whimsical filigree so intimately identified with the Polish master posed any difficulty for Huangci's flying fingers. </p> <p> The consistency of certain tiny details (mannerisms in the playing of triplets, for example) seemed to reveal a studied expression rather than the appearance of spontaneous extemporization that will surely settle in with ensuing years of immersion in this repertoire. </p> <p> That said, the fact that composer and player were virtually the same age (Chopin was only 19 when he wrote the piece and 20 when he played the Warsaw premiere), speaks volumes for the value of youthful energy and ardor. </p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/republican/index.ssf%3F/base/entertainment-0/1209367276186740.xml%26coll%3D1" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn2X1ZxVjI/AAAAAAAAAX4/WE0PToXFCX4/s1600-h/blechacz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn2X1ZxVjI/AAAAAAAAAX4/WE0PToXFCX4/s320/blechacz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195454534481172018" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/04/pianist_rafal_blechacz_display.html" target="_blank"> Pianist Rafal Blechacz displays grace, versatility in thrilling <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">The Chopin Competition winner lives up to the hype at his debut at the prestigious <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Festiva</a>l....</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>But a Polish pianist is expected most to have natural affinity with Chopin's music. This proved true with Blechacz performing all 24 of Chopin's Preludes, Op. 28 (1836-1839) -- a "tour de force." The artist elicited totally unique, individual "personality" from each short piece. No. 4 in E Minor was the epitome of sadness, for example, as Blechacz wrung every ounce of wistfulness from the score.</p> <p>Everyone in the audience had his favorites, and mine included the utterly charming No. 9 in E Major, featuring the pianist's stunning left hand trills, a glorious No. 15 in D-Flat Major and a highly dramatic, affecting last prelude in D Minor, with blistering left-hand playing and dramatic chromatic runs in the right hand.</p> <p>A genuine surge of approval came afterwards from the audience, leading to a brilliant rendition of a Moszkowski showcase jewel. Clearly, Blechacz had won the hearts of his discerning Gilmore audience.</p></blockquote><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/04/pianist_rafal_blechacz_display.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style=""> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnw3lZxViI/AAAAAAAAAXw/SAfA6gUuVlQ/s1600-h/brubeck_braid.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnw3lZxViI/AAAAAAAAAXw/SAfA6gUuVlQ/s320/brubeck_braid.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195448482872251938" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://shanghaiist.com/2008/04/28/brubeck-braid-at-glamour-bar.php" target="_blank"> Review: Brubeck Braid at Glamour Bar</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Shanghaiist - Shanghai,China</span></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Don't know their music, but after the description, of the this piano/cello jazz duo, you may want to check them out!</span><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="font-size:100%;">The two mainly performed pieces from their album <a href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=14597">twotet/deuxtet</a> including <span style="font-style: italic;">Wash Away</span><b style="font-weight: bold;"> (inspired by a dream in which Chopin</b><span style="font-weight: bold;"> meets Ray Charles)</span>, </span><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://shanghaiist.com/2008/04/28/brubeck-braid-at-glamour-bar.php" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8705426823007135704?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-63302852055679310052008-04-27T07:28:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.988-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnn51ZxVeI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/88U9p7VxZA4/s1600-h/hamelin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnn51ZxVeI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/88U9p7VxZA4/s320/hamelin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195438625922307554" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/04/25/DD1Q10BUIG.DTL" target="_blank">A remarkable pianist on a curious quest</a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><br />San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >SF Critic admires the passion, but is not enthralled with the substance of a "fascinating but frustrating demi-recital" presented </span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" id="bodytext" class="georgia md" >by Canadian pianist <a href="http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=hamelin">Marc-André Hamelin</a> that is d</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" id="bodytext" class="georgia md" >evoted to 19th-century pianist -composer<a href="http://www.godowsky.com/"> Leopold Godowsky</a>.....</span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><span id="bodytext" class="georgia md"><p>Sometimes, as with someone who wants to show you his bottle-cap collection, you just have to smile and nod appreciatively.</p> <p>For at least one listener, Hamelin's barnstorming run through Godowsky's splashy oeuvre - seven of his 53 famous Etudes based on Chopin, and the Symphonic Metamorphoses on Johann Strauss' "Wine, Women and Song" - was just such an occasion.</p> <p>To be sure, Hamelin's execution was never short of amazing. Playing from memory, he tore through these intricate showpieces with dexterity and an extraordinary control of weight and voicing. Textures emerged from the thickets of notes with surprising clarity, and a few of the etudes - in particular the two for left hand alone - boasted a melancholy beauty that was striking.