tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4112297736891344212009-10-14T19:23:59.825-07:00....a roundup of Chopiniana: current news, views, reviews, recordings and performances in the runup to the 200th birthday of the matchless Polish keyboard composer.The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.comBlogger1402625tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-15174871667570699772008-05-29T17:54:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.789-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECoD44tZ_I/AAAAAAAAAf4/zgsabGA4rUw/s1600-h/hallbook.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 225px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECoD44tZ_I/AAAAAAAAAf4/zgsabGA4rUw/s320/hallbook.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206345954003609586" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"> </a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank">The scared boy who dreamed... and the man who triumphed</a><br /></span> <span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Yorkshire Post - Leeds,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Approving profile of Yorkshire pianist-turned-textile-magnate-turned-arts-</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >developer-turned-philanthropist <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/7i3t8/">Sir Ernest Hall</a>, developer of the renowned <a href="http://www.deanclough.com/">Dean Clough</a> arts and business complex, upon the publication of his memoir "<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Failure-Succeed-Ernest-Hall/dp/customer-reviews/1846241634">How to Be a Failure and Succeed</a>."</span> <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >What lies ahead for him conquer? A certain composer...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The story of Dean Clough (he retired as chairman this year) will be told in a second book, which he hopes to finish by the end of the year. "But I'm very busy. <span style="font-weight: bold;">I've still got the Chopin project,</span>" he says, with enthusiasm. It has long been his ambition to record the complete works of Chopin – 14 CDs in all, of which he has so far recorded seven. He plans to complete the project in time for the bicentenary of Chopin's birth, in 1810. "I shall be 80 years old," he says. At 78, he's still reaching, still transcending boundaries. "Dreams of achievement have an amazing power in your life," he says. "You find that you are elevated by ambition itself."</span></blockquote></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/highlights/The-scared-boy-who-dreamed.4125212.jp" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECpY44taAI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2pOB6UX8x4M/s1600-h/chris_hess.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECpY44taAI/AAAAAAAAAgA/2pOB6UX8x4M/s320/chris_hess.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206347414292490242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Concerts_at_the_Cadillac_Piano_for_the_People_by_Chris_Hess_5711.html" target="_blank"> Concerts at the Cadillac: "Piano for the People" by Chris Hess</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Beyond Chron - San Francisco,CA,USA</span></span></p><p face="arial" style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;">If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to visit the <a href="http://www.noehill.com/sf/landmarks/sf176.asp">Cadillac Hotel</a>, for a concert called <span class="maintext">"Piano for the People: a Classical Piano Concert for Non-Classical Listeners."</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span class="maintext" style="font-size:100%;"> Chris will connect music written from 1840-1960 with the present day Tenderloin to excite and educate a general audience. Chris will play Chopin, Rachmaninoff and other romantic composers, interspersed with personal stories. For example, he will syncopate different rhythms in the right and left hands, show you how, and explain why it builds community.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Concerts_at_the_Cadillac_Piano_for_the_People_by_Chris_Hess_5711.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECtBI4taBI/AAAAAAAAAgI/aavLknX0LCI/s1600-h/fliter3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 169px; height: 217px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECtBI4taBI/AAAAAAAAAgI/aavLknX0LCI/s320/fliter3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206351404317108242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=105581" target="_blank"> MKM Attila ilhan Hall / Ingrid Fliter / 8:00 pm</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Turkish Daily News (subscription) - Ankara,Turkey</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">No day is complete her at the Chopin Currency without an <a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter</a> posting, today in advance of an appearance at the </span>Caddebostan Culture Center with the <a href="http://www.borusansanat.com/en/orchestra/bipo_info.aspx">Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra</a><span style="font-size:100%;">...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">"Chopin's music has been one of the great standards of the classical repertoire for generations, and many audiences have enjoyed hearing it played well; however, and especially in this unique class of the art, there is to be found a rare, untouchable nuance that speaks directly to the heart," as Fliter says, "and it is truly an extremely rare artist who can well demonstrate this treasure." She is in love with her work, and it is her love that gives life to her art, so much appreciated by the public.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php%3Fenewsid%3D105581" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECuBI4taCI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/1xjjAu5yNMI/s1600-h/kapellredisc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECuBI4taCI/AAAAAAAAAgQ/1xjjAu5yNMI/s320/kapellredisc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206352503828736034" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4252" target="_blank"> Kapell Rediscovered: The Australian Broadcasts - 2-CD set</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Audiophile Audition - USA</span></span></p><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" class="summary">Typically thoughtful (if a bit wordy!) review from esteemed online publication that nonetheless pithily summarizes the new-old release from the late <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Kapell">William Kapell</a>: "Collectors will listen to it often, in spite of the sonic defects that make some moments almost unbearable...</p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote> Kapell always performed <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin </span>as a strong suit, and I remain fond of the B Minor Sonata and several of his<em> mazurkas</em>, the Op. 50, No. 3 in particular. His <em>Barcarolle</em> opens with massive chords and flamboyant ornaments; nothing effeminate in those trills. The gondolier’s waves become Charybdis and could swallow the world. The comeliness and confidence of the piece--the ease of period transitions--shine through despite grim sonic reproduction. The E-flat Major Nocturne has Ignaz Friedman as its champion, but Kapell finds his own treasures in its pearly, unhurried elegance, several times hinting at the E Minor Nocturne, Op. 72, No. 1. Brilliance and blazing speed of the Horowitz order for the pounding <em>Scherzo in B Minor</em>, whose middle section lullaby Kapell softens the entire ethos, permitting the polyphonic voices their blessed, embowered noels. The two stunning <em>da capo</em> chords and the final pages are Kapell’s version of the Atomic Bomb.<b></b><br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.audaud.com/article.php%3FArticleID%3D4252" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=16823&amp;c=6" target="_blank"> </a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECwTY4taDI/AAAAAAAAAgY/buxUBzsSeBc/s1600-h/175.Ed-Harcourt.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SECwTY4taDI/AAAAAAAAAgY/buxUBzsSeBc/s320/175.Ed-Harcourt.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5206355016384604210" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?id=16823&amp;c=6" target="_blank">Ed Harcourt: Revolution Of The Heart MP3</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Filter Magazine - Los Angeles,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">New Chopin-themed download from piano-playing UK singer-songwriter....</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="">"Revolution Of The Heart" is Harcourt at his best: pouring his heart and soul out over <b>Chopin</b> piano progressions and delightful sha-na-nas, sung by members <b>...</b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php%3Fid%3D16823%26c%3D6" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/2008/05/soloist-and-friends.html" target="_blank">Soloist and Friends</a><br /></span><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span style="font-size:130%;">By Stephen Smoliar(Stephen Smoliar) </span><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">San Francisco writer blogs about a noontime concert by pianist </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Corbett-Jones-William.htm">William Corbett-Jones</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> featuring new Preludes by </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.opusmusic.net/Nixon/RogerNixon.html">Roger Nixon</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">, and not Preludes, but polonaises, by Chopin... </span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote>There <i>was</i> at least one "Chopin connection" in the conception of the overall program: Liszt preceded the selections by Nixon and Mechem and Chopin followed them. The program concluded with two polonaises, Opus 40, Number 1 in C minor and Opus 53 in A-flat major. The latter is sometimes known as the "Heroic" polonaise, although, as the most familiar in the collection of polonaises that Chopin composed, it might better be called the "War-Horse!" Like the earlier "Military" polonaise, Opus 53 performs an interesting experiment with an ostinato pattern subjected to a gradual crescendo; and Corbett-Jones did a wonderful job of making that crescendo the backbone of the middle section of the work.</blockquote><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/" title="http://therehearsalstudio.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> The Rehearsal Studio - http://therehearsalstudio<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1517487166757069977?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-26312874904993825142008-05-28T08:45:00.002-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.794-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2zgo4tZ-I/AAAAAAAAAfw/6yu9_nz91Z4/s1600-h/Benjamin_Grosvenor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2zgo4tZ-I/AAAAAAAAAfw/6yu9_nz91Z4/s320/Benjamin_Grosvenor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205514117622622178" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Previews, and Reviews:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/27/bmclassicalben127.xml" target="_blank">Benjamin Grosvenor: Teenage Prodigy Comes of Age</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">An object lesson in how to nuture a burgeoning concert career... resulting in "a beguiling, stylish and richly rewarding performance of Chopin's E minor Piano Concerto played by the 15-year-old <a href="http://www.benjamingrosvenor.co.uk/base.php?page=home.htm">Benjamin Grosvenor</a>."</p><p class="story2"></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote>Many will recall that he won the keyboard final of the BBC Young Musician of the Year competition in 2004, when it was clear that he possessed a talent beyond mere technical accomplishment. Sensibly, in the years since, his gifts have neither been sensationalised nor exploited for short-term gain or fame. [...]<br /><p class="story2">In this performance of the E minor Concerto, no allowances needed to be made for Grosvenor's age. You could shut your eyes and readily imagine that it was someone of far greater years, though at the same time a pianist who had not let familiarity with the music dull its freshness, exuberance and lyrical grace. His was an interpretation with a personality and impulse of its own, while remaining true to Chopin's spirit.</p><p class="story2">One crucial aspect of the music that Grosvenor had absorbed was the fine balance that exists between whim and structural security, the way in which Chopin's decorative filigree can seem impromptu or relaxed, while having an architectural purpose that fuels and sustains the overall shape and momentum.</p><br /></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/27/bmclassicalben127.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.wbj.pl/?command=article&amp;id=41313&amp;type=wbj" target="_blank"> A season for <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Warsaw Business Journal - Poland</span><br /></span></p><div class="text" style="text-align: justify; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;"><span class="bold">"It wouldn't be summer in Warsaw without the echo of Frederic Chopin's music..."</span></div> <span class="text" style="text-align: justify;"><table style="padding: 10px 10px 0px; width: 10%; float: left;"><tbody><tr><td><img src="http://www.wbj.pl/lib/showImage_art.php?select=image_big&amp;from=article&amp;where=id=41313" style="padding: 10px;" alt="The Sunday All-Chopin Recitals are a Warsaw tradition" align="left" border="1" /></td></tr><tr><td style="font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; padding-left: 10px; padding-right: 10px; margin-top: -10px; text-align: left;"><span style="position: relative; top: -10px;">The Sunday All-Chopin Recitals are a Warsaw tradition</span></td></tr></tbody></table></span><span class="text" style="text-align: justify;"><br /><p>Hundreds of people lounging on the lawn by the Frederic Chopin monument in the Royal Łazienki Park, listening as the Polish master's work is performed live by world-renowned artists - this is one of the fundamental Warsaw experiences. The charm of the Sunday All-Chopin Recitals, of which these concerts are part, has been captivating audiences for almost 50 years. The recitals are held every Sunday between May and August....</p></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.wbj.pl/%3Fcommand%3Darticle%26id%3D41313%26type%3Dwbj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2631287490499382514?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-13593127313272033502008-05-27T19:46:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.800-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2xSo4tZ8I/AAAAAAAAAfg/CH_Oz2g3V1Q/s1600-h/SofyaGulyak.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2xSo4tZ8I/AAAAAAAAAfg/CH_Oz2g3V1Q/s320/SofyaGulyak.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205511678081198018" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"></blockquote>Vaguely Chopin-connected News, Previews, and Reviews:</span> </span><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052601672.html" target="_blank">At Piano Showdown, Hard Choices</a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><br />Washington Post - United States</span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"Year after year, standards of piano playing seem to improve, subtly yet perceptibly. The latest demonstration was Sunday afternoon in the </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/John+F.+Kennedy+Center+for+the+Performing+Arts?tid=informline" target="">Kennedy Center</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >'s Terrace Theater, where a half-dozen spectacularly talented young pianists performed before a distinguished jury and a large, enthusiastic audience."</span><span style="font-family:arial;">....and, it appears, a rather disinterested critic....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>Esther Park, a 23-year-old American, was extraordinarily polished, with deft balances and voice-leading. Yet the sultry perfume of Granados and drama of a Chopin sonata seemed to elude her. [...]<br /><br />At age 28, the Russian <a href="http://claricesmithcenter.umd.edu/2007/c/kapell2007/competitors/sofya_gulyak">Sofya Gulyak</a> was the oldest of the finalists. Her <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/related/topic/Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart?tid=informline" target="">Mozart</a> Rondo in A-Minor was the most satisfying classical playing of the afternoon. In her sensational performance of Liszt's evocation of little bells in "La Campanella," fierce technical demands took the back seat to flights of aural imagination and exquisite musicality. Gulyak was last year's first-prize winner in the Kappell International Piano Competition. [...]<br /><br /><p> The Takemitsu was the only piece written since World War II, and it seemed almost an anomaly. It is in the romantic (Chopin, Schumann, Liszt) and early modern (Ravel, Prokofiev) repertoires in which these young players are most at home. After an hour's deliberation by the judges, competition chairman Immanuela Gruenberg read the results, including the tally of audience ballots. </p> <p> First prize: none awarded. Second prize: Gulyak. Third prize: none awarded. Audience prize: Wayne Weng. </p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/26/AR2008052601672.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/bayofplenty/4562113a6014.html" target="_blank"> Concert to aid quake victims</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Independent Community Newspaper - Bay of Plenty,New Zealand</span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Kiwis call on Chopin and other composers to aid Chinese quake victims...