The Chopin Currency - July 6, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

‘The Year of Sembrich’ features pianist Simon Mulligan as part of ...
Schenectady Gazette - Schenectady,NY,USA

News of a series of events marking the 150th anniversary of the birth of Polish-American soprano and vocal instructor Marcella Sembrich, (1858-1935) sponsored by the Marcella Sembrich Opera Museum 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."

A Frederic Chopin Festival will be held from July 23 to 27. “It’s an apt time,” said Richard Wargo, 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.

Pianist Simon Mulligan will set the tone of the season at his recital on Saturday, July 12, with a program that includes Liszt’s “Reminiscences of Lucia”, Chopin’s Ballade in G minor and his “Raindrop” Prelude and Mulligan’s own transcription of Offenbach’s Barcarolle from “The Tales of Hoffman.”

[...]

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.

“It’s the scholarly approach as opposed to the Hollywood fanfare of the film ‘Impromptu,’ ” Wargo said.

The 1991 movie will be shown at no charge that night at 7:30 p.m. in the Bolton Town Hall.

On Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, pianist Diana Fanning 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 Jenny Lind, known as the Swedish Nightingale.

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.

“She wanted to marry him, but Chopin felt it was too late,” Wargo said.

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Chopin Videos:

F.Chopin "Valse a moll" "Chopin-Pragnienie milosci"
By Daria(Daria)

From the Famous Polka Dancers and Musicians blogsite, Chopin on the Squeezebox...

Frederic Chopin`s "Waltz in a minor", romantic music from the movie "Chopin: The need for love". Solo accordion Miroslaw Marks.

Famous Polka Dancers and Musicians - http://famouspolkadancers.blogspot.com/

The Chopin Currency - The Accordion Edition: May 19th, 2008

Virtuoso introducing America toclassical music on the accordion
Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas,NV,USA

“No, I don’t play polkas,” says Lidia Kaminska, "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 Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw....

“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.”

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...

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.

“Breaking Boundaries,” 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.

“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.”

She’s since performed with chamber orchestras, contemporary ensembles, dance groups and orchestras, and is a virtuoso unlike any other....

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