</p> <p>But unless a listener is already committed to the cause, these are not pieces that benefit from being heard in large quantities. The approach is often similar - Chopin's music is adorned and then adorned again - and the ratio of notes to music can seem very high. The Strauss paraphrase, without even Chopin's genius underlying it, felt endless.</p></span></span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi%3Ff%3D/c/a/2008/04/25/DD1Q10BUIG.DTL" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/2008/04/largo-by-frederic-chopin.html" target="_blank"> Largo by Frederic <b>Chopin</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Jeremiah Jones(Jeremiah K. Jones)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Advice for how to play Chopin in church...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">This is another recording from the book, <em><a href="http://www.alfred.com/alfredweb/front/ProductDetail.aspx?itemnum=%20%20%20%20%20%20%20453&amp;pubnum=0">Classical Music for the Church Service: Volume 2</a></em>. Although <a href="http://www.lisztonian.com/composers/Frederic+Chopin-4.html">Frederic Chopin</a> wasn't really known for writing music for worship (unlike <a href="http://www.lisztonian.com/composers/Johann+Sebastian+Bach-2.html">Johann Sebastian Bach</a>), you will understand why this selection was included in a volume of music for worship services. It has a very hymn-like feel and structure. It is a simple melody moving in a series of chords</span></blockquote><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/" title="http://www.signmypiano.com/" target="_blank"> Sign My Piano - http://www.signmypiano.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://chopingal.blogspot.com/2008/04/im-back-again.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6330285205567931005?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-57373044504464814582008-04-26T07:27:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.998-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnkhVZxVdI/AAAAAAAAAXI/HV1Pm4Y-zwM/s1600-h/chickering+baby+grand+piano+october.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnkhVZxVdI/AAAAAAAAAXI/HV1Pm4Y-zwM/s320/chickering+baby+grand+piano+october.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195434906480629202" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span><br /><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/apr/25/puzzle-pieces-past-fall-place-when-playing-baby-gr/" target="_blank">Puzzle pieces of past fall into place when playing a baby grand</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Anderson Independent Mail (subscription) - Anderson,SC,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">"This is a story about a piano, and a middle-aged woman, and the thrill of rediscovering an old love...."</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">The piano is a little long in the tooth now. It’s out of tune. Some of the keys stick. The hammers need to be re-felted. Old memories have to be dusted off when you take them out.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">I sit down on the bench, open a piece of sheet music and -- surprise! -- my hands float automatically to their places on the keyboard. Treble clef. Bass. Andante. Allegro. The words of a long-forgotten language come back to me, one by one.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">I can’t play very well. But I’m so happy, sitting here, my fingers finding their way over the keys again. It feels like the puzzle pieces of my past are falling back into place.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">My rendering of “Greensleeves” is tentative. Halting. I miss the C-sharp. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Next, one of Chopin’s “Nocturnes</span>.” Not much better. But it’s music....</span></p></blockquote> <a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/apr/25/puzzle-pieces-past-fall-place-when-playing-baby-gr/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span> </span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://homefris.blogspot.com/2008/04/shabbat-morning-at-hemdat-hayamim-or.html" target="_blank">Shabbat morning at Hemdat Hayamim, or; <b>Chopin</b> atop</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By homefris(homefris)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Touching entry about a piano recital in the rare air of the Promised Land...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal">Yitzak Tavior wants you to appreciate. Since he gathered his family on the mountaintop of Hemdat Yamim in the late 1960’s, Tavior has been striving to remember the obligation that comes with living in such a beautiful place. “What our job here is to bring culture, to bring music, to the surrounding area,” he says over sweetened mint lemonade at his family’s café. Along with a few scattered guesthouses and the family’s house itself, the café complex is the extent of Hemdat Yamim, a “farm,” (as Tavior calls it) in the upper Gallilee where we’ve found ourselves this Saturday morning.<br /><o:p> </o:p></p> We came for the morning piano concert, and found ourselves stepping up into the trees. Each Saturday morning, Tavior performs a “pluralistic” piano recital for a few guests inside his airily vaulted wooden attic studio....</blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" title="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">homefrid ocean - http://homefris.blogspot.com/</a></span></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Videosphere:</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x57mv9_wojciech-kossak-fryderyk-chopin_creation" target="_blank">WOJCIECH KOSSAK &amp; FRYDERYK <b>CHOPIN</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By <a href="mailto:rss@dailymotion.com" target="_blank">rss@dailymotion.com</a> (za0108) </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;">A nice "print show" pairing of Polish landscapes and military scenes by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojciech_Kossak">Wojciech Kossak</a> with FC's<span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span> music.....