<br /></span><b><br /></b><blockquote style="font-family: georgia;"><p><strong>A charity concert for victims of the devastating earthquake in China will be held in the Concert Chamber on Saturday.</strong></p> <p>The concert is being organised by the Rotorua Music Federation and will raise funds to aid the victims.</p> <p>Well-known Rotorua musicians taking part include baritone John Bond, soprano Charlotte Christmas, and pianists Jim McGregor and Li Can Wei.</p> <p>The programme ranges from Mozart, Chopin and Debussy to songs from the shows. Entry is by donation at the door.</p></blockquote></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1359312731327203350?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-42015623027787891722008-05-26T08:45:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.807-07:00<p><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Previews, and Reviews:</span></span><br /><b></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a>Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz</a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.audaud.com/article.php?ArticleID=4242"></a><a><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Audiophile Audition - USA</span></span></a></p> <table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="5"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td><p align="center"><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.audaud.com/photos/20080525200517_michelangelix.jpg" alt="Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz - Tahra" title="Piano Archives: Arturo Benedetti Michelangelo = SCHUMANN: Piano Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54; LISZT: Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat Major; RACHMANINOV: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 40; CHOPIN: Waltz - Tahra" border="1" /></span></p></td></tr></tbody></table><strong><span style="font-size:100%;"></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Chopin plays a bit part in this reissue CD that has this critic reaching for superlatives...</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></strong><blockquote>When you purchase this magnificent CD, better have asbestos gloves on and a fireproof CD player! Rarely have I heard even the great Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli (1920- 1995) in such blistering form, his tensile strength and febrile temperament thoroughly in accord in all three collaborations, 1953-1956. For the collector, the Rachmaninov Fourth Concerto ( 12 May 1956), previously unpublished, with Franco Caracciolo (1944-1992) will more than complement Michelangeli’s commercial recording with Gracis for EMI. [...]</blockquote><blockquote><span style="font-weight: bold;">The posthumous waltz by Chopin</span> hardly qualifies as “charming,” but it has a granite-like glitter thoroughly in keeping with the Rachmaninov lusters.</blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.audaud.com/article.php%3FArticleID%3D4242" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article4003124.ece" target="_blank"> BBCSO/Belohlávek at the Barbican</a><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Times Online - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Today's Ingrid Fliter installment finds our heroine at the piano bench at the Barbican...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Turning up to a concert hall to find that Chopin has been substituted for Szymanowski is a bit like turning up to a dinner party to find that the roast beef has been swapped for crème brulée. But for the young Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter, Chopin is a serious business. And just moments into her dynamic performance of the Piano Concerto No 2 I had stopped missing the indisposed Piotr Anderszewski (originally down for Szymanowksi's Sinfonia Concertante) and was hooked. </span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Yes, there was a rich sweetness to Fliter's playing - you cannot have Chopin without sugar, not least in the luscious larghetto - but plenty of fibre and muscle as well. Not for nothing has Fliter been compared to her great compatriot Martha Argerich: there's a similar vitality, an engaging restlessness that imbued some of Chopin's most dreamy sub-plots with enough snappiness and tang to keep us on our toes.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/live_reviews/article4003124.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><span style="color:green;"><a style="color: green;" href="http://poeticpianist.livejournal.com/" title="http://poeticpianist.livejournal.com/" target="_blank"><wbr> </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4201562302778789172?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-9381645603181756202008-05-25T08:44:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.816-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2bu44tZ4I/AAAAAAAAAfA/JLbXNPycTRc/s1600-h/fliter350.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2bu44tZ4I/AAAAAAAAAfA/JLbXNPycTRc/s320/fliter350.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205487974156691330" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"> Ingrid Fliter: 'In the middle of my salad, he told me I'd won'</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"><br /></span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A "Get To Know Her" introduction to UK readers of It Girl <a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter ...<br /></a></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"></p><blockquote><p class="story2">Born in Argentina and now living in Milan, Fliter (pronounced Fleeter) has in the past toured Japan and the US and won the silver medal in the Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2000. But the Gilmore was an important catalyst, bringing her an EMI contract, management in the US and Europe, and a place on the BBC's New Generation Artists scheme. And now a series of dates in the UK will introduce her to wider audiences, with a Wigmore Hall recital and appearances at the Cheltenham and City of London Festivals. </p><p class="story2">"The Gilmore changed my life deeply, completely," she says. "In the beginning I had to deal with a lot of pressure and expectations," she admits. "But after two years I'm now really starting to enjoy this very hectic, intense concert life." Her London debut last year, together with her first disc of Chopin for EMI, confirmed her phenomenal technique and the spontaneity of expression she brings to music. There is also a fluent, singing quality to her playing. [...]<br /></p><p class="story2">"Chopin made me discover the beauty of piano-playing," she says. "I was very lucky to be introduced to his music from the very beginning. Pianistically speaking, it develops the imagination and good taste as regards rubato - where to give and where to take, in a natural way that a singer would do. Rubato in Chopin is very often exaggerated, but I imagine him as a Classical composer, not as a Romantic, though that doesn't restrain you from being dramatic and dark. Sometimes the music reaches moments of deep sorrow."</p></blockquote><p class="story2"> </p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><span><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/24/bmingrid124.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2fvY4tZ6I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/YRrbV1hDmj0/s1600-h/radio3_logo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2fvY4tZ6I/AAAAAAAAAfQ/YRrbV1hDmj0/s320/radio3_logo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205492380793137058" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank">The <b>Chopin</b> Experience, Radio 3</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">More musings on the effect of the BBC's </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience...</a><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">In conversation with the pianist <a href="http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/artist_page.asp?name=demidenko">Nikolai Demidenko</a>, the latter revealed that Chopin knew his limitations as a composer, but said that he knew that his work appealed particularly to women. "A short, direct line straight to the heart," he said, and Walker said "Mmm", and I was reminded of a friend of mine who said that the only time he really "got" Chopin was when he was in love. So, if you were in love during the weekend of 17-18 May, then you will have enjoyed The Chopin Experience immensely.</span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/rambert-mixed-bill-sadlers-wells-londonbrroyal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-833851.html" target="_blank"> </a><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/reviews/story/0,,2282090,00.html" target="_blank"> Who needs Rudolf Nureyev?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">The Observer - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">No question what's the hot dance ticket in London town....this UK scribe says the current production of "Dances at a Gathering" (bodies by Robbins, soul by Chopin) is on par with the best ever...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">Jerome Robbins's Dances at a Gathering (1969) is a plotless work set to piano pieces by Chopin. Tender, dreamy and shot through with a sense of long-ago love affairs, the piece acquires a different dynamic with every cast. When the Royal Ballet danced it in the 1970s, it became a signature piece, a group portrait of an unforgettable constellation of stars. When the company performs Robbins's piece today, the layers of allusion are dense. But in a good way: the new cast has new things to tell us and is not about to be crowded off the stage by ghosts....</span><b></b><br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/theatre/dance/reviews/story/0,,2282090,00.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News from Outside of London:<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2jd44tZ7I/AAAAAAAAAfY/6ZnFOlhFODQ/s1600-h/kapell.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 190px; height: 239px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2jd44tZ7I/AAAAAAAAAfY/6ZnFOlhFODQ/s320/kapell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205496478191937458" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121157899109018393.html?mod=googlenews_wsj" target="_blank">After the Good Die Young</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Wall Street Journal - USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Beautifully-written article on the tragically short-lived pianist <a href="http://www.williamkapell.com/">William Kapell</a>, occasioned by the release of a just-discovered 1953 live concert performance in Australia that turned out to be Kapell's last recording...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>You'd think that Kapell's youthful and spectacular demise would have captured the imagination of the listening public and ensured his lasting fame. Charlie Parker, who died two years later at the equally untimely age of 34, remains to this day a cultural icon. Likewise Jackson Pollock and James Dean, whose lives were cut short around the same time. Why, then, did Kapell slip through the cracks of renown? [...]<br /><br />Kapell died too soon to record more than a handful of the large-scale works in his repertoire, but in recent years a fair number of live recordings have surfaced. RCA, his old label, has just released "<a href="http://www.williamkapell.com/store/">Kapell Rediscovered</a>," a two-CD set of radio broadcasts made during a 1953 tour of Australia. They are his last recordings -- he was killed flying home from that tour -- and they include a number of pieces that he never recorded in the studio, among them <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin's B Minor Scherzo</span>, Debussy's "Suite Bergamasque" and Prokofiev's Seventh Sonata. The sound is only fair, but the performances are pure Kapell, headlong, vital and crackling with a vibrant immediacy that makes you feel as though he were playing in your very own living room.<br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121157899109018393.html%3Fmod%3Dgooglenews_wsj" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/2008/05/chopin-nocturne-in-e-minor-dedicated-to.html" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b> Nocturne in E MinorDedicated to Two Individuals</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Jeremiah Jones(Jeremiah Jones)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><b>Chopin</b>'s Nocturne in E-minor is one of my favorite Nocturnes. It is a short, yet profound work of art that takes the listener through several of life's most important emotions. It can stir the soul and awaken the spirit. <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.signmypiano.com/" title="http://www.signmypiano.com/" target="_blank"> - http://www.signmypiano.com/ </a></span></span> </p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.unquality.com/?p=574" target="_blank">Jack Conte’s Video Song - The Giant, Radiohead/<b>Chopin</b></a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By robkwok </span><br />A VideoSong is a new Medium with two rules:. 1. What you see is what you hear (no lip-syncing for instruments or voice). 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (no hidden sounds). The Giant. Radiohead and <b>Chopin</b> Combination <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.unquality.com/" title="http://www.unquality.com" target="_blank"> Unquality: Retarded Videos for... - http://www.unquality.com </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-938164560318175620?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-27864640966578144922008-05-24T08:43:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.823-07:00<span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews</span></span>:</span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2V2o4tZ2I/AAAAAAAAAew/UAr1NLm4r64/s1600-h/fliter.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2V2o4tZ2I/AAAAAAAAAew/UAr1NLm4r64/s320/fliter.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205481510230910818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/20/classical_tracks/" target="_blank"> New Classical Tracks: The allure and the thrill of <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"> Radio review of <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Prize</a> winner Ingrid Fliter's new CD...</p><div class="intro"> <p class="regular"><strong> The young Argentine musician Ingrid Fliter is one of the brightest rising stars in the piano world. The composer she's most identified with is Chopin, and his music is the focus of her latest disc. </strong></p> </div> <p class="regular"></p><blockquote><p class="regular"> For her part, Ingrid Fliter has just released a new solo recording featuring works by Chopin, a composer she believes she was born to play. </p> "It wouldn't be an overstatement to say that if it had not been for Chopin's music, I wouldn't have been born," she explained. "My mother noticed my father for the first time while he was playing some Chopin waltzes during a party!<b></b><br /></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/20/classical_tracks/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/culture/?id=82931" target="_blank"> Ingrid Fliter replaces Anderszewski</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Speaking of the Gilmore, one winner subs for another at the Barbican in London...</span></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span><b>Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewski was forced to cancel his appearance at London’s Barbican Centre tonight on the advice of his doctor. </b></span><span style="font-size:-1;">He is replaced by the Argentine pianist Ingrid Fliter, Second Prize winner at the <b>Chopin</b> International Competition in Warsaw in 2000. <b>...</b></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/culture/%3Fid%3D82931" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://news10now.com/content/health/116483/new-technology-opens-doors-for-blind-musicians/Default.aspx" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Uio4tZ1I/AAAAAAAAAeo/ov5uMP4V4Io/s1600-h/dances_gathering_group3_500,jpg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Uio4tZ1I/AAAAAAAAAeo/ov5uMP4V4Io/s320/dances_gathering_group3_500,jpg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205480067121899346" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> </p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/royal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-832016.html" target="_blank"> Royal Ballet Double Bill, Royal Opera House, London</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Rave review for the Royal Ballet revival of the Chopin-centric "Dances at a Gathering...."<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Dances at a Gathering looks simple. Jerome Robbins' 1969 ballet puts 10 dancers on a bare stage, with a blue backdrop, <span style="font-weight: bold;">set to Chopin piano pieces</span>. The numbers are full of invention, yet they have to look easy. Robbins demands clean musicality and a sense of atmosphere. They're all there in this wonderfully fresh performance. </span></p><!--proximic_content_off--> <!--proximic_content_on--> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">It's more than 30 years since the Royal Ballet put on Dances at a Gathering. People who saw it in its early years still go dreamy over it. The ballet's atmosphere is fragile. This revival, staged by Susan Hendl and Ben Huys, has real warmth....