The Chopin Currency - May 30th, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

'Forever' captures architecture, 'personality' of French cemetery
Deseret News - Salt Lake City,UT,USA

"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, Forever turns out to be a much-better film than that would suggest....."

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 Pere-Lachaise in France.

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.

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Chopin-related Downloads:

9. PIANO FILLS—CHOPIN INTRO 2.aif by hammerklavier

From the Free Sound Project website, a Chopin-flavored offering...

	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...

The Freesound Project - http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/

The Chopin Currency - April 1, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Pianist Yundi Li makes his Miami debut
MiamiHerald.com - Miami,FL,USA

Preview of the April 1 debut by our headline-grabbing pianist, who discusses his continuing connection to Chopin afer wininning the Chopin competition in Warsaw...

Yet Chopin will make up the bulk of Li's program, including four Mazurkas, the Nocturne in E flat major, and the Andante Spianato and Grand Polonaise Brillante.

The pianist's Chopin has a tonal elegance, detailing and subtlety that raise it above even the most accomplished of today's keyboard artists. His Chopin is well represented with two solo discs and the First Piano Concerto coupled with that of Liszt.

Artur Rubinstein, Sviatoslav Richter, and Martha Argerich -- three musicians with very distinct Chopin styles -- have all been key influences. Yet Li's probing and interior Chopin is very much his own, and he believes his approach to the Polish composer's music has evolved in the eight years since his victory in Warsaw.

''I was just 18,'' says Li. ``It was very exciting and after that, that really started my career.

``There's a big difference because of course I've been playing so many different pieces [since then]. Now, [his Chopin playing] is more developed and I feel it's deeper and more mature.''

For an artist whose performances display such intense control and concentration, Li prefers a spontaneous approach, rarely tackling a work the same way. ''I will play each piece slightly differently, because every concert gives me a different feeling,'' he says.

''But I especially enjoy Chopin's music,'' says Li. ``I think he will be one of the most interesting composers for my life.''

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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

A couple of mostly inscrutable selections today, but since this blogs promises "All Things Chopin,"...follow link below for a short story called Shampoo ("Phrasing Chopin in Permanent Waves"). Meanwhile, over on Live Journal, our man Chopin is bound for the Krankenhaus, it seems...

English: Condolences Fiction Poems Essays Reviews Miscellaneous ...
By Rolf-Peter(Rolf-Peter)
Shampoo (phrasing Chopin in permanent waves) Feux Follets Diaboliques (my pianistic prowess challenged by the devil) Mombasa (the downfall of a pianistic empire) Pictures at an Exhibition (an accident at the conservatory) ...
try-out - http://wille3.blogspot.com/

thes1project @ 2008-03-30T22:56:00
By Frédéric-François Chopin(the S1 PROJECT)

I am going to the hospital. Alphonse, do you know any doctors that you trust?
the S1 PROJECT - http://community.livejournal.com/thes1project/

Chopin Downloads of Dubious Legality:

Janusz Olejniczak, Frederic Chopin - The Pianist: Music from the Motion Picture [Soundtrack]...
By Admin(Admin)
Free Mp3 Blogspot 1. Nocturne in C-Sharp minor (1830) 2. Nocturne in E minor, Op. 72, No. 1 3. Nocturne in C minor, Op. 48, No. 1 4. Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 5. Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 6. Waltz No. 3 in A minor, Op. ...
Free Download Mp3 And Lyrics - http://gedug.blogspot.com/

Vivaldi - Opera Arias And Sinfonias - Emma Kirkby
By Chopin(Chopin)

From a newly-discovered music blog called "Cafe Chopin," which does not seem actually to include any Chopin...

Classical APE & CUE 1 CD, covers, Booklet 301 Mb Rs.com. Download.
Cafe Chopin - http://cafechopin.blogspot.com/

The Chopin Currency -- March 25, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:

Marc-André Hamelin: No Limits
Toronto Star - Ontario, Canada

Review of a new DVD of the Canadian artist in concert:

This DVD combines extensive background interviews with a recital at the Ruhr Piano Festival in Essen, Germany, last summer. It's an extraordinary interpretation of a textbook solo-piano program: sonatas by Haydn and Chopin, the 12 Preludes in Book II by Debussy and fun encores by Gershwin and Hamelin himself....