</span></p> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://homefris.blogspot.com/2008/04/shabbat-morning-at-hemdat-hayamim-or.html" target="_blank"></a><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" title="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"></a><div><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 12px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-0003270504713978828 visible ontop" href="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x57mv9&amp;v3=1&amp;related=1"></a><object height="336" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x57mv9&amp;v3=1&amp;related=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x57mv9&amp;v3=1&amp;related=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="336" width="420"></embed></object><a style="color: green;" href="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" title="http://homefris.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x57mv9_wojciech-kossak-fryderyk-chopin_creation<br /><b></b></a><b><a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x57mv9_wojciech-kossak-fryderyk-chopin_creation">WOJCIECH KOSSAK &amp; FRYDERYK CHOPIN</a></b><br /><i>Uploaded by <a href="http://www.dailymotion.com/za0108">za0108</a></i></div><br /></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-5737304450446481458?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-72409484506582445752008-04-25T07:27:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:27.008-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnYO1ZxVZI/AAAAAAAAAWo/s-txNucDmuw/s1600-h/blechachz.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnYO1ZxVZI/AAAAAAAAAWo/s-txNucDmuw/s320/blechachz.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195421394513515922" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastlife/story.html?id=e5ecaca3-cc8b-4a2a-a83b-9f1d21afe8be" target="_blank"> Award-winning pianist to perform here</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Both a review (of a new DG CD) and a preview of the pending May 2 appearance in Vancouver by Polish pianist <a href="http://www.blechacz.net/?nodeid=6&amp;lang=EN">Rafal Blechacz..</a>.</p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>This is a real coup. Blechacz, who is only 23, jumped into the spotlight overnight when he won all five top prizes in 2005's <a href="http://www.chopin.pl/imprezy/konkursy/konkurs_en.html">Frederic Chopin Competition </a>in Warsaw. For the first time in history, the jury decided not to award a second prize. The Vancouver stop is the only Canadian one in his first American tour of only five concerts. [....]<br /></p><p>This first recording is a very exciting one, consisting largely of the works he'll be performing in Vancouver, the revolutionary 24 Preludes of opus 28. This is amazing playing, remarkable for its clarity, directness and honesty. He makes what can be treacherous sound natural and simple. His playing evokes that supreme Brazilian pianist, <a href="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rpassarj/guiomar.html">Guiomar Novaes</a>, who was very hard to equal in playing Chopin. This is a very special recording.</p></blockquote><p></p><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastlife/story.html%3Fid%3De5ecaca3-cc8b-4a2a-a83b-9f1d21afe8be" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnZ9FZxVaI/AAAAAAAAAWw/Wim9uis9its/s1600-h/BeerBath_wideweb__470x306,0.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 181px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnZ9FZxVaI/AAAAAAAAAWw/Wim9uis9its/s320/BeerBath_wideweb__470x306,0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195423288594093474" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/europe/bit-of-a-draught-at-bathtime/2008/04/23/1208743038757.html" target="_blank"> Bit of a draught at bathtime</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Brisbane Times - Brisbane,Queensland,Australia</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >An Aussie visitor to the Czech Republic discovers a delightful tradition in the Spa towns where Chopin once took the cure...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">A beer bath may be an innovation here in west Bohemia but it's certainly not the first time the region has been visited for its spas. The neighbouring towns of <a href="http://www.myczechrepublic.com/karlovy-vary/">Karlovy Vary</a> and Marianske Lazne, once frequented by Chopin, Nietzsche and Freud, are famous in western Europe for their magnesium-rich waters. Thousands of tourists visit for thermal treatments at exclusive health spas. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin probably never bathed in beer, however.</span></span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/europe/bit-of-a-draught-at-bathtime/2008/04/23/1208743038757.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnbaFZxVbI/AAAAAAAAAW4/4oK6laCGycI/s1600-h/eleanor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 286px;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBnbaFZxVbI/AAAAAAAAAW4/4oK6laCGycI/s320/eleanor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195424886321927602" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.athloneadvertiser.ie/index.php?aid=7096" target="_blank"> Proust Questionnaire: Eleanor McEvoy</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Athlone Advertiser - Westmeath,Ireland</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Irish singer-songwriter dishes on F.C...</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p class="newsbody">Q: What is your idea of perfect happiness? </p><p class="newsbody">A: Listening to Chopin while sipping champagne in a hot bath filled with bubbles and the one I love. </p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.athloneadvertiser.ie/index.php%3Faid%3D7096" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thecoast.ca/Articles-i-2008-04-24-152082.113118_Chopin_bistro.html" target="_blank"> <b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thecoast.ca/Articles-i-2008-04-24-152082.113118_Chopin_bistro.html" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thecoast.ca/Articles-i-2008-04-24-152082.113118_Chopin_bistro.html" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/25/20990/" target="_blank"><br /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBneQFZxVcI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Tz1Mh_liDas/s1600-h/musicgeometry.