</span></p></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre/reviews/royal-ballet-double-bill-royal-opera-house-london-832016.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Y144tZ3I/AAAAAAAAAe4/TrI8R5qd5iY/s1600-h/bbcchopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2Y144tZ3I/AAAAAAAAAe4/TrI8R5qd5iY/s320/bbcchopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205484795880892274" border="0" /></a>Mostly having to do with fallout and feedback from the BBC's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience:</a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com/2008/05/21/the-chopin-experience/" target="_blank">The <b>Chopin</b> Experience</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By vhk10 </span><br />I listened to bits of this all-<b>Chopin</b> weekend on Radio 3. (I used to listen to and indeed play <b>Chopin</b>’s music a lot, and though it has retreated a bit in my musical consciousness he is still a favourite of mine). <b>...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;"> The best aspect was hearing recordings from different eras and with different interpretations, rather than just good recent performances.</span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> I recommend trying the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/chopinquiz.shtml">Chopin Audio Quiz</a>, which is not trivial, mainly because the extracts are from the middle of pieces.<br /><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com/" title="http://vhkssinging.wordpress.com" target="_blank"> VHK's singing - http://vhkssinging.wordpress<wbr>.com </a></span></span> </p> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/375053.html" target="_blank"> Bad to the bone</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">By Sawyl(Sawyl) </span><br />I like to think of Radio 3 as the rebel of the BBC family, hanging back while the others chase after listeners, growing its toenails and listening to <b>Chopin</b>. A classical music-fancying rebel; every family needs one. <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/" title="http://sawyl.livejournal.com/" target="_blank"> Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - http://sawyl.livejournal.com</a></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/tv-radio-reviews/the-chopin-experience-radio-3-833867.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-2786464096657814492?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-83267808789866934302008-05-23T08:42:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.829-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2NtI4tZ0I/AAAAAAAAAeg/44TAjKo4iuA/s1600-h/chopin%27s_piano.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2NtI4tZ0I/AAAAAAAAAeg/44TAjKo4iuA/s320/chopin%27s_piano.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205472550929131330" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:</span></p><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/47608/Chopin%E2%80%99s+Pianos" target="_blank"> <b>Chopin</b>’s Pianos</a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >From the blog <a href="http://earideas.com/earideas/explore/show/47608/Chopin%E2%80%99s+Pianos">earideas</a>, a chance to listen to one of the programs from the BBC's <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">Chopin Experience</a> programs. (The BBC's rather maddening policy is to pull all of their audio after 7 days). The audio is a bit distorted and "swimmy" and of a rather low bandwidth, but still worth a listen..</span><span style="font-family:arial;">.<span style="font-style: italic;">listen for a performance of the Barcarolle, Op. 60, on the Pleyel piano to your left, from <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/asithappens/features/2007/chopin%27s_piano_20070322.html">collector Alex Cobbe's house in Surrey, England</a>...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"> Catherine Bott, Radio 3’s early music guru, presents a programme about <b>Chopin</b>’s pianos, part of the station’s ‘<b>Chopin</b> Experience‘ from last weekend. Fascinating social and economic history plus loads of music. <b>...</b></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://earideas.com/" title="http://earideas.com" target="_blank"> - http://earideas.com </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.golfdigest.com/golfworld/columnists/2008/05/gw20080523fields" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8326780878986693430?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-12603536152110958662008-05-22T08:41:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.834-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"> </a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span><span style="font-size:100%;"><img src="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/files/cubaheadlines.com/images/music_resize.jpg" alt="Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize &quot;Cle d Or&quot; of Superior level in France." title="Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize &quot;Cle d Or&quot; of Superior level in France." class="image nodeimage" height="200" width="250" /></span></span></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:130%;">Young Cuban Pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan Awarded win the Prize <b>...</b></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" >Cuba Headlines - Ciudad Habana,Habana,Cuba</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Our first dispatch from the island's news agency....</span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote style="font-family: courier new;">Virtuous interpretations of "Nocturne" by Frederic Chopin and Concert Studies of Franz Liszt made possible for the young Cuban pianist Jorge Gonzalez Buajasan to win the Prize "Cle d Or" of Superior level in France.<br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6653401619774378"; google_ad_width = 336; google_ad_height = 280; google_ad_format = "336x280_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; //2007-06-23: CubaHeadlines Node Picture google_ad_channel = "7635552704"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "008000"; //--> </script> <script style="display: none;" type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script><div style="width: 250px;" class="image-attach-body"><br /><script type="text/javascript"><!-- google_ad_client = "pub-6653401619774378"; google_ad_width = 250; google_ad_height = 250; google_ad_format = "250x250_as"; google_ad_type = "text_image"; google_ad_channel = "3283257585"; google_color_border = "FFFFFF"; google_color_bg = "FFFFFF"; google_color_link = "0000FF"; google_color_text = "000000"; google_color_url = "008000"; //--> </script> <script style="display: none;" type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></div> <!-- google_ad_section_start --> Gonzalez Buajasan, only 13, performed this Sunday in "Les Cles d Or" (Gold Keys) piano contest in the superior category, in Ile de France region, carried out in the Parisian locality of Villemomble.<br /><br /> He played "Nocturne Opus 27", number two of Chopin and "A Sigh", from Concert Studies of Liszt, with meticulous elegance.<br /><br /> He is a very talented-boy and plays with exquisite loudness, although he should involve slow movements when playing "Un suspiro", members of the jury told the student of the Caribbean island when congratulating him for the prize obtained, Prensa Latina corroborated.<br /></blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.cubaheadlines.com/2008/05/19/11214/young_cuban_pianist_jorge_gonzalez_buajasan_awarded_win_the_prize_cle_d_or_of_superior_level_in_france.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2KP44tZzI/AAAAAAAAAeY/uOYn9PYrNr8/s1600-h/RB08_Dream%5B1%5D_243x243.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2KP44tZzI/AAAAAAAAAeY/uOYn9PYrNr8/s320/RB08_Dream%5B1%5D_243x243.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205468749883074354" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23389974-details/The+Royal+Ballet:+Dances+At+A+Gathering/The+Dream/showReview.do?reviewId=23485654" target="_blank"> Actions speak louder in dance story</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">This is London - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Jerome Robbins may say "no plot, no roles" in his hour-long "Dances At A Gathering," but critic nonetheless finds plenty of story lines in his Chopin-based dance...<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The solos, duets and group dances that follow may be an evocation of his past or just dances, as Robbins said. Either way <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopin’s music, </span>and Robbins’s gestures and steps, evoke people falling happily in and resignedly out of love. There are flirtations and friendship, and the comforts and misunderstandings of each. The style is polite — these are pretty steps and tidy tears — but in showing us what we long for, Robbins reveals all that we don’t have.</span></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23389974-details/The%2BRoyal%2BBallet:%2BDances%2BAt%2BA%2BGathering/The%2BDream/showReview.do%3FreviewId%3D23485654" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20730/the-kirov-ballet-chopiniana-the-kingdom-of" target="_blank"> The Kirov Ballet - Chopiniana/The Kingdom of Shades/Le Spectre de <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Stage - London,England,UK</span></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >More Chopin on the dance stage in the UK...</span><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">The second splendid programme, presented by the Kirov, is an excellent example of the diversity of this prestigious company. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Chopiniana</span>, with Fokine’s classical choreography set to Chopin’s music, is a superb showcase for the superior corps de ballet, which danced with precision timing but retained the important lyrical feel. Principals Anastasia Kolegova and Evgeny Ivanchenko also made a mark.</span></blockquote><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/20730/the-kirov-ballet-chopiniana-the-kingdom-of" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1260353615211095866?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-76026203499200390342008-05-21T08:39:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.840-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2EXo4tZyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/jAAKTI6eysQ/s1600-h/yundili460.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2EXo4tZyI/AAAAAAAAAeQ/jAAKTI6eysQ/s320/yundili460.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205462285957293858" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews</span></span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/05/in_the_crisisladen_economy_of.html" target="_blank"> Must male pianists be pin-ups?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="http://guardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">guardian.co.uk</a> - UK</span></span></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Provocative column from Guardian blogger about "making glamourpusses out of pianists..." The readers think it's more of a generation gap...</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>In the crisis-laden economy of classical music concerts, pianists today are often marketed as "hunka hunka burnin' loves," however inappropriately. A few years ago, I interviewed the talented, poetic young Chinese pianist Yundi Li in his New York manager's office. Then in his early 20s, gawky and skinny, with tousled hair under a baseball cap, Yundi <a href="http://e.cnci.gov.cn/eWebEditorNet/UploadFile/2007421431138428.jpg">looked like the provincial Chinese youth he was</a>. I was amazed to see how his recording company packaged his remarkable CDs of Chopin and Liszt, adding <a href="http://www.usu.edu/wassermann/yundi%20li%20casual.jpg">heavy makeup</a> and <a href="http://www.nashvillesymphony.org/img/0708guests/yli_lg.jpg">swooning poses</a> for an <a href="http://www2.deutschegrammophon.com/cmsobjects/f2/f2b541b1eb48346d5ca63b1a0a152f92.jpg">androgynous look</a>. Yundi Li's artistry was the same, but he became a different artist to look at.....</blockquote><span style=""><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2008/05/in_the_crisisladen_economy_of.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2BjY4tZwI/AAAAAAAAAeA/h5GOzkMvjpg/s1600-h/MrChopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2BjY4tZwI/AAAAAAAAAeA/h5GOzkMvjpg/s320/MrChopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205459189285873410" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/05/20/arts/939beethoven052008.txt" target="_blank"> Piano Lessons</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Voice of San Diego - San Diego,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Review of the San Diego premiere of "Beethoven As I Knew Him," the latest installment in <a href="http://www.amrep.org/people/hershey.html">Hershey Felder</a>'s trilogy of composer portraits....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">First, Hershey Felder presented his fantastic one-man show, "George Gershwin Alone," and urged theater-goers to join in on a sing-along of Gershwin hits. It was like drawing flies to honey; the enthusiastic Felder inspired gleeful audience members young and old to sing their hearts out. It was a sight (and sound) to behold. </span><!--This file is needed, but intentionally left blank--> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Then came Felder's portrayal of the emotionally intense Fredéric Chopin which gave audiences a peek into the cultural sophistication of the 19th century Parisian salon.<br /><br />Now, the Old Globe presents the final installation (and world premiere) of Hershey Felder's "Composer Sonata" trilogy of one-man performances based on famous composers' lives with "Beethoven, As I Knew Him." [...]<br /><br />A natural and engrossing storyteller, Felder was at his best during "Beethoven" at the piano bench. Using discourse and music, Felder took the audience through pieces like Beethoven's Fifth symphony, expounding on the famous fate-at-the-door theme. The "Moonlight" sonata rendering was exquisite. Throughout the night, Felder used anecdotes and visuals (conducting to the night sky of stars!) to enhance the overall musical performance.</span></p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Though starker and narrated at a more measured pace than both "Gershwin" and "Chopin," "Beethoven, As I Knew Him" offers a poignant introspection into the austere composer's beloved music....</span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.voiceofsandiego.org/articles/2008/05/20/arts/939beethoven052008.txt" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/solutions/design/article.php/3748031" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2C544tZxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/HetQnUAIKQE/s1600-h/prometheuschopin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD2C544tZxI/AAAAAAAAAeI/HetQnUAIKQE/s320/prometheuschopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205460675344557842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/05/20/prometheus_celebrates_a_distinctive_vision" target="_blank"> Prometheus celebrates a distinctive vision</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Boston Globe - United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >20th-anniversary production by the <a href="http://www.prometheusdance.org/">Promotheus Dance Compan</a>y of Boston gets high marks for everything <span style="font-weight: bold;">but</span> a Chopin-based performance...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>The world premiere on the program, "Lignage," seems disappointingly tame in comparison. <span style="font-weight: bold;">A work for eight women set to a series of Chopin preludes</span>, it contrasts slow floor work with flurries of sweeping movement - swirling turns with arms outstretched, legs carving great arcs. The women roll, cradle one another, then rise in rushes about the stage. There are a lot of stops and starts, and it has the crowded, slightly aimless feel of a work created to showcase young dancers.</blockquote></span><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2008/05/20/prometheus_celebrates_a_distinctive_vision" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7602620349920039034?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-91565783927918943622008-05-20T04:19:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.845-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD132Y4tZuI/AAAAAAAAAdw/E_EOwgXLdBQ/s1600-h/book_cover.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD132Y4tZuI/AAAAAAAAAdw/E_EOwgXLdBQ/s320/book_cover.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205448520587110114" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-country-in-the-moon-by-michael-moran-828941.html" target="_blank">A Country in the Moon, by Michael Moran</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;"><br />Independent - London,England,UK<br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Review declares <a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/">Michael Moran'</a>s new book about Poland to be an "absorbing, exasperating and ultimately rewarding travelogue."</span> <p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p> Moran emerges from these pages as a romantic, a bon viveur, a music lover and a film buff, equally versed in the polonaises of Chopin, the novels of Joseph Conrad and the movies of Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kieslowski. He conducts a clandestine affair with unhappily married Zosia, and together they explore the historic cities of her country. His sojourn comes to a premature end when the project's rackety finances expire. The last chapters briskly fast-forward up to the death of Pope John Paul II. As for his romance with Zosia, reader, I wouldn't dream of giving the game away.