Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:
Vivid tribute show transforms theater into old Paris salon
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
Another glowing review for the San Francisco production of "Pauline Viardot and Friends," with special praise for soprano Melody Moore...
"Pauline Viardot and Friends" traced the outline of her life, from her early training under her strict father, Spanish tenor and voice teacher Manuel García, to her friendships with Chopin and George Sand. As her fame grew, so did her circle; she often entertained friends such as Charles Dickens, Henry James and Ivan Turgenev.
Despite her marriage to a much older man, Turgenev, explained Horne, became her lifelong amour.
"He became part of the family," Horne said. "It's hard to say which part, exactly - there's probably a word for it in French."
[...]
Moore, who has sung capably in small roles with the San Francisco Opera, gave a performance suggesting she is ready for center stage. After the big vocal leaps of "Coquette," Viardot's arrangement of a Chopin mazurka, Moore finessed the composer's "The Oak and the Reed" and "Hermione," and returned with a powerhouse performance of "Gods of the Styx" from Gluck's "Alceste."See all stories on this topic
A night of solo Chopin with Louis Lortie
Ottawa Citizen - Ontario, Canada
Preview of Canadian pianist's April 1 performance of the complete Etudes:
"Better Chopin playing than this is not to be heard, not anywhere," wrote a Financial Times critic after star Canadian pianist Louis Lortie performed Chopin ...
Chopin's complete Études are made up of the Twelve Études, Op. 10; the Trois nouvelles Études and the Twelve Études, Op. 25. Lortie's recording of the Études was cited in a special piano issue of BBC Music Magazine as one of "50 Recordings by Superlative Pianists."
Chopin Videos:
Road Songs (Richter plays Chopin Revolutionary Etude)
By CubanInLondon(CubanInLondon)
From the "CubaninLondon" blog, a breathtaking Sviatoslav Richter performance:
When in 1831, Chopin's étude opus 10, number 12, saw the light, Russian troops were about to crush the 'November Uprising' in Poland, The musician, unable to assist his fellow countrypeople, resorted to the only weapon he had, his piano. To me this piece is representative of a feeling that encompasses not just the love for one's homeland, but disdain for those who try to keep it down. Intoxicating.
CubanInLondon - http://cubaninlondon.blogspot
Chopin in the Blogosphere:
On Chopin, Vanguard, and Bosomy Winged Avengers
By Adam Tiler
The importance of good music in gamecraft...
I appreciated the Chopin in Hellfire Peninsula, and wish Blizzard would do more like that, but the rest is B quality at best. Vanguard, for all its faults, had beautiful music (under Media). Todd Masten is a master of thematic music to ...
Mahogany Finish - http://www.mahoganyfinish.org
my heart aches
By alyson.(alyson.)
Piano memories from a Portland blogger...
I fell in love with Debussy, twisted my fingers learning Brahms, and wanted to learn every Chopin waltz written. every year, I competed in a local and state level for piano. each year I played in the solo competition, ...
unruly.things - http://unruly-things.blogspot
