The Chopin Currency - April 20, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

'My Young Years': Rubinstein's Enchanting Prelude
Washington Post - United States

Book critic and columnist Jonathan Yardley's "Second Readings" series shines the spotlight on a long out-of-print autobiography by the Polish piano master...

It was written in English, one of several languages in which Rubinstein was fluent, and it is written remarkably well, with scarcely a trace of the diction of his native Polish or the other languages (Russian, German, French) he spoke during his youth. I first read it about 30 years ago -- my copy is the third printing of the 1973 paperback -- when I was in the midst of a Rubinstein binge, gobbling up his recordings of Chopin, his fellow Pole, one after the other. I make no claim to particular knowledge of classical music, but I was drawn then (as I am now) to the lyricism and abundant feeling of Rubinstein's Chopin, and I simply wanted to know more about the man who made the music. I was enchanted by the book then, and I remain enchanted by it today. [...]

He writes:

"Two major Beethoven sonatas, short pieces by Brahms and Schumann, and the great B minor Sonata of Chopin were added to it in less than two weeks. As before, and as would prove true for many years after, the processes of my means of approach to the music at hand were made up of a peculiar combination: a clear conception of the structure of a composition and complete empathy with the composer's intentions were always within my reach, but because of my lazy habits, I would neglect to pay attention to detail and to a finished and articulate performance of difficult passages that I hated to practice. I used to put the whole weight on the inner message of the music."

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Pianists Garrick Ohlsson and Craig Sheppard perform this week
Seattle Times - United States

Preview of pianist's appearance with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra...

The genial and good-natured Ohlsson, who also is a perennial favorite among his musical colleagues, has been at the top of his profession ever since a 1970 gold medal at the Chopin International Piano Competition. He's still a great Chopin interpreter, but now Ohlsson's repertoire includes more than 80 concertos from several centuries, which he plays with an array of top conductors and orchestras on several continents. A regular in the recording studio, Ohlsson recently won a 2008 Grammy for "Best Instrumental Soloist Performance" with the third of his recordings of Beethoven's complete piano sonatas for Bridge Records.

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The Chopin Currency - March 20, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Opera's elite celebrate music of Viardot
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA

Another story on the Pauline Viardot stage show in San Francisco, with some fascinating insights from Marilyn Horne:

"She helped Wagner raise money for 'Tristan und Isolde.' She rewrote a lot of Chopin's music for voice - an entire book of mazurkas. Those were amazing things for a woman of that time."

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He fills halls and sells CDs, but marketing has triumphed over music
Globe and Mail - Canada

The Toronto critics continue to roast Yundi Li:

Chopin's Four Mazurkas, Op. 33 suffered the same insensitivities of style, with the addition of a failure to grasp the characteristic rhythm of the vigorous Polish dance form. Only the third of the four had any simplicity and command. All of these were accompanied by the subliminal but distinct sound of Arthur Rubenstein spinning in his grave....

He opened the slender first half of his program with Chopin's most shopworn Nocturne, the one in E flat, Op. 9, No. 2, and played it very badly indeed. ...
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Why Murray Perahia turned to Bach
Telegraph.co.uk - United Kingdom

Nice article on peerless pianist Perahia's interest in JSB. Perahia notes he's not the only one:

Bach, as Perahia realises, had an impact on music not just in the 18th century, but throughout the Romantic era of the 19th and beyond. "Composers took Bach as their bedrock," he says, "whether it's Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann or Chopin.

"I don't think there was a day when Chopin wasn't playing Bach. When Schumann went into depression, he wrote fugues, and he always told his wife, Clara, to study Bach. It was an important part of their musical make-up....

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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Betraying Bacon and Boating
By Jeremy Denk

Pianist and blogger Jeremy Denk (currently on the road with violinist Joshua Bell), waxes eloquent on Chopin's one-and-only Barcarolle:

Chopin writes a passage of drift which allows one motion to become another, a flight between ratios, a mysterious differential equation.

This transition is amazing partly because of its disengagement, because of the sensation that the foundations of the narrative have been removed. This transition is not essentially “musical.” It does not conform to the niceties of musical discourse, it does not attempt to be the smooth unnoticeable gearshift. Chopin deliberately removes us from the world of capital-M Music, in which he had allowed us to bathe.

I chose to program the Chopin Barcarolle (last week in lovely San Diego!) on the strength of a moment I wanted to seize, on a juicy crispy piece of bacon I once smelled in its interior. Ah, I remember the moment well: a student came in ...
- http://jeremydenk.net/blog

Eternal Sonata
By Kamisamaa(Kamisamaa)

An entry from Live Journal regarding Chopin's relationship with George Sand...

It is impossible to tell the story of Chopin’s life without the mention of this woman. George Sand was an extremely famous author in Paris who had already published numerous books. Her real name was Aurore Dudevant. ...
Recurring Reverie - http://kamisamaa99.livejournal.com/

Misc. Chopiniana:

Chopin Chorlton
By manchesterbars

Next time you're in Manchester, UK, ("the rock'n'goal capital of the world!") check out the Chopin Bar

Chopin - Manchester Road, Manchester, M21 9PG map classical music played in this new bar Hotels in Chorlton More bars in Chorlton, Manchester Top 10 bars and clubs in Manchester.
Manchester Bar Reviews - http://manchesterbars.wordpress.com/

The Chopin Currency - March 18th, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Belbin, Agosto taking a classical approach
Boston Globe - United States

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

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

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

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

Hey! It's another Yundi Li review!