</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/a-country-in-the-moon-by-michael-moran-828941.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080515/Ent/971781890/1038/Ent" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article%3FAID%3D/20080515/Ent/971781890/1038/Ent" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD16j44tZvI/AAAAAAAAAd4/9SH7SChVbo8/s1600-h/jacekkortus.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD16j44tZvI/AAAAAAAAAd4/9SH7SChVbo8/s320/jacekkortus.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205451501294413554" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.orangenews.com/ocn/entertainment/music/article/chopin_master_returns_to_barboursville/21919/" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> master returns to Barboursville</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Orange County Review - Orange,VA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Somewhat confusing review of young Polish pianist <a href="http://www.uk.wia.swiatuslug.pl/strona.php?32290">Jacek Kortus</a>' performance in Virginia Wine Country....</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote><span id="article_font"> Kortus’ return engagement was the fourth in a series of benefit concerts for the <a href="http://chopinfound.brinkster.net/ip.asp?op=Testimonials&amp;m=x00120ChopinForAll">Chopin Foundation</a>. This year’s event was hosted by Barboursville Winery and sponsored again by Premier Virginia Properties. As a special treat, Washington National Opera Conductor Maestro <a href="http://www.giovannireggioli.com/">Giovanni Reggioli</a> introduced Kortus and the Chopin pieces he would perform in the first half of Thursday’s concert. [...]<br /><br />Joking aside, the maestro described Chopin as “good music of the people” and said the composer’s works were “good for the first-time person or for the person who studies it for life.”<br /><br />Kortus, a serious and intense young man of supreme focus, opened the program with Frederic Chopin’s Nocturne in C Minor Op. 48, No. 1. He followed with Waltz in A Flat Major Op. 34, No. 1 that conjured images of a gilded 19th century ballroom full of lords and ladies that finished with such an uplifting flourish everyone in the audience was smiling.<br /><br />The third selection was Mazurkas in B Flat Major Op. 18, No. 1 and No. 4 in A Minor which began rather chillingly sad only to finish with an offer of hope. In his last selection before the intermission, he performed Chopin’s Sonata in B Flat Minor, Op. 35 where he balanced the emotion of the piece with his technical skill in moments both fiercely fast and smoothly slow. At times the piece sounded otherworldly with such vibrations it seemed the piano might simply explode from the music.</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.orangenews.com/ocn/entertainment/music/article/chopin_master_returns_to_barboursville/21919/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-9156578392791894362?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-85078782328533444442008-05-19T08:12:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.851-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1yTo4tZtI/AAAAAAAAAdo/vwZl2o-K0Xs/s1600-h/scaled.0516_art_accordion02_t652.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1yTo4tZtI/AAAAAAAAAdo/vwZl2o-K0Xs/s320/scaled.0516_art_accordion02_t652.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205442426028517074" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank">Virtuoso introducing America toclassical music on the accordion</a><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:130%;" ><br />Las Vegas Sun - Las Vegas,NV,USA</span><br /></span><p><span style=""><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >“<span style="font-weight: bold;">No, I don’t play polkas</span>,” says <a href="http://www.lidiakaminska.com/">Lidia Kaminska</a>, "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 <a href="http://www.chopin.edu.pl/angielskie/">Chopin Academy of Music</a> in Warsaw....<br /></span></p> <p></p><blockquote><p>“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.”</p><p>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...</p> <p>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.</p> <p>“<a href="http://www.lidiakaminska.com/music/discography.html">Breaking Boundaries</a>,” 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.</p> <p>“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.”</p> <p>She’s since performed with chamber orchestras, contemporary ensembles, dance groups and orchestras, and is a virtuoso unlike any other....</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8507878232853344444?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-69740308322174041362008-05-18T20:12:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.859-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1wYI4tZsI/AAAAAAAAAdg/ydbBM_eYzdg/s1600-h/panov.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1wYI4tZsI/AAAAAAAAAdg/ydbBM_eYzdg/s320/panov.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205440304314672834" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Views, Reviews, &amp; Previews:<br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668646409&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull" target="_blank">'Carmen' reincarnated</a><br /></span><span style=";font-size:130%;" ><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Jerusalem Post - Israel</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Russian-Israeli choreographer (and Kirov vet) <a href="http://www.answers.com/topic/valery-panov?cat=entertainment">Valery Panov'</a>s dance company offers a twin-bill of Carmen and Chopin in Tel Aviv...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Les Sylphides</i>, set to the music of Chopin by Russian choreographer <a href="http://www.yonkershistory.org/fokine.html">Mikhail Fokine</a> in 1908, is a Romantic, dreamlike piece, featuring 20 women and one man. For ballet enthusiasts, this will be a dream come true, as the male role is performed by Panov's electrifying principal dancer Valery Kuklachov. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The May 18 performance will be attended by several dignitaries, Panov adds proudly. Among the invited guests are the ambassadors of the US, Lithuania, Germany and Belgium. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Another source of pride for Panov is the financial support he is receiving from the Ministry of Culture. "My dance company is growing like the cosmos," he says. </span></p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1210668646409%26pagename%3DJPost%252FJPArticle%252FShowFull" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/may/16/virtuoso-introducing-america-classical-music-accor/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6974030832217404136?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-35154909374784859632008-05-17T18:00:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.864-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" ><br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1eWI4tZqI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/kCIY2JcV_Y8/s320/bbcchopin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205420478745634466" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3938465.ece" target="_blank">A <b>Chopin</b> extravaganza</a><br /></span> <span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Times Online - UK</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Nice Times of London summation of the BBC Radio 3 </span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/">Chopin Experience:</a><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> After the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky Experiences and the Bach Christmas it’s time for Frédéric Chopin to sit in a deckchair in the Elysian Fields, sip a piña colada and wince as Radio 3 exposes every recorded note he ever wrote (including the bad ones, as only a mediocre talent is always at its best). </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> What’s different about <i>The Chopin Experience</i> (from today, 7am) is that Radio 3 has not redrawn its usual programme schedule to accommodate it. Which throws up a few apparent anomalies. Take, for example, <i>The Early Music Show</i> (today, 1pm). Or, in this instance, the Earlier Music than Now Show, since Chopin, era-wise, is no John Dowland. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> That aside, it’s a fascinating listen in which three piano performances are compared – one Chopin’s, one by a pupil of his, and one given on a restoration of a Pleyel square piano similar to one that he might have played. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> The cultural documentary strand <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/thechopinexperience/pip/ax0ef/"><i>World Routes</i></a> (today, 3pm) is a better fit, in that Lucy Duran is in Warsaw, exploring some of the traditional folk forms associated with Chopin. Then, in programming guaranteed to further enrage those listeners who tune in to Radio 3 only to be enraged by it, <i>Jazz Lineup</i> (today, 4pm) includes a talk with the foremost proponent of classics-to-jazz, <a href="http://www.telarc.com/biography/bios.asp?aid=58">Jacques Loussier</a>. He’s best known for reinterpreting Bach, but his trio has dabbled with Chopin, and his thoughts are illuminating.</span> </p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article3938465.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1ij44tZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/9Ey_Q18TtpI/s1600-h/chopin_385x185_338349a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SD1ij44tZrI/AAAAAAAAAdY/9Ey_Q18TtpI/s320/chopin_385x185_338349a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205425113015346866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank">Fancy a Romantic weekend with Frederic <b>Chopin</b>?</a></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br />Times Online - UK</span></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Accompanying sidebar essay about "why many pianists find him too weepy." Worth a read! And check out the recommended recordings (Perahia, Cortot, Rubinstein, etc) at the bottom...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Is the man worth this much fuss? In principle, yes. Chopin may not have had any imitators, but that’s only because his individuality as a composer is so strong. His melodies curl about and stick in the mind like no one else’s. His harmonies waft a pungent perfume all their own, and invite you into an imaginative, mercurial world unique in music history. </span></p><!--#include file="m63-article-related-attachements.html"--><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> True, he wrote no epic symphonies, no operas, no oratorios, no sacred passions – none of the period’s usual outlets for lofty musical thoughts. But he used his preferred short forms with such a degree of innovation and imagination that even people who feel distaste at his music’s emotional atmosphere respect Chopin for his craft. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Well, not everyone respects him. In a 1981 radio interview the notoriously eccentric Canadian pianist Glenn Gould brashly announced that Chopin (and Liszt and Schu-bert) “had no idea of how to write for the piano”. On another occasion, Gould called Chopin “not a very good composer”. Heavens above, you might think, if those keyboard composers couldn’t get past Gould’s pearly gates who could? </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> Such idiosyncratic opinions should not be rejected completely. Chopin, for all his wide popularity, remains a complex, often misunderstood, figure, and if this weekend’s bonanza helps us to peer into his many-sided character and find a man who wrote much more than pretty music, the world will be a better place. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> The truth is, Chopin is a tricky customer. Even pianists in full sympathy with him approach his music with some trepidation. The British pianist Stephen Hough, the veteran of a fine CD of the Ballades, declares his music to be so fearfully perfect, so polished, lacking a single ugly bar, that “if a piece doesn’t naturally sound beautiful it can only be the performer’s fault”. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;"> For Simon Trpceski, responsible for one of the most volcanic of recent CD Chopin recitals, playing this composer also carries risks. “There’s a Macedonian saying,” he says, “about going with your hat to break a wall.” And we should remember Tamás Vásáry’s comment to Jeremy Siepmann in the 1990s about Chopin leaving nowhere to hide. “With Chopin,” he said, “you often feel quite naked.”</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3939350.ece" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3515490937478485963?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-9241695993562357352008-05-16T20:11:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.871-07:00<span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Videos:<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a href="http://www.noneofusarefree.org/the-film.html">The Film - "None of Us Are Free"</a></span><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;">How "current" is Chopin? Look no further for powerful testimony than from this current PSA produced on commission from MTV networks to raise awareness for disaster relief in Myanmar (a/k/a Burma). First, watch the film, which uses Chopin's music (beginning with the <a href="http://chopinproject.com/2008/04/04/nocturne-in-c-minor-op-48-no-1/">Nocturne in C Minor, Op. 48, No. 1</a>) to compelling effect:</span><br /><br /></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.noneofusarefree.org/the-film.html"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 567px; height: 343px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SDD4qozqXiI/AAAAAAAAAdI/KTljTP9oUEc/s320/Picture+6.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5201930981005221410" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Now, some details as to how Fryderyk C's music got involved, courtesy of <a href="http://motionographer.com/2008/05/06/the-people-of-burma/">motiongrapher.com:</a><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><blockquote><p style="font-family: georgia;"><strong>When and how the music was incorporated?</strong><br />The music played a huge role in setting the tone and pacing of the piece. We knew that it would be huge in setting the right mood so it had to be perfect. We listened to a lot of tracks when we were cutting the first previz <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >[sic]</span> edits and when we heard Chopin’s nocturnes, we knew we found the right music. It had all the right elements, movement, and form. <span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >[Ed. note: - it's actually one nocturne and the Fantaisie-Impromptu.]</span><br /></p> <p><span style="font-family:georgia;">Dante Nou who was working in—house with us took the two pieces we had roughly cut together and started tweaking them. Nate, our editor had some ideas about cadence and drawing out notes and keys and we just started fucking with it. By the time we finished the edit, the music had developed equally—it was then the foundation of what we took to Good Sounds. They replayed the original pieces and put their own loveliness in the mix—more sound design and tweaking, and by the time we finished the picture the music had finished as well.</span></p></blockquote></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >There's more about the "making of" the PSA on <a href="http://gossipfeast.com/mtv-enlists-quotinnovative-film-techniquesquot-and-chopin-soundtrack-save-burma">Gossipfeast.com </a>as well, quoting from the MTV Press Release: "</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:85%;" >With the powerful melody from the feted virtuoso pianist Chopin, viewers will watch the beautiful red flowers float and dance towards Burmese soil."</span><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><blockquote></blockquote><br /></span></span></span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-924169599356235735?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-46341418539602492892008-05-13T09:20:00.001-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.878-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnIVIzqXgI/AAAAAAAAAc4/7gW2L6CszpE/s1600-h/large_GilmoreGala.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnIVIzqXgI/AAAAAAAAAc4/7gW2L6CszpE/s320/large_GilmoreGala.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199907510242926082" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_artist_ingrid_fliter_k.html" target="_blank"> Gilmore artist Ingrid Fliter, Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra team up <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">The penultimate performance at the <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Fest</a> draws raves...</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;">One might consider Mozart as Fliter's specialty -- until she played Chopin. </p><p>Chopin's "Concerto No. 2 in F Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 21," the evening's final work, offered Fliter the perfect vehicle for her numerous keyboard strengths. Here, she cultivated a different musical voice. Controlled rubato throughout lent effective freshness and variety. Fliter was born to perform Chopin.</p> <p>Her runs at first sounded overly fast but not for long. Pianissimos were a favorite for Fliter, who possessed a magical light touch. Yet the opening "Maestoso" also could reflect intense drama.