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Chopin in the Blogosphere:

“The World’s 50 Greatest Composers”
By Review Editor

The audio-library branch of the Mormon Church unveils its new series on composers....

Frederic Chopin was quite a tragic tale. My students remember well the “skinny composer” who never weighed more than 100 pounds. His devotion was solely to the piano, and the melodies shared are most beautiful. My students were amazed how such a small man could pound such incredible songs out! His life is one of continued digression as years of suffering finally lead to an early death at 39.

In all of these MP3 downloads from “The World’s 50 Greatest Composers” , the narrator’s voice is ALWAYS enjoyable to listen to and very lively, even story-like at times.

LDSAudio.com - LDS Music, Talks... - http://blog.ldsaudio.com

The Chopin Currency - Feb. 18, 2008

Chopin News, Reviews, & Previews:

A touch of Old Vienna

The Vienna New Year's Day Concert transported to the Philippines, featuring Filipino pianist Rudolf Golez, sole prize winner of the Chopin competition in Kuala Lumpur....
Inquirer.net - Philippines
28 and Frederic Chopin’s “Grand Polonaise Brillante” and “Spianoto.” Proceeds of the concert will go to the GeoChrist Foundation Inc., which seeks to make ...
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The life of a piano maestro

Sunday paper feature from India...
Deccan Herald - Bangalore,India
Marianne de Nazareth writes about the short life and career of piano maestro Frederic Chopin. If you are a romantic, there is nothing nicer than listening ...
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Gallagher is far from typical

Interesting piano recital in Red Bank, NJ from pianist Kimball Gallagher.
Asbury Park Press - Asbury Park,NJ,USA
Along with these lesser-known pieces will be traditional piano fare, highlighted by a set of mazurkas by Frederic Chopin. Gallagher is of a new breed of ...
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Piano Virtuosos to Give Solo Recitals
More Chopin Prizewinners in concert...Lim Dong-hyek plays in Seoul...
Korea Times - South Korea
The 23-year-old made headlines when he shared the third prize in the 2006 International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition with his brother Dong-min. ...

Chopin in the Blogosphere:

trail of destruction

Something about moving pianos around....

Nonstarving Artists - USA
Pianist errantry was afoot, and I was completely submerged in the Chopin I was playing. The keyboard was a map to the canyons of my mind. ...
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I hate Chopin

And now, for an opposing viewpoint....

By Antonio De Felice(Antonio De Felice)
I simply hate Chopin. Being a pianist, this sounds a bit like a blasphemy. i want philosophy in music, from the irony of Prokofiev to the architecture of Bach... but Chopin's music, bourgeois music for middle class who pretended to be ...
The blog of Antonio De Felice - http://adf-pisa.livejournal.com/

Bass Lesson: "Piano Study Brahms Etude-chopin Var" by Jon Hermansen

A string-bass instruction site using Chopin-a-la-Brahms to teach a lesson...

Style: Classical. Difficulty: Ridiculous. Not really practical, however very important concepts-continue:Please dont get caught up in the complexity, it is not worth it. Just focus on the message of the lesson.
New Bass Lessons - http://www.activebass.com/default.asp?src=ld

Chopin Photos & Images:

Chopin monument
By Ziutograf
Chopin monument Famous Chopin monument in Lazienki Park. Warsaw, Poland. More in Warsaw lightbox: My Park scenes lightbox.
iStockphoto.com - Newest Uploads - http://www.istockphoto.com/index.php?view=full


Frédéric Chopin
By nobody@flickr.com (Jauss)
Jauss posted a photo:. Frédéric Chopin.
Photos from Jauss - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaus/


Chopin Downloads of Dubious Legality:

dwnld: more Fiorentino plays Chopin
Summary: More Fiorentino playing Chopin. ... From Saga XID 5016 19 waltzes and the ... ecossaises op.72c. ... The playing is fabulous, the recording quality is ...
- http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Rec/rec.music.classical.recordings