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

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

Hey! It's another Lang Lang review!

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

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

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

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


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







Literary Chopin:

♯Six
By Frederic Francois Chopin(Frederic Francois Chopin)

Another installment from the pianopoet...

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

The Chopin Currency - March 13, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Pianist’s intense preparation and talent have brought him global ...
Schenectady Gazette - Schenectady,NY,USA

Another preview for the current recital tour of 2000 Chopin Competition winner Yundi Li, who'll play Sunday March 16th at the acoustically-rich Troy (NY) Savings Bank Music Hall. In this installment, we learn:

His role models for pianists were Maurizio Pollini of Italy and Krystian Zimerman of Poland, both of them previous winners of the Chopin competition who had gone on to major careers.

Since his incredible win at the 2000 International Chopin Competition at age 18 when he was the first competitor to take home a gold medal in 15 years and ...
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Unremarkable night salvaged by Israeli's rendition of Schubert
Ha'aretz - Tel Aviv,Israel

Meanwhile, at the Artur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv, the local critic is more impressed by an old film of the master in action than any of the flesh-and-blood contestants....

The second contestant, Rem Urasin of Moscow, strived to project an especially "deep" message, yet the result was boredom. The mazurkas of Chopin proved heavy and artificial, the antithesis of the Rubinstein approach, of which I was reminded while in the vestibule of the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. The museum was screening footage of Rubinstein leading a class in 1979 at the "Mishkenot Sha'ananim" in Jerusalem. It is worthwhile to stop and observe the old craftsman in action, demanding "simplicity" and emphasizing articulative rendition that needed to stem from genuine, internal emotion. For him and for musicians that managed to connect with him, such comprehensive instructions contained meaning.

The mazurkas of Chopin proved heavy and artificial, the antithesis of the Rubinstein approach, of which I was reminded while in the vestibule of the Tel ...
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Konstantin Igumnov = CHOPIN: Mazurka No. 33 in B Major, Op. 56, No ...
Audiophile Audition - USA

Another reissue review:

Another in the series The Russian Piano Tradition, this installment celebrates the artistry of Konstantin Nikolayevich Igumnov (1873-1948)--Moscow Conservatory teacher of notables Jakob Flier, Lev Oborin, and Bella Davidovich--with inscriptions Igumnov made 1935-1947 in fair to moderately passable sound. ....Chopin’s B Major Mazurka, which despite the tinny sound that haunts all Soviet inscriptions, reveals a fine sense of legato and good inner pulsation.

Igumnov claimed supremacy in the romantic repertory, particularly in the music of Chopin, Schumann, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, and Tchaikovsky. ...
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Chord Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Idolator - New York,NY,USA

More about musicologist Dmitri Tyomoczko's intriguing video linking math, chords, Chopin, and spatial relationships.....and just how is it that scientists keep linking Chopin and Deep Purple?

There, he shows a Chopin chord progression represented as movement around a circle, and since a 12-point circle is a clock, it's easy to follow. ...
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CHOPIN-WALTZ

A blogger's selection of favorite Chopin waltzes on YouTube...

Sergio Fiorentino plays Chopin Waltz Op 18 (GRAND WALTZ)--LEARN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXqfMj7xj5M Yundi Li plays Chopin Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 --LEARN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvxS_bJ0yOU Horowitz plays Chopin Ballade 1 ...
NONIK'S SITE - http://ininonik.multiply.com/

Loving Coq - Rooster - Ballet Review
By Vance(Vance)

A Toronto blogger weighs in on the National Ballet of Canada's "32" [sic] Preludes" - apparently too dazzled by the outfits to note that there are actually only 24 of 'em....

And then there's the first piece, 32 Preludes by Chopin that is weird and wonderful and modern and abstract and very very cool. Did I mention everyone is in tights? Tights that are transparent and only strategically covered by small ...
Tapeworthy - http://tapeworthy.blogspot.com/

The Chopin Currency - March 12, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

... teen and young adult, she was different, "off," but lucid, literate, energetic and capable of playing Chopin. She went without diagnosis for decades. ...
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The Chopin Currency - Mar 10, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

National Ballet's versatility shines in triumphant trio
Globe and Mail - Canada

RAVE review for National Ballet of Canada program that leads off with post-modern interpretation of the Chopin Preludes, courtesy of Quebecois choreographer Marie Chouinard:

"From the get-go, Chouinard announces that hers is not a traditional interpretation of, dare I say, Chopin schlock.

Chouinard makes us listen to this well known music played by the excellent Jean-François Latour, with new ears, while lighting designer Axel Morgenthaler has ensured that the audience focuses on hands, feet or whichever part of the body Chouinard has put into play. Moments are wonderfully droll such as a particularly angst-filled prelude accompanied by a soccer ball and a pick-up game. As the piece progresses, bodies distort while limbs are angled in the most peculiar way, but always tied to the music, as if Chopin wrote disco.