</p> <p>"Larghetto" became a personal cadenza for Fliter, she massaged malleable passages into her personal vision of Chopin's intents. Runs were pearly smooth, and limitless technique helped master filigreed passages. The music here was mesmerizing.</p> <p style="width: 600px;">The closing "Allegro Vivace" became a frolicking dance comprised of continuous runs soaring across the keyboard. The KSO kept pace, as baton deferred to soloist. A standing ovation and six callbacks from the audience only hints at the ardor felt for Fliter.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_artist_ingrid_fliter_k.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080512/COMMUNITY/805120332/1029/OPINION03" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnJlozqXhI/AAAAAAAAAdA/YjOJCaBaPsI/s1600-h/billholm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnJlozqXhI/AAAAAAAAAdA/YjOJCaBaPsI/s320/billholm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199908893222395410" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/09/holmaward/" target="_blank">Bill Holm named McKnight Distinguished Artist</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">Radio piece about Minnesota poet and essayist <a href="http://www.billholm.com/">Bill Holm</a>, $50,000 richer thanks to an award from the <a href="http://www.mcknight.org/">McKnight Foundation</a>. The author reveals that his immediate plans include reconsidering (and mastering) Chopin:</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/news/features/2008/05/12_ekerr_distiguishedholm" class="audio">Listen to feature audio</a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p class="regular"><span style="font-size:100%;"> Holm also has a book of poetry about Iceland to finish. In fact, he said he has a goal of writing better poetry and improving his skills at the piano, particularly with the works of Bach. </span></p> <p class="regular"><span style="font-size:100%;"> "And I've started another project that pianists shouldn't avoid for too long, and that is trying to play Chopin decently. I used to make fun of Chopin, but now, the more I play him, the better he gets," said Holm. "He's an extraordinary genius. So I am going to see if I can play a half dozen Chopin pieces decently before I can't remember who Chopin was."</span> </p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/09/holmaward/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4634141853960249289?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-43910365520972512442008-05-12T19:07:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.884-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnBkYzqXdI/AAAAAAAAAcg/var8J1EnThU/s1600-h/sejmrpb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 227px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnBkYzqXdI/AAAAAAAAAcg/var8J1EnThU/s320/sejmrpb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199900075654536658" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/news/?id=82100" target="_blank"> Sejm declares 2010 Year of <b>Chopin</b></a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The Polish Parliment makes an Official Proclamation, preceded by "lively debate." And just what DID happen to the Piano in the House?</span></span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;"><b>The Sejm, Polish lower chamber of parliament, has unanimously passed a bill declaring 2010 the Year of Frederic Chopin.</b></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">The vote on the bill was preceded by a lively debate. Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski stated that the primary objective would be to celebrate and popularize the work of Chopin, adding that the celebrations around the Year of Frederic Chopin, which also marks his 200th birthday anniversary, will require a certain amount of organized effort.<br /><br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Zrojewski concluded in saying that some work is already in progress, like renovating the seat of the Frederic Chopin Association (TFIC) in Warsaw.<br /></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Wide-ranging preparations for the Chopin Year also include a thorough refurbishment of the manor house in Zelazowa Wola near Warsaw, the composer's birthplace, and the opening of a Chopin Centre in Warsaw.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">MP Tadeusz Cymanski from the Law and Justice (PiS) opposition reminded his colleagues that there was a piano on display in the parliament's building since 1989 but it was sold last year in what could be regarded as rather unclear circumstances. Cymanski expressed hope that the instrument will return to the Sejm. </span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/news/%3Fid%3D82100" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnD5IzqXeI/AAAAAAAAAco/xEgoICNB6I4/s1600-h/bmchopin110.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnD5IzqXeI/AAAAAAAAAco/xEgoICNB6I4/s320/bmchopin110.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199902631160077794" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/05/10/bmchopin110.xml" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b>: 10 steps to greatness</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#666666;"><a href="http://telegraph.co.uk/" target="_blank">Telegraph.co.uk</a> - United Kingdom</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Coinciding with the launch of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/classical/chopinexperience/">BBC Radio 3 Chopin broadcast extravaganza</a> - a Top Ten-type list of reasons of what makes Fryderyk so distinct:</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p style="font-weight: bold;" class="story2"><i>4 Conquering the world</i></p><p class="story2">Chafing in Warsaw, the 21-year-old Chopin set off round Europe, pitching up in 1831 in Paris. Within a few months he was friendly with writers such as Victor Hugo, painters such as Delacroix and of course musicians including Liszt and Berlioz. All these arts were becoming more "poetic", but what Paris lacked was a "poet of the piano". Chopin was attractively melancholy, always à la mode, and had impeccable manners.</p><p class="story2"><i style="font-weight: bold;">5 Being the perfect romantic</i><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /></p><p class="story2">In 1832 Chopin gave his first concert in Paris. He hated the experience, and in all his life gave no more than 30. But those were enough to make him the perfect image of the romantic pianist. One critic said: "Nothing equals the lightness, the sweetness with which this artist preludes on the piano." Chopin's Nocturnes and Waltzes are the perfection of the Romantic miniature - but small doesn't mean negligible. "Guns buried in flowers" is how Schumann described them.</p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml%3Fxml%3D/arts/2008/05/10/bmchopin110.xml" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnFtYzqXfI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYbszzxUaVI/s1600-h/mateusz.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCnFtYzqXfI/AAAAAAAAAcw/rYbszzxUaVI/s320/mateusz.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5199904628319870450" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php?id=18339" target="_blank"> Whatever Happened to Michal Baranski?</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">All About Jazz - Philadelphia,PA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A check-in on the careers of a trio of teen prodigies from Poland, including jazz/classical pianist <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/mateusz">Mateusz Kolakowski:</a></p><blockquote><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;"> Nine years ago, the clarinetist, improvisational whistler and musical educator Brad Terry hosted in the United States three young musicians he had worked with in Poland. I mean young. </span> <p><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;">Mateusz Kolakowski, the pianist, was thirteen. In this picture from that period,<imgheight="75" alt="Brad Mat.jpg" src="http://www.artsjournal.com/rifftides/Brad%20Mat.jpg" width="104"> we see him with Terry. Bassist Michal Baranski and drummer Tomek Torres were fifteen. Terry toured the country with them in his old Dodge van, overnighting in RV parks and driveways and playing whenever they could, sometimes in paying gigs.<br />[...]</imgheight="75"></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-family:Garamond,Georgia,VERDANA,ARIAL;font-size:100%;">As for Baranski's former trio mates, <a href="http://cdbaby.com/cd/mateusz" target="_blank">Kolakowski </a>is still pursuing Chopin, Paderewski and jazz. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MapLt1nB388" target="_blank">Torres</a>, though he is Polish, is exploring his Latin heritage.</span><br /><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/news.php%3Fid%3D18339" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9186757" target="_blank">Pianist Hamelin sets high bar</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Denver Post - Denver,CO,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">A preview to a Denver recital appearance by pianist <a href="http://www.colbertartists.com/ArtistBio.asp?ID=30">Marc-Andre Hamelin</a>, where he reveals his Chopin-inspired composing ambitions:</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span id="redesign_default"><p><span style="font-size:100%;">In addition to a couple of Haydn sonatas, two Chopin works and Leopold Godowsky's Symphonic Metamorphoses on Johann Strauss' "Wine, Women and Song," Hamelin will perform two of his recently composed etudes. </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">"They are part of my soon-to-be-completed project to compose an etude in every minor key," said the virtuoso, who began his piano studies at age 5 on the urging of his pharmacist father. "I was much younger when I started the project, but then, composing was never the preponderance of my work. I think of myself as a pianist who writes, not the other way around." </span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Hamelin describes his compositional style as "tonal with lots of chromaticism."</span> </p></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_9186757" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" ></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-4391036552097251244?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-15221783905720944672008-05-10T07:07:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.892-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW-dvmFbMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/l5zvxlFkryw/s1600-h/felder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW-dvmFbMI/AAAAAAAAAbg/l5zvxlFkryw/s320/felder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198770763070794946" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/08/entertainment/theater/zac745bf291b593ad88257440006081c8.txt" target="_blank"> Felder completes composer trilogy with 'Beethoven' premiere</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">North County Times - Escondido,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Really having more to do with Ludwig than Fryderyk, a preview of Hershey Felder's new one-man show in San Diego...</span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" ></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>Like the other two plays, "Beethoven, As I Knew Him" is a roughly 100-minute, intermissionless play with music written by and starring Felder (a piano prodigy who grew in Canada's Yiddish theater circuit) telling the composer's story in words and music from the piano bench.<br /><br />"Gershwin Alone" features the brash, Brooklyn-born Jazz Age composer recounting his life up until his tragic 1937 death from a brain aneurysm at age 38. <span style="font-weight: bold;">"Monsieur Chopin" finds the Polish composer Frederic Chopin in his Parisian salon a few years before his 1849 tuberculosis death at age 39, explaining his struggle with "melancholy" (bipolar disorder), his love affair with George Sand and his life and music.</span></blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/05/08/entertainment/theater/zac745bf291b593ad88257440006081c8.txt" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXKe_mFbRI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oMbBT2ceZIc/s1600-h/monterobuffalo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXKe_mFbRI/AAAAAAAAAcI/oMbBT2ceZIc/s320/monterobuffalo.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198783978685164818" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/341645.html" target="_blank"> From disparate halves, a thrilling whole</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Buffalo News - NY, United States</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Gabriela Montero's first half gets the better grade in Buffalo, though Chopin still suffers...</span><br /></p><blockquote><p>The two halves to Montero’s concert were vastly different. The first half was all classical — the Bach/Busoni, then Chopin’s Ballade No. 3, then the Sonata No. 1, by Alberto Ginastera. </p><p>You would have to have been dead not to have been thrilled and excited by that Bach. Busoni knew how to work a piece for showmanship, how to bring out its contrasts and climaxes, and Montero played right along. Besides drama, the piece had depth and emotion.[...]<br /></p>The Chopin sounded a bit frantic, not as romantic as it could have been. Poor thing. It was sandwiched between that Bach and the stormy Ginastera, and Montero might have worked herself into a bit of a lather...</blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.buffalonews.com/entertainment/story/341645.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXL8_mFbSI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/88J5BleVXgc/s1600-h/hamelin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXL8_mFbSI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/88J5BleVXgc/s320/hamelin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198785593592868130" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/montreal_pianist_marcandre_ham.html" target="_blank">Montreal pianist Marc-Andre Hamelin wows crowd at the Gilmore Festival</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Meanwhile, in Kalamazoo, the parade of A-list pianists continues, with generous amounts of Chopin on their programs:</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>The Chopin Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Op. 58 presented a different set of challenges in its stark contrasts between virtuosic outbursts and tender, thinly scored romantic tunes. Hamelin displayed remarkable control at the lowest dynamic levels, caressing every note of Chopin's beautiful melodies.</p> <p>The second movement Scherzo had incredible drive as a result of his very ambitious tempo and meticulous articulation. The precious nature of the scant two- and three-part writing of the third movement Largo was nurtured along with the utmost care. Then, Hamelin unleashed a hitherto unheard power in the "Finale: Presto" non tanto that proved a perfect foil to the delicate third movement.</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/montreal_pianist_marcandre_ham.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Downloads, Legal and otherwise...</span></p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.music-download.cc/index.php/2008/05/09/chopin-24-preludes-op-28-grigory-sokolov/" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> - 24 Preludes op 28, Grigory Sokolov</a><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By admin </span><br />Composed by Fryderyk <b>Chopin</b> Grigory Sokolov, piano Live Paris 17th June 1990. Grigory Sokolov (born April 18, 1950 in Leningrad) is a Russian pianist. Sokolov began studying the piano at the age of five, entering the Leningrad <b>...</b><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.music-download.cc/" title="http://www.music-download.cc" target="_blank"> Music-Download.cc - http://www.music-download.cc </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.jamendo.com/album/24534/" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXM7_mFbTI/AAAAAAAAAcY/6lwNk0WeEzI/s1600-h/jorgeous.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXM7_mFbTI/AAAAAAAAAcY/6lwNk0WeEzI/s320/jorgeous.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198786675924626738" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.jamendo.com/album/24534/" target="_blank"> Jorgeous : Tributo a <b>Chopin</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By Jorgeous<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Starts off sounding more like Satie than Chopin...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;">Jorgeous - Tributo a <b>Chopin</b>. Jorgeous - Tributo a <b>Chopin</b>.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.jamendo.com/" title="http://www.jamendo.com/" target="_blank"> Jamendo - http://www.jamendo.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"> <b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"><b><br /></b></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin Photos:</span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/2475951113/" target="_blank"><b><br />Chopin</b>.</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By <a href="mailto:nobody@flickr.com" target="_blank">nobody@flickr.com</a> (ianharrywebb) </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Click on the link to see the row house in the Scottish capital...</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;">ianharrywebb posted a photo:. <b>Chopin</b>. <b>Chopin's</b> home while in Edinburgh.