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBneQFZxVcI/AAAAAAAAAXA/Tz1Mh_liDas/s320/musicgeometry.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195428013058119106" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/25/20990/" target="_blank">Composing while Computing</a><br /></p><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Princeton University The Daily Princetonian - NJ, United States</span></span><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">More on the "geometrical music theory" from Princeton scholar <a href="http://www.music.princeton.edu/%7Edmitri/">Dmitri Tymoczko</a>....</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>In his analyses of different pieces of music, Tymoczko was particularly struck by the pictorial representations of two musically unusual pieces by Chopin — the E-minor prelude and Chopin's final composition, a mazurka in F minor.</p> <p>"These are two pieces that people have really struggled to understand musically," Tymoczko said. "It turns out that they explore a very coherent space, a sort of necklace made with four-dimensional hypercube beads that are linked together by a shared vertex."</p> <p>What's most alarming about this discovery is that Chopin composed during the first half of the 19th century, a time when mathematicians understood very little about conceptualizing four-dimensional space. Still, Tymoczko said, the incredibly close correlation between Chopin's music and four-dimensional geometry could not possibly be a coincidence. In other words, Chopin had some intuitive understanding of a branch of mathematics that would not be formally expressed or understood until decades after his death.</p> <p>“It was an incredible point in history," Tymoczko said of the early 19th century. "Humanity's knowledge of the four-dimensional structure could only be expressed in the form of beautiful Romantic music."</p> <p>It's a discovery that gives new meaning to the belief of mathematician and philosopher Gottfried Leibniz that "music is the pleasure the human soul experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting."</p> </blockquote><p></p><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/25/20990/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7240948450658244575?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-34345931262393093782008-04-24T05:34:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:27.019-07:00<p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBADSVZxVSI/AAAAAAAAAV0/6WFdf93NQfY/s1600-h/pianoerrant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBADSVZxVSI/AAAAAAAAAV0/6WFdf93NQfY/s320/pianoerrant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192653983875945762" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span></span><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-04-24/news/piano-man-on-a-mission/" target="_blank">Piano Man on a Mission</a><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Miami New Times - Miami,FL,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Fascinating story of the "self-taught classical pianist" <a href="http://www.pianisterrant.com/">Kristopher Hull,</a> who's now taking his Chopin-heavy act to the streets of Miami as a "Pianist Errant"<br /></p><p>This past February 27 would come to be known as Kristopher Hull's Worst Day Ever. Armed with a full-size upright piano, a repertoire of Chopin's etudes and nocturnes, and his nerves, the 33-year-old pianist planned to storm Lincoln Road, guerrilla-style. He was going to bring classical music out of the concert hall and into the streets. </p>Inspired by his fictional role model, Don Quixote, Hull was in the early days of his quest, which he called "pianist errantry." He was accompanied by a pal, Swedish-born photographer Victor Staaffe, who was documenting the whole thing. Together that sunny afternoon, they unloaded Hull's piano from the back of his aquamarine pickup truck....<br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2008-04-24/news/piano-man-on-a-mission/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=339006&amp;z=31" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBAFdFZxVVI/AAAAAAAAAWE/LWKekBi6uHk/s1600-h/guitarist.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 137px; height: 207px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBAFdFZxVVI/AAAAAAAAAWE/LWKekBi6uHk/s320/guitarist.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192656367582795090" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?a=339006&amp;z=31" target="_blank"> Concert will feature 'jazz on a classical guitar'</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Post-Bulletin - Rochester,MN,USA</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Jazz guitarist <a href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=28790">Gene Bertoncini</a> is poised to showcase his classical chops with the Rochestra Symphony Orchestra..</span></span>.</p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">He'll play three arrangements with the orchestra, two of them melding classical pieces with jazz tunes. The first combines Chopin's Prelude in E flat with Antonio Carlos Jobim's "How Insensitive." The second starts with Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and becomes Chick Corea's "Spain."</span> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The works fit the Latin theme of the concert. "You can't get more Latin than the title of 'Spain,'" Bertoncini said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Jobim borrowed from Chopin's Prelude and added a bossanova beat for "How Insensitive."