The iconoclast Chouinard has deconstructed Chopin's quintessential romantic music to create quirky dances that reflect mood, emotion and beat, ...
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The National Ballet says ta-ta to tutus
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada

Thumbs-Up, too, from the Toronto Star:

Exposing as much of their perfectly sculpted bodies as could be decently exposed, 17 dancers performed an enlarged version of Marie Chouinard's 24 Preludes by Chopin. Enlarged, that is, by seven dancers, heightening the dynamics of a kaleidoscope of choreographic invention. The company looked about as far from white tights and tutus as it ever has.

Chouinard's work is full of audacity and surprises – all the better to sharpen the National Ballet's cutting edge.

It is not the songs of the Rolling Stones but 24 Preludes by Frédéric Chopin that give the National Ballet of Canada a fresh, edgy look in the mixed program ...
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Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor; Polonaise in A-flat Major; Artur Rubinstein, piano/Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra/witold Rowicki
Audiophile Audition - USA

Glowing review of a new reissue on the Altara label of a legendary Rubistein recording dating from 1960, at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw that marked the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth.

Chopin’s liquid lines, proceeding by way of lithe ornaments, achieve any number of noble gestures. The middle section is all shimmering melodrama, the nervously palpitating strings supporting arioso and declamatory runs from Rubinstein’s fleet fingers. The last movement’s mazurka-laden Rondo has Rubinstein applying bold strokes, consummate acrobatics in rhythm and dynamic nuance, the Warsaw Philharmonic in splendid, shared leaps and somersaults.

The immediacy of Rubinstein’s playing in the opening Chopin Concerto is its utter spontaneity and poetic breadth. At 73, Rubinstein had learned to enjoy ...
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

Lennox Berkeley: Mazurka Op.101b
By John France(John France)

From the Land of Lost Content ("Musings on British Classical Music,") a discovery of a Chopin-inspired Mazurka from compsoer Lennox Berkeley (pronounced "BARK-lee" in YankSpeak):

However Berkeley had already nodded to Chopin with a set of Three Mazurkas written in 1949 to celebrate the Chopin death centenary. And of course Chopin was an influence on much of Berkeley’s more ‘advanced’ piano music too. ...
The Land of Lost Content - http://landofllostcontent.blogspot.com/

Chopin Downloads of Dubious Legality

Hans Wurman - 1970 - Chopin a la Moog
By stigma2(stigma2)

Noted without comment....

51,54 MB.
stigma rest room - http://stigmarestroom.blogspot.com/

The Chopin Currency - Feb. 20, 2008

Chopin Reviews & Previews:

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

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

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

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

Chopin and choping

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

Chopin Nocturne Op. 48 No. 1

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

The Chopin Currency - Feb. 13, 2008

Chopin Bicentennial (Chopin2010) News:

The Polish Minister for Culture and National Heritage Bogdan Zdrojewski has unveiled the main line of activities of his ministry, including the Chopin Bicentenary....

Culture ministry reveal plans

Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland
The programme of the Chopin Year in 2010, the bicentenary of the composer’s birth, is in the final stage of preparation. A thorough refurbishment of The ...
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Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Amedeo Modigliani Quartet
Washington Post - United States
Pianist Jean-Fr¿d¿ric Neuberger, all of 21, has already made his Kennedy Center debut, recorded the complete Chopin etudes and appeared with top-tier ...
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Blechacz makes Rome debut
Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland
The programme included works by Mozart, Debussy, Karol Szymanowski and Chopin’ Preludes. It was the CD featuring Chopin’s Preludes – recorded under an ...
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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

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

Living inside a snow globe
By Jeff and Mary(Jeff and Mary)
You can listen to an excerpt played by the great Artur Rubinstein here: http://www.amazon.com/Artur-Rubinstein-Chopin-Collection-Nocturnes/dp/B000003ENY. Click on "listen to samples" and scroll down to the bottom of the list, to #19. ...
Jeff and Mary's Excellent Adventure - http://jeffandmarysexcellentadventure.blogspot.com/

The Chopin Currency - Jan. 28, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews

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

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

The Chopin Currency: Jan. 24, 2008

Google News Alert for: chopin

Concert series to present piano recital
Caledon Citizen - Caledon,Ontario,Canada
He will present a recital that will include etudes, preludes and concerti by Chopin, Bach, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin. The concert takes place at St. James ...
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Remembering Rubinstein
Times Online - UK
And Chopin flowed from his fingers like clear, sweet water. Time was honoured in the music's heartbeat; yet time also seemed suspended. ...
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Dutch symphony

Times of India - India
... Steiner on the piano, violin and viola respectively, brought to life compositions of masters like Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Scharwenka. ...
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Overseas Vietnamese pianist play in HCMC
Thanh Nien Daily - Ho Chi Minh City,Vietnam
The 21-year-old musician, Van Anh, will play pieces by Mozart and Chopin at the event co-organized by the Australian Consulate-General. ...
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