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/" title="http://www.flickr.com/photos/iansdigitalphotos/" target="_blank"> Uploads from ianharrywebb - http://www.flickr.com/photos<wbr>/iansdigitalphotos/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1522178390572094467?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-60049456072730537722008-05-09T07:06:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.902-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXIQvmFbQI/AAAAAAAAAcA/21bYJloji3o/s1600-h/blechaczproba28_32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 311px; height: 319px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXIQvmFbQI/AAAAAAAAAcA/21bYJloji3o/s320/blechaczproba28_32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198781534848773378" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9184049" target="_blank">Concert review: Young Polish pianist Rafal Blechacz dazzles <b>...</b></a><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><br />San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA</span></span><p style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">A Bay Area reviewer isn't quite ready to hand the Chopin crown to the hot young Polish pianist....</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><span id="mn_Global"><span id="mn_Article"><p><span id="mn_Article"><p> His performance May 4 at Le Petit Trianon in San Jose, which concluded with the Preludes, the full two dozen, was very, very good: Blechacz has an awesome command of the keyboard, plays with a stunning ease.</p><p> But he also seems to realize - I'm projecting here - that he needs to transcend his mechanics, to plumb the depths. So, at least on Sunday, amid the stream of jaw-dropping technique, he kept making these stabs at introspection. They didn't exactly seem premeditated; in fact, they were charming. But they didn't reach their marks.</p><p> He needs seasoning, in other words. And it will be interesting to follow him the next few years, to see where his huge gifts and his intuition lead him. [...]<br /></p></span> After intermission came Chopin's Preludes, exquisite and familiar.</p><p> In the first dozen, comprising Book I, Blechacz didn't get past what we already know about them. For instance, No. 4, the famous E minor "Largo," was all cliche: earnest melancholy.</p><p> But before beginning Book II, he drew out a handkerchief and wiped off the keys. It wasn't meant as a symbolic gesture, yet, from that point on, his performance gained traction: pointillist bursts in No. 18, the F minor; anvil chords and brokenhearted lyricism in No. 20, the C minor; scary agitation in No. 22, the G minor.</p><p> No. 24 in D minor, the closer, ran out of drama; Blechacz seemed tired. But he recovered for the last encore, Moszkowski's "La Jongleuse" ("The Lady Juggler"), a crazily difficult piece through which he flew with the greatest of ease. The amazing young man may as well have been pulling taffy.</p></span></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_9184049" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW2yvmFbKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/jsTwyaMtjGM/s1600-h/Warsaw4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW2yvmFbKI/AAAAAAAAAbQ/jsTwyaMtjGM/s320/Warsaw4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198762327755025570" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review?gusrc=rss&amp;feed=networkfront" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review?gusrc=rss&amp;feed=networkfront" target="_blank"> Magnetic Poles</a><br /></span><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><a href="http://guardian.co.uk/" target="_blank">guardian.co.uk</a> - UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Another glowing review for a journey through modern Poland by Australian author <a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/">Michael Moran</a>, who "had no links with Poland, other than a death bed pledge to his uncle to try to understand the patriotic roots of Chopin's music."</p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">When Moran escapes the crumbling school, the book is lifted on to another plane. By following the course of the Vistula – one of the last great natural rivers in Europe – and then criss-crossing the country during the first international car rally in generations, he begins to fill the absences in our knowledge. On the road he relates – for example — the history of Partition, when thousands of intellectuals were forced to walk to Siberia – an 18-month journey – where they were chained to wheelbarrows night and day and worked to death. He considers our debt to the 8,500 Polish airmen whose élan and tactics helped to win the Battle of Britain. He details the iniquity of the Katyn massacre and betrayal of the Warsaw Uprising. He celebrates Chopin and the "frisson of close Polish dancing". His breadth of knowledge is profound, his views opinionated, his writing passionate and heart-felt. The result is the best contemporary travel book on Poland, reminiscent in its finest moments of Patrick Leigh Fermor's masterful <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Gifts-Constantinople-Holland-Classics/dp/1590171659">Time of Gifts</a></span></blockquote><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/may/06/poland.review%3Fgusrc%3Drss%26feed%3Dnetworkfront" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXGm_mFbPI/AAAAAAAAAb4/yOadCsO6IkM/s1600-h/hough.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXGm_mFbPI/AAAAAAAAAb4/yOadCsO6IkM/s320/hough.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198779718077607154" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_festival_performer_ste.html" target="_blank"> Gilmore Festival performer Stephen Hough masterfully executes <b>...</b></a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The British pianist (recipient of a </span><a style="font-family: arial; font-style: italic;" href="http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&amp;entity_id=3464&amp;source_type=A">MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Grant</a><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >) writes the notes, then plays the program, to memorable effect...</span><br /></p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>The printed program notes, written by Hough himself, explained the first half of the concert centered on "Variations," the second on the Waltz. He opened with Mendelssohn's "Variations Serieuses," Op. 54, comprised of two dozen very different variations. Quickly evident were Hough's incredible hands and touch. Master of pianissimo and presto, he also commanded double fortes and andante passages; meanwhile his octave runs were unfailingly prodigious. [...]<br /></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><blockquote style="font-family:georgia;"><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Wed to his sensitive insights was extraordinary keyboard technique, evidenced further in the remainder of the program featuring Weber, Saint-Saens, Chabrier, Debussy and, fortunately for all, Chopin and Liszt.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Two familiar Chopin Waltzes --the C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2, and the A-flat Major, Op. 34, No. 1 -- were gorgeously played. Each note was given full attention, as though never heard before. In the A-flat Major waltz, Hough showed uncanny ability to sound different melodic lines, played by a single hand. The effect was astonishing.</span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/gilmore_festival_performer_ste.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXEw_mFbOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/2ARwiH_qb7c/s1600-h/concert_ohlsson.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCXEw_mFbOI/AAAAAAAAAbw/2ARwiH_qb7c/s320/concert_ohlsson.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198777690853043426" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/18729364.html" target="_blank">Recital shows pianist Ohlsson at top of his game</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Akron Beacon Journal - Akron,OH,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Whenever <a href="http://www.garrickohlsson.com/">Garrick Ohlsson</a> plays, Chopin is never very far away. First line says it all: "Garrick Ohlsson makes a virtue of middle age."</p><blockquote><p class="storytext">Continuing in the key of C-sharp minor, Ohlsson knocked out a thrillingly fast and accurate version of the Chopin Etude Op. 10, No. 4. It was a wild ride that could only make you smile.</p> <p class="storytext">''One more?'' Ohlsson silently mouthed to someone at the front of the audience, grinning as he asked. He proceeded with the Chopin Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2. Here, he dazzled with the delicacy and lightness of his playing.</p> <p class="storytext">Oh, yes, there was more before the encores. [...]<br /></p> <p style="width: 600px;">Finishing the first half with Chopin's Sonata No. 3, Op. 58 was a move well calculated to get everyone buzzing with oohs and aahs. This was not the Chopin of a delicate aesthete but of a full-blooded romantic, with jaw-dropping fast runs and a galloping rhythmic drive in the finale.<br /><span style=""><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/18729364.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Ohlsson's performance (above) also inspires a video posting on the blog below:<br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><b></b></span><br /><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/2008/05/chopin-prelude-op-45-prelude-no16-op25.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> Prelude Op 45 Prelude No.16 Op.25 Garrick Ohlsson</a><br /><span style=""> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">By Cheryl and Janet Snell(Cheryl and Janet Snell) </span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="">Janet took our mom to see this pianist last night. He played three encores after a finger-crunching program. The <b>Chopin</b> was a sonata, not this Prelude, but you get the idea.<br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/" title="http://snellsisters.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Scattered Light - http://snellsisters.blogspot<wbr>.com/ </a></span></span> </p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6004945607273053772?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-88452067795869378672008-05-08T01:43:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.913-07:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWwY_mFbII/AAAAAAAAAbA/v-ZTvugNmkA/s1600-h/countrymoon_175x125.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 147px;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWwY_mFbII/AAAAAAAAAbA/v-ZTvugNmkA/s320/countrymoon_175x125.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198755288303627394" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html?in_article_id=146274&amp;in_page_id=28" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html?in_article_id=146274&amp;in_page_id=28" target="_blank"> A Country In The Moon is a poetic exploration</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Metro - London,UK</span></span></p> <p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" ><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:100%;" >Echoes of Chopin abound in a new travelogue through post-Communist Poland by an Australian author </span><span style="font-family:arial;">'"honoring a deathbed pledge to his uncle– an eccentric concert pianist obsessed with the music of Chopin...."</span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/forthcoming.htm"></a></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><a href="http://www.michael-moran.net/forthcoming.htm">Michael Moran</a> spent the best part of two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall based mostly in brutalist Warsaw. </p><p class="article"> He also travelled extensively elsewhere through Poland, often in the footsteps of his beloved Chopin, who provides a silent accompaniment to his wanderings. </p><div id="intelliTXT"><p class="article"> Recalling something of WG Sebald, Moran's poetic exploration of Poland's deeply chequered past mixes the recent rapid changes that followed the collapse of communism with Poland's wider, shifting history of loss, occupation and mass population displacement under the Russians and the Germans. </p><p style="width: 600px;"> Moran is a sensitive, intelligent companion, as able to capture the rapacious spirit and chaotic conditions of modern Poland as he is the mournful, savage ghosts of its past - the result is moving and absorbing.<br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html%3Fin_article_id%3D146274%26in_page_id%3D28" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p></div></blockquote><div id="intelliTXT"><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/books/article.html%3Fin_article_id%3D146274%26in_page_id%3D28" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWvTfmFbHI/AAAAAAAAAa4/FvxQTk_eO0Q/s1600-h/weilerstein.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCWvTfmFbHI/AAAAAAAAAa4/FvxQTk_eO0Q/s320/weilerstein.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198754094302719090" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span></p><blockquote></blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/05/07/a_cellist_with_fervor_and_maturity_beyond_her_years" target="_blank">A cellist with fervor, and maturity beyond her years</a></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />Boston Globe - United State</span>s</span></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;font-size:100%;" >Fiery young cellist<a href="http://www.alisaweilerstein.com/"> Alisa Weilerstein</a> gets generally high marks for her performance and personality at a Boston recital with pianist <a href="http://www.inonbarnatan.com/">Inon Barnatan </a>, though her Chopin is hardly the high point....</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote>...She closed the program with Barnatan returning to the stage for a jointly sensitive reading of Chopin's Cello Sonata (Op. 65). In this case, however, the Chopin sounded a bit too similar to the Beethoven, highlighting the way that Weilerstein's strong musical personality seems to flood everything she plays. In other words, she is still grappling with the paradox of how to perform with such a distinctive individual stamp while avoiding a creeping sense of sameness; how to have a strong interpretive voice while still granting the temperature, moods, colors, and sensibilities of a work their own radically independent lives</blockquote></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/05/07/a_cellist_with_fervor_and_maturity_beyond_her_years" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW09vmFbJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/6JGZHOjdaH8/s1600-h/montero.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 112px; height: 174px;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW09vmFbJI/AAAAAAAAAbI/6JGZHOjdaH8/s320/montero.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198760317710331026" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=747909" target="_blank">Montero's true talent lies in the improv</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - Milwaukee,WI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Things go better for</span><a style="font-family: arial;" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5240321"> Gabriela Montero</a><span style="font-family:arial;"> once she departs from the script...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Pianist Gabriela Montero played Chopin and Bach/Busoni as if she were making it up as she went along, and not in a good way.</span></p> <span style="font-size:100%;">Montero's bangy dynamics and lurching phrasing made for an awkward, inelegant Ballade No. 3. And that implacable forward drive that is the essence of Bach's Chaconne, as its chord pattern turns over and over, was nowhere to be found....<br /><br />[...]<br /><br />In the second half, Montero did make it up as she went along, and in a very good way.</span> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Reviving a practice common in the days of Mozart, Clementi and Beethoven, she improvised on themes called out by the audience. The lively give and take between performer and patrons resulted in: Paganini's 24th Caprice for Violin, woven into clever and sophisticated two- and three-part inventions; "The House of the Rising Sun," percolating in ragtime and jumping in stride style; "Summertime," re-imagined as Rachmaninoff; "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," in dizzying Art Tatum jazz turns and an intense Astor Piazzolla tango twist; <span style="font-weight: bold;">and an "Amazing Grace" after Chopin at his most intimate.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">In every case, she showed an astonishing ear, vivid imagination and canny sense of historical style. Every improvisation took the theme somewhere you never would have imagined but that made perfect sense in context. In every case, the theme went on a plausible but surprising harmonic adventure and came to satisfying closure. Montero wasn't just noodling over tunes, she was composing on the spot at a high level. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lots of pianists can play better Chopin, but almost no one can do what she did in the second half of this concert.</span></span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx%3Fid%3D747909" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p></div><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://ca.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idCAL0524642020080507" target="_blank"><br /></a><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://ca.