....a roundup of Chopiniana: current news, views, reviews, recordings and performances in the runup to the 200th birthday of the matchless Polish keyboard composer.

Showing posts with label Frederica von Stade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frederica von Stade. Show all posts

Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Chopin Currency - March 23, 2008



Today's Yundi Li Installment:

Yundi Li, pianist
Financial Times - London,England,UK

From the Financial Times, Yundi Li shares his fashion faves:


I wore this today because it's comfortable but tonight (in Hong Kong to accept the South China Morning Post and Harper's Bazaar Style Award for Performing Arts) I will wear a Gucci suit. I like Gucci because it's fashionable and modern. I also buy Dior Homme because it has a unique and special look that I love. A classical musician has no choice but to wear a traditional outfit when performing. Armani sponsors the tailcoat I wear for performances....
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Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews (Besides Yundi Li):

Frederica von Stade sings Pauline Viardot
San Francisco Chronicle - CA, USA

After all of the advance stories, a bona fide review of the Pauline Viardot program:


After performances in London and Paris, "Pauline Viardot and Friends" had its U.S. premiere Thursday at Herbst Theatre. With Marilyn Horne serving as armchair narrator and host, a la Alistair Cooke, the program unfolded as a genial, if sometimes labored, introduction to a figure who is surely new to most listeners. The emphasis landed where it belonged - on the variety of sweet-natured, charming, sometimes melodramatic and occasionally gripping music Viardot wrote.

Mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade, soprano Melody Moore and baritone Vladimir Chernov performed 14 selections by Viardot, and three by other composers. The Viardot pieces ranged from airy meditations on nature and a winsome Chopin mazurka transcription to a feverish "Incantation" and a love duet from her operetta "Cendrillon.
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Canadian piano virtuoso Louis Lortie performs Chopin Etudes on the ...
Ottawa Start (press release) - Ottawa,ON,Canada

Preview of the Canadian pianist's March 31 appearance in Ottawa...

Following a recital by Canadian pianist Louis Lortie of Chopin Etudes in London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Financial Times wrote: “Better Chopin playing than this is not to be heard, not anywhere...."

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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Review: Chopin Vodka

By cnull

From "The Essential Blog for the Discriminating Drinker:"

You’re a famous 19th century composer. What are the odds that someone is going to take your good name and turn it into a vodka 150 years later?

The connection is Poland, where Chopin lived and vodka was (allegedly) born. Chopin is a traditional potato vodka, from Polish potatoes. Despite the fancy, frosted glass bottle, it has a very traditional flavor for potato vodkas, too. ...

Drinkhacker.com - http://www.drinkhacker.com



eternal sonata

By david carlton

Another review of the video game...

I pretty much decided I had to play it as soon as I heard that it took place in the imagination of a dying Frederic Chopin; they didn’t do as much with that theme as they could have, but there were other compensating virtues. ...

malvasia bianca - http://malvasiabianca.org

Monday, March 17, 2008

The Chopin Currency - March 17, 2008


Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:


Lauded opera legend Viardot honored in tailor-made show

Examiner.com - USA

Rave review for theatrical/music program dedicated to Chopin amie Pauline Viardot (see previous entry):

Their combined brilliance is astounding. Two of America’s greatest living mezzos, Frederica von Stade and Marilyn Horne, are about to join forces with superb Verdi baritone Vladimir Chernov, stage director and former San Francisco Opera General Manager Lofti Mansouri, fast-rising gifted soprano Melody Moore and San Francisco Symphony’s own Peter Grunberg to present two evenings of “Pauline Viardot and Friends.” These will be nights to remember.

So great was her artistry that Chopin, Liszt, Berlioz, Gounod, Meyerbeer, Saint-Saëns, Schumann and Fauré all composed or dedicated works for her. ...
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Li builds slowly, dazzles fans in Troy
Schenectady Gazette - Schenectady,NY,USA

More of the Yundi Li - Lang Lang traveling road show. First, Yundi Li at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall:

"Chopin’s famous Nocturne in E-flat Major, known to every pupil who’s played Chopin, was interesting in his softer tone, blurred images and introspective mood. Rather than knock out the final page as most pianists do, Li spun out the notes with a fluid nonchalance but kept the dynamic within the pensive range. It was a rather lovely choice."

In four of Chopin’s Mazurkas from his Op. 33, his tone had a hard edge, but his pacing, technical cleanness, emphasis of the inner voices and pedaling were ...
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Subtleties to Showmanship: Pianistic Duality on Display
New York Times - United States

....and Lang Lang plays Manhattan:

A particularly telling example of this duality was Mr. Lang’s single encore, Chopin’s Étude in E (Op. 10, No. 3). He played its outer sections with a ...
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About Chopin2010

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....is a roundup of all things Chopin leading up to the 200th anniversary of the matchless Polish composer for the piano in March 2010.