</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">"I heard a pianist do it the same way when I was on the 'Tonight Show,'" Bertoncini said. "I always remembered that." He simply transferred it to guitar. </span></p> </blockquote><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp%3Fa%3D339006%26z%3D31" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01MUS230408" target="_blank"> </a></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01MUS230408" target="_blank"></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBCSXFZxVWI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/p3R-Qs_AHhE/s1600-h/DANG.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBCSXFZxVWI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/p3R-Qs_AHhE/s320/DANG.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192811295643096418" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php?num=01MUS230408" target="_blank">World-acclaimed Vietnamese pianist to release new CD</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Viet Nam News - Hanoi,Vietnam</span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >More about the Chopin-heavy CD-and-book releases in Vietnam by native son (and 1980 Chopin Competition winner)<a href="http://www.dangthaison.net/"> Dang Thai Son</a>...</span><br /></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >A CD compilation of Vietnamese high profile pianist Dang Thai Son’s favourite classical pieces hits the streets next Friday.</span> <p align="left"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >Distributed by the Phuong Nam Film Company, the collection includes 13 CDs, previously released by Japan’s Victor Entertainment Inc. (JVC). The CDs include Tchaikovsky, Men-delssohn, Liszt, Ravel and Debussy scores, <span style="font-weight: bold;">and nine devoted entirely to Chopin.</span></span></p> <p align="left"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >According to director of Phuong Nam Film Phan Mong Thuy, the company has spent four months securing distribution rights from JVC.</span></p> <p align="left"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >"In presenting the CDs of famous pianist Dang Thai Son, our company is doing its utmost to bring Vietnamese audiences valued musical products," Thuy said.</span></p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/showarticle.php%3Fnum%3D01MUS230408" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style=""> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBCT_lZxVXI/AAAAAAAAAWY/StcZeMD_46Y/s1600-h/chopin+grave.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBCT_lZxVXI/AAAAAAAAAWY/StcZeMD_46Y/s320/chopin+grave.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192813090939426162" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=6216&amp;catid=110&amp;volume_id=317&amp;issue_id=375&amp;volume_num=42&amp;issue_num=30" target="_blank"> SFIFF: Ashes to ashes</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">San Francisco Bay Guardian - San Francisco,CA,USA</span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Another mention of the acclaimed indie documentary film <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008403-forever/">Forever:</a></p> <blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">SFIFF</span> One of the greatest pleasures of the 50th SF International Film Festival was <i>Forever</i>, Heddy Honigmann's 2006 study of the living among the dead at Paris' <a href="http://www.pere-lachaise.com/">Père-Lachese</a> cemetery. Between footage of the sun-dappled necropolis in all its hushed, springtime glory, Honigmann (who received last year's Persistence of Vision award) profiles several regular visitors, who in the course of discussing an attachment to a particular resident —<span style="font-weight: bold;"> whether that dweller be Frédéric Chopin or a deceased husband </span>— reveal a great deal about how we commune with memory in our daily lives.</blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php%3Fentry_id%3D6216%26catid%3D110%26volume_id%3D317%26issue_id%3D375%26volume_num%3D42%26issue_num%3D30" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://frindley.typepad.com/colophon/2008/04/dancing-about-2.html" target="_blank"> Dancing about music</a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Thomasina<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >A "distinterested plug" by a Down Under blogger for a quadruple-bill </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://theaustralianballet.cmail5.com/e/370261/ft1jj3j/">Jerome Robbins Celebration</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >, by the Australian Ballet... </span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong>1. The Concert</strong><br />This is one of the sweetest, funniest, most entertaining ballets I’ve ever seen. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The pianist on stage performs a recital of Chopi</span>n. The dancers are the audience – behaving in all the ways that audiences do, including sitting in the wrong seats – and they dance out their fantasies in the most delightful ways. Did I mention I adore this ballet?</span></blockquote><br /><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://frindley.typepad.com/colophon/" title="http://frindley.typepad.com/colophon/" target="_blank"> Thomasina’s last waltz - http://frindley.typepad.com<wbr>/colophon/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://blog.chapso.de/digital4513/2008/04/23/chopin-audio-files-on-amiestreetcom/" target="_blank"><br /></a> </p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://cathcon.blogspot.com/2008/04/chopin-and-callas-worshippers.html" target="_blank">Chopin and Callas worshippers</a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Gillibrand(Gillibrand)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;">Can be found at the Church of <a href="http://www.people.ku.edu/%7Easnow/">St Julien le Pauvre</a> in Paris. Since 1889, the home of the <a href="http://www.melkite.org/Melkite.htm">Melkites in Paris.</a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBCXD1ZxVYI/AAAAAAAA