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idCAL0524642020080507" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"></span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW7MPmFbLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JEOaJwEpaYc/s1600-h/albanese.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCW7MPmFbLI/AAAAAAAAAbY/JEOaJwEpaYc/s320/albanese.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5198767163888200882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/06/festival-puts-fleet-fingers-to-good-use-italian/" target="_blank"> Festival puts fleet fingers to good use</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Ventura County Star - Camarillo,CA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >Italian pianist <a href="http://www.classiccat.net/performers/albanese_giuseppe.htm">Giuseppe Albanese</a> hits the Ventura highway...</span><br /></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p><a href="http://www.venturamusicfestival.org/">Ventura Music Festival </a>artistic director Nuvi Mehta had it just right when he said Saturday's concert was destined to create "an illusion that pianists have four hands."</p> <p>Giuseppe Albanese, a 29-year-old Italian keyboard artist who made his West Coast debut at last year's festival, had his hands full with a program of some of the most demanding pieces in piano literature: Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, Schubert's "Wanderer" Fantasie, Chopin's Polonaise-fantasie in A-flat Major and Liszt's "Reminiscences de Norma."</p>But the young Italian has more than fleet fingers. He also has a well-honed musicality that captures the relative buoyancy and melodic profusion of Schubert's "Wanderer," the Polish themes and rhythms so elegantly summoned by Chopin and the bravura style of Liszt.<br /><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"></span></p></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><b></b><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/may/06/festival-puts-fleet-fingers-to-good-use-italian/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-8845206779586937867?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-33940548374981732082008-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.921-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHXe4lbywI/AAAAAAAAAao/xaOgD2BIGSs/s1600-h/karachi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHXe4lbywI/AAAAAAAAAao/xaOgD2BIGSs/s320/karachi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197672370547706626" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, &amp; Previews:</span><br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=110699" target="_blank"> A scintillating fiesta of melodies</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">The News - International - Pakistan</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">It's not often we get Chopin reviews from <a href="http://www.world66.com/asia/southasia/pakistan/karachi">Karachi</a>!<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">The evening’s programme opened the Polish-French composer Frederick Francois Chopin’s Waltz in F Major. <a href="http://karachi.metblogs.com/2008/05/02/karachi-vocal-ensemble-performing-live/">Ayesha Tariq </a>gave a delightfully precise interpretation of the composer’s characteristic style, buoyant, perky and lively. The way her fingers moved over the keyboard in quick time with perfect ease, really made the rendition come alive with exuberance and vivacity.<br /><br />Ayesha, originally from Uzbekistan, and married to a Pakistani in Karachi, is a graduate of the Tashkent Conservatoire and has been playing the piano since she was seven. She certainly stole the show of the evening with her wizardry at the keyboard.</span></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp%3Fid%3D110699" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHWZIlbyvI/AAAAAAAAAag/xn4xDi2FxKs/s1600-h/fliter5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHWZIlbyvI/AAAAAAAAAag/xn4xDi2FxKs/s320/fliter5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197671172251831026" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"> Review: Fliter plays with passion, precision</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kansas City Star - MO,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"><a href="http://www.ingridfliter.com/">Ingrid Fliter</a>'s fingers fly impressively in KC....<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">The second half of the program displayed Fliter’s comfort with Chopin, from the intimacy of the Nocturne in B Major, Op. 9, No. 3, to the complexity of the Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">While Fliter impressed with the ascending left-hand chromaticism of the Allegro maestoso and the presto flash of the opening measures of the Molto vivace, it was the third movement, the Largo, that was representative of this 34-year-old pianist’s manner: a flow of beauty in the arpeggios, and a delicate precision of melody and passionate crescendoes.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Fliter played two encores, the first was the crowd-pleasing Minute Waltz.</span></p><p><span style="font-size:100%;">But it was the second that provided another highlight (besides the Chopin Largo): Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera’s “Danza del gaucho matrero.”</span></p></blockquote><b></b><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.kansascity.com/620/story/605018.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></span></p><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://ennienyc.livejournal.com/228254.html" target="_blank"><br /></a><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2008/05/chopin-in-motio.html" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHabolbyxI/AAAAAAAAAaw/bNCUzFMOv6M/s1600-h/Picture+5.png"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCHabolbyxI/AAAAAAAAAaw/bNCUzFMOv6M/s320/Picture+5.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197675613248015122" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/2008/05/chopin-in-motio.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b> in Motion: Simplicity, Virtuosity, Structure</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By George Jackson<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A <a href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com">Danceviewtimes</a> review of an <a href="http://www.isadoraduncan.org/About_Isadora/about_isadora.html">Isadora Duncan </a>revival in Bethesda, MD takes a fascinating detour into the history of Chopin and Dance....</p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: georgia;"></p><blockquote>Six of the pieces were to Chopin’s music and particularly the “Prelude” (Duncan 1902; Chopin Opus 28 #7) and the “Mazurka” (Duncan undated; Chopin Opus 33 #3) reminded me of Mikhail Fokine’s ballet “Les Sylphides” that historians tell us was “supposedly” influenced by Duncan. . The Duncan dances move persistently, they pulse musically and posses a purity and simplicity [...]<br /><br />There were other Chopin ballets in the early 1900s. Stockholm had one and so did Vienna. The Viennese one, “Chopin’s Dances”, might have influenced Fokine. Formally at least, it sounds like the first version Fokine made of his Chopin ballet and titled “Chopiniana”. “Chopin’s Dances” premiered two years earlier than the Fokine, on 16 April 1905 at the Court Opera in Vienna on a bill with the operas “Cavalleria Rusticana” and “I Pagliacci”. It had choreography by Josef Hassreiter and initially was to have told a bit of a story – “… Chopin would have appeared on stage, and loved and died in the course of a pas de deux and ballabile”. That “starting” notion was rejected. The result was plotless. “Chopin’s Dances” proved to be long: an hour and a quarter’s worth of national character and classical dances. “The unfortunately piecemeal nature of the music was countered by the charm of the dances.” Particular praise went to the “Minute Waltz”, a pointe variation for ballerina Irene Sironi. “The familiar and beloved music together with the precision and dance joy of the ensemble earned the work much applause and secured it a place in the repertory”. Actually, “Chopin’s Dances” lasted only three seasons in its entirety and totaled just 20 performances in the years 1905 to 1907. However, some of its numbers were added to the divertissements in Johann Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus."....<br /><b></b><br /></blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/" title="http://www.danceviewtimes.com/" target="_blank"> danceviewtimes - http://www.danceviewtimes.com/ </a></span></span> </p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1013769" target="_blank"><br /></a></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3394054837498173208?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-78498058650165281892008-05-06T08:52:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.929-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tS8UfwApS9Q"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCimVZxVvI/AAAAAAAAAZY/N0rkf9H_eCk/s320/sedaka+chopin.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197332749449516786" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:+1;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-size:180%;" >Chopin Video of the Day: </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Neil Sedaka Plays Chopin, c. 1965</span><br /></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The crooner shows off his classical chops by playing the Fantaisie-Impromptu after stumping the panel on the game show <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044270/">I've Got A Secret...</a></span><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09330843214406281 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-09330843214406281 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><a style="left: 0px ! important; top: 15px ! important;" title="Click here to block this object with Adblock Plus" class="abp-objtab-044221901210590875 visible ontop" href="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"></a><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tS8UfwApS9Q&amp;hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object><br /><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:<br /></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCcflZxVtI/AAAAAAAAAZI/ZcDsXsAIaSo/s1600-h/mihaela.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 109px; height: 166px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCcflZxVtI/AAAAAAAAAZI/ZcDsXsAIaSo/s320/mihaela.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197326036415633106" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/18580549.html" target="_blank">Romanian pianist gives strong premiere of challenging Kernis work</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minneapolis Star Tribune - Minneapolis,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Nicely-written review of Romanian pianist <a href="http://www.ursuleasa.com/">Mihaela Ursuleasa</a>'s Twin Cities recital...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote></blockquote><blockquote><p><b>T</b>he piano recital was hatched in the romantic era; the society that suckled it is long dead. Yet the institution still stirs, as evidenced by Mihaela Ursuleasa's sterling recital Sunday at Macalester College -- the culmination of the <a href="http://www.chopinsocietymn.org/">Frederic Chopin Society</a>'s 25th-anniversary season.</p> The center of interest was the world premiere of <a href="http://www.schirmer.com/default.aspx?TabId=2419&amp;State_2872=2&amp;ComposerId_2872=824">Aaron Jay Kernis</a>' "Ballad(e) Out of the Blues: Superstar Étude No. 3," commissioned for the occasion. Invoking Gershwin in its opening moments, the piece, which honors the memory of Kernis' late father, is one of his characteristically complex negotiations with the musical past -- a continuously absorbing "battle with history," as the composer put it in a pre-concert talk...</blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>In Ursuleasa's Chopin group, preceding intermission, the two scherzos were more sharply characterized than the two ballades (which nonetheless resonated intriguingly with Kernis). The haunted euphoria of the B-flat minor Scherzo, in particular, was conveyed with startling intensity, although here and elsewhere a bit more rhythmic freedom would not have gone amiss.<br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/music/18580549.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"> </p> </blockquote><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCh0FZxVuI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/9rQbm4rPyDM/s1600-h/blechaczproba28_32.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCh0FZxVuI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/9rQbm4rPyDM/s320/blechaczproba28_32.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197331886161090274" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=14947f44-ba8b-4b13-9454-37526750f320&amp;k=25518" target="_blank">Review: Rafal Blechacz, Vancouver <b>Chopin</b> Society</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Vancouver Sun - British Columbia, Canada</span></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"A big jump into prominence for the Vancouver Chopin Society," says the Canadian scribe, , adding "We were lucky to have heard this concert. Chopin needs him."</span><br /><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><p></p><blockquote><p>From the wings of the Chan came the remarkable winner of the 2005 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw, the 23-year-old Rafal Blechacz, who placed first in all five categories and was so superior to the other contestants that the judges decided not to award a second place, which is really saying something. This was Blechacz's only Canadian stop on a current five-city first tour of North America.</p><p>A Pole, he seems to have found a way of restoring simplicity and emotional clarity to a birthright composer who is too often tortured out of recognition and made to seem more complicated than he really is, though the difficulties of playing him are often fearsome.</p><p>Blechacz found a way of making him sound natural in a way that reminded me of Christopher Columbus's solution to making an egg stand on end: he just chipped it slightly. That doesn't mean Blechacz cheated on the music in any way; he just made it look easy.</p><p>He started with a first half that was made up of Mozart, Debussy and Szymanowski. The other half was what the audience came to hear and is typical of these concerts in the series: Chopin.</p><p>[...]<br /></p><p>The whole second half was given to the 24 preludes by Chopin. These small miracles, the shortest of them only about half a minute long, were described as "eagle's feathers" by Schumann and one can't speak too highly of them. Every one of them held you rapt under Blechacz's spell. The 16th, which is already perilous for the right hand, was taken at an extreme speed and not a note was lost. The bass tones of the fourth rang out, dense with pure piano tone and in beautiful balance. The 14th was very, very dark and the shockingly dissonant second tolled its despair.</p><p>He made the whole set seem like a stroll through an art gallery, aphorisms that ranged from "a gleam of pure Chopin sunshine," as a writer characterized one of them, to the darkest morbidity, and this modest young man, who looked surprised by the standing ovation and long cheers, played the whole program from memory.</p><p>He's already booked four years in advance. We were lucky to have heard this concert. Chopin needs him.</p></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html%3Fid%3D14947f44-ba8b-4b13-9454-37526750f320%26k%3D25518" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7849805865016528189?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-39970011134610716172008-05-05T10:36:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.935-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCZx1ZxVsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/lv0HLa9RbjI/s1600-h/800px-Poland_Zelazowa_Wola.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCZx1ZxVsI/AAAAAAAAAZA/lv0HLa9RbjI/s320/800px-Poland_Zelazowa_Wola.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197323051413362370" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin at Home:<br /></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/lifestyle/?id=81667" target="_blank"> Visit <b>Chopin</b>’s birthplace</a><br /><span style=""><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">Thenews.pl - Warsaw,Poland</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A great way to spend your Sundays in the Polish countryside....<br /></p><span style="font-size:100%;"><blockquote><div class="articleBox"><div class="note" id="note"><p><b>The 55th season of Sunday concerts in <a href="http://www.polandforall.com/chopins-birthplace-zelazowa-wola.html">Zelazowa Wola</a>, Chopin’s birthplace about 60 kilometres west of Warsaw, has been inaugurated with the recitals by <a href="http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Poblocka-Ewa.htm">Ewa Poblocka</a>, one of Poland’s leading pianists of the middle generation.</b> </p> <p>The grand piano is placed in the mansion in which the composer was born. Members of the audience are seated in the salon and in the beautiful park surrounding the mansion. </p> <p>The recitals are held every Sunday at 11 am and 3 pm until the end of September. There is a minibus service to Zelazowa Wola from Warsaw’s Music Academy on Sundays and Saturdays.<br /><br />The programme of the Sunday recitals is available at the website of the National Fryderyk Chopin Institute <a href="http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/institute/" target="_blank">www.chopin.nifc.pl</a> (mk)</p></div> </div></blockquote></span><p style="width: 600px;"><span style=""><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.polskieradio.pl/thenews/lifestyle/%3Fid%3D81667" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-3997001113461071617?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-76015797674712974142008-05-04T08:53:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.942-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amazon.com/Kapell-Rediscovered-William/dp/B00167TT8K"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC4EVZxVwI/AAAAAAAAAZg/RJwbHeuk23k/s320/Kapell.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197356354589775618" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;">Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span></p><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/arts/music/03arts-NEWRECORDING_BRF.html?ref=arts" target="_blank">New Recordings of Legendary Pianist</a><span style="color:#666666;"><br />New York Times - United States</span><br /><br />This Tuesday privately made recordings of the American pianist <a href="http://www.google.com/search?q=+william+kapell&amp;ie=utf-8&amp;oe=utf-8&amp;aq=t&amp;rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&amp;client=firefox-a">William Kapell</a>’s last concerts will finally be available. Sony/BMG is releasing <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kapell-Rediscovered-William/dp/B00167TT8K">this two-disc set</a>, which has works by Chopin, Rachmaninoff, Bach, <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/wolfgang_amadeus_mozart/index.html?inline=nyt-per" title="More articles about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.">Mozart</a>, Mussorgsky, Debussy and Prokofiev. Kapell was one of the great pianists of the mid-20th century when he died at 31 in a plane crash in 1953 while on his way home from a concert tour in Australia. A music lover in Melbourne had recorded radio broadcasts of several of his concerts on acetate discs, some of which made their way in 2004 through an intermediary to Kapell’s widow<br /><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/03/arts/music/03arts-NEWRECORDING_BRF.html%3Fref%3Darts" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC5ElZxVxI/AAAAAAAAAZo/rewR5hiJE78/s1600-h/20080502_mihaelaursuleasa_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 209px;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC5ElZxVxI/AAAAAAAAAZo/rewR5hiJE78/s320/20080502_mihaelaursuleasa_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197357458396370706" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/02/mihaelaursuleasa/" target="_blank"> The passionate and powerful piano of Mihaela Ursuleasa</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Minnesota Public Radio - Saint Paul,MN,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >The Romanian pianists visits the studios of Minnesota Public Radio in advance of her recital...hear the story </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/news/features/2008/05/02_sstaruch_ursuleasa">here:</a><br /></p><div class="intro"> <p class="regular"><br /><strong> </strong></p><p class="regular"><strong><br /></strong></p><p class="regular"><strong>Mihaela Ursuleasa is a commanding pianist and one of the biggest talents in the piano world. Small in stature, her music making is emotionally large and compelling. She stopped by Minnesota Public Radio to preview her weekend Frederic Chopin Society recital. </strong></p> </div> <p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/05/02/mihaelaursuleasa/" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><br /><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank"> </a></p><p style="width: 600px;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC7lFZxVyI/AAAAAAAAAZw/3957XD1bcuk/s1600-h/Constitution02.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCC7lFZxVyI/AAAAAAAAAZw/3957XD1bcuk/s320/Constitution02.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197360215765374754" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank">Dancers celebrate Polish culture, constitution</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh,PA,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >A Steeltown celebration in Heinz Hall of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_May_3,_1791">Polish Constitution Day </a>(May 3, 1791</span>)</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>The music of Poland's greatest composer, Frederic Chopin, will figure prominently, of course, including an orchestration of his famous "Military Polonaise." <span style="font-weight: bold;">And Migala says the traditional song "May Third" that will be sung has recently been authenticated as by Chopin.</span> <p>Sunday's concert also is a celebration of 400 years of Poles in America, dating back to 1608 at the Jamestown settlement in Virginia. Migala acknowledges that their names "have been lost in history but they set up the first factories in America, which made pitch and tar that were useful for trading." </p></blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/living/arts/dance/s_565499.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/284210" target="_blank"> <strong style="font-weight: normal;">Chopin, Preludes Op. 28 and Op. 45, with Three "New" Etudes and two works by Mompou. Alexandre Tharaud (Harmonia Mundi).</strong></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">The Capital Times - Madison,WI,USA</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Review of </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.alexandretharaud.com">Alexandre Tharaud'</a><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">s new Chopin/Mompou disc on Harmonia Mundi...</span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;">Speaking of Tharaud, he has just released a volume with the cycle of Chopin preludes as a follow up to his highly acclaimed CD of Chopin waltzes. Once again, Tharaud is well served by his gift as an interpreter of baroque music (J.S. Bach, Couperin and Rameau) on the modern piano. Chopin always had great baroque and classical models in mind, which is why his Romanticism is tempered and moderated compared to, say, Schumann's....</span></blockquote><br /><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.madison.com/tct/entertainment/284210" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-7601579767471297414?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-11522917838201722892008-05-02T08:49:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.950-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCDglZxVoI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Y4K48OED0tA/s1600-h/KorsantiaA_72dpi.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCDglZxVoI/AAAAAAAAAYg/Y4K48OED0tA/s320/KorsantiaA_72dpi.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197298565804807810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:180%;" >Chopin News, Reviews, and Previews:</span><br /><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1209626987116&amp;pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull" target="_blank"> From Georgia with love</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Jerusalem Post - Israel</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">Georgian Pianist <a href="http://www.newenglandconservatory.edu/faculty/korsantiaA.html">Alexander Korsantia </a>prepares to play a concert with the <a href="http://www.jso.co.il/index-english.php">Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra</a>, whose home venue of Henry Crown Hall just happens to be located on 5 Chopin Street...</p><br /><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote><p>I perceive Israel as my country," says pianist Alexander Korsantia, who will perform Chopin's Second Concerto together with the Jerusalem Symphony under Leon Botstein in a special concert celebrating Israel's 60th Independence day and 70 years since the orchestra's founding. "13 years ago Israel embraced me. Since then our relationship only strengthens and I try never to let down the local audience," the pianist adds. Korsantia's career received a significant international push after he won first prize at the <a href="http://www.arims.org.il/competition2008/pages/english/index.php">Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition</a> in 1995. </p> <!-- It will play either video as first choice, or first image if there isn't an image --> </blockquote><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite%3Fcid%3D1209626987116%26pagename%3DJPost%252FJPArticle%252FShowFull" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html?id=ee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank"> </a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCHPVZxVpI/AAAAAAAAAYo/pZ78jV0cApQ/s1600-h/Toecutter-Zi%26Olesia.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCHPVZxVpI/AAAAAAAAAYo/pZ78jV0cApQ/s320/Toecutter-Zi%26Olesia.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197302667498575506" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html?id=ee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank">High praise for Chekhov at Hycroft</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Vancouver Courier - BC, Canada</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">A rare Vancouver twin-bill of one-act plays by the Russian playwright reveals a heretofore hidden Chopin talent:</p><p style="width: 600px;"></p><blockquote>After the show, back home, I went scurrying to my Chopin CDs--Chopin because not only did actor <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1905875/">Olesia Shewchuk </a>completely steal my heart with her Natalia Stepanovna (in The Proposal) and Elena Ivanovna Popova (in The Bear), but she plays Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu on the Hycroft grand piano as part of the show. Multi-talented, she also translated "The Bear" from Russian.</blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/news/artsandentertainment/story.html%3Fid%3Dee2dbc21-0e9f-4cda-b045-42a187243993" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;">See all stories on this topic</span></a><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCJ-VZxVqI/AAAAAAAAAYw/t5Q16A59aiI/s1600-h/blechacz.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCJ-VZxVqI/AAAAAAAAAYw/t5Q16A59aiI/s320/blechacz.jpeg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197305673975682722" border="0" /></a><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf?/base/news-28/1209653439193840.xml&amp;coll=7" target="_blank"> GILMORE FESTIVAL HIGH NOTES</a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"><span style="color:#666666;">Kalamazoo Gazette - MLive.com - Kalamazoo,MI,USA</span></span><br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-family: arial; font-style: italic;">From the behind-the-scenes blog at the <a href="http://www.thegilmore.org/">Gilmore Festival</a> in Kalamazoo, MI:<br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><blockquote><p><span style="font-size:100%;">Rafal Blechacz CD wins rave </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">Rafal Blechacz, who performed Sunday at Western Michigan University's Dalton Center Recital Hall, is getting great press on his new CD, ``Chopin: The Complete Preludes'' (Deutsche Grammophon). </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">``Rafal Blechacz looks on his CD cover like he can't be older than 14 (he's 22),'' wrote Arizona Republic music critic Richard Nilsen in an April 6 review. ``But his new recording of Chopin's Preludes -- and a couple of Nocturnes to fill out the disc -- has to be one of the best debut albums since Glenn Gould's Goldbergs. It's that good. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:100%;">``New young pianists pop out of the woodwork almost daily. Some have a great PR campaign behind them; others burst briefly from the many piano competitions before disappearing in the grind of concert tours with every second-rate orchestra in the world. Blechacz is different: He actually has something to say, and a personality that infuses his playing. ... This is truly refreshing pianism.'' </span></p> <p>-- James Sanford, </p> <p>Kalamazoo Gazette </p></blockquote><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.mlive.com/news/kzgazette/index.ssf%3F/base/news-28/1209653439193840.xml%26coll%3D7" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><br /><p style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><b>Chopin in the Blogosphere:<br /></b></span></p> <p style="width: 600px;"><br /></p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCM4VZxVrI/AAAAAAAAAY4/whRCOAPN9qQ/s1600-h/kempf.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SCCM4VZxVrI/AAAAAAAAAY4/whRCOAPN9qQ/s320/kempf.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5197308869431350962" border="0" /></a><a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/2008/05/15-questions-to-freddy-kempf-can-you.html" target="_blank"> 15 Questions to Freddy Kempf Can you tell who Freddy Kempf is by <b>...</b></a><br /><span style="font-size:-1;"> <span style="color:#666666;">By pianoplayer0123(pianoplayer0123<wbr>)<br /></span></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >From the "<a href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/">Solo Pianis</a>t" blogsite, an online Q &amp; A with classical music's "Man in Black"...<br /></span></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><blockquote>I am at home, in London, – in my wife’s “office” as we have a good friend of ours staying in my room! I am feeling heart-broken and depressed because I have just spent the whole afternoon practising Chopin’s 2nd piano concerto – it is such a wonderful feeling! I also feel great as I went to the gym today and ran my usual 3km in record time – 9 mins. in fact... well just kidding but one day I’ll get it down to 9 minutes... Some day...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What’s on your schedule right now?</span><br />On my schedule? Well tomorrow I fly to Sweden to do Chopin 2nd with a really great conductor friend of mine. I’m really looking forward to it as we always seem to make such good music together as well as having such fun. He sent me an SMS today saying, “Hi Freddy. When you arrive? Dinner? Weather is rubbish orchestra is great."</blockquote></span><span style="font-size:-1;"><br /><span style="color:green;"> <a style="color: green;" href="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/" title="http://lyudmilachudinova.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"> Solo Pianist - http://lyudmilachudinova<wbr>.blogspot.com/ </a></span></span> </p><p style="width: 600px;"> <a style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);" href="http://pcpianist395.rticlz.com/2008/05/02/chopin-tracks-on-amiestreetcom/" target="_blank"><br /></a> </p><br /><hr noshade="noshade" size="1"><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-1152291783820172289?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-411229773689134421.post-69507348344696751622008-05-01T07:25:00.000-07:002008-07-18T17:23:26.957-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn9glZxVnI/AAAAAAAAAYY/axU4qraMwkg/s1600-h/chopin-head.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_b_dlOeYMnhU/SBn9glZxVnI/AAAAAAAAAYY/axU4qraMwkg/s320/chopin-head.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195462381386421874" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Chopin News, Reviews &amp; Previews:</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></span><p style="width: 600px;"> <span style="font-size:130%;"><a style="color: blue;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/chopin-genius-or-monster-817909.html" target="_blank"><b>Chopin</b>: Genius or monster?</a><br /></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#666666;">Independent - London,England,UK</span></span></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;">Think piece from UK daily: "As Radio 3 prepares to broadcast the composer's complete works, Michael Church says that he's been woefully misunderstood..." Worth a read!<br /></p><p style="width: 600px; font-style: italic; font-family: arial;"></p><blockquote><span style="font-family: georgia;"><blockquote>The stock images are of the staunch Polish patriot, and of the hypersensitive aesthete coughing his heart out as he pens his romantic melodies. Yet in truth Chopin was a political arch-conservative, an artistic and social snob, and a dandy who hated contact with the rest of the human race. <!--proximic_content_off--> <!--proximic_content_on--> <p> Moreover, though his music may have been revolutionary, he was a stern Classicist, despising the Romanticism of his friends Liszt, Schumann and Mendelssohn. Meanwhile, his phenomenal reputation as a virtuoso rested on a mere 30 concerts. None of this fits the stereotype. </p> <p> Chopin's character still troubles even his most ardent champions. "A very strange person, very hard to like," is the verdict of <a href="http://www.kirshdem.com/artist.php?id=andrasschiff">Andras Schiff</a>, who plays his music with rare insight and sensitivity. Anti-Semitism was only one of Schiff's charges: after researching him in depth for a biographical film, he found he didn't like the man at all.... </p></blockquote></span></blockquote><p></p><p style="width: 600px;"><span style="font-size:-1;"><a href="http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&amp;ncl=http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/chopin-genius-or-monster-817909.html" target="_blank"><span style="color:green;"> See all stories on this topic</span></a> </span></p><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/411229773689134421-6950734834469675162?l=chopin2010.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>The Chopin Currencyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07839374939642426703noreply@blogger.com0