Classical Music

Classical Music

An entire album featuring recording premieres of compositions by Fr�d�ric Chopin - what is this, a fairy tale? The Trio Parnassus and the Parnassus Academy present three great works in which the piano (how could it be otherwise with Chopin?) occupies the center of attention as well as six songs in a version for violoncello and piano in which the great melodist reveals his most marvelous side. Here the Piano Trio for the first time is heard with the viola instead of the violin, in the version favored by Chopin, thereby lending this new recording special tonal magic. The part concerned is too low for the violin. Joachim Draheim has now reconstructed the viola part and performed an invaluable service to the work with his carefully considered interventions. The trio is now heard in all it's ravishing beauty. Today the "Grande Fantaisie sur des Airs polonaise" is hardly performed at all outside Poland, a fact perhaps also having to do with it's unclear instrumentation. With a special musical sense Xaver Paul Thoma expertly incorporates fine wind instrumentation into the string voices in his version for string quintet, so that a self-contained, very plausible composition is the result. In all these works, Polish music plays an important role, and especially in the Krakowiak op. 13, which Thoma has arranged for string ensemble. Blanchard and the Parnassus Academy impressively demonstrate why already at the premiere the musicians and the audience alike were enthusiastic: Chopin's inimitable blend of elegance and pianistic bravura, of catchy melodies and stirring rhythms, is simply irresistible!

Classical Music

For her Chopin debut on MDG Jin Ju was awarded the highest honors from the top authorities: the jury of the Grand Prix du Disque Fr�d�ric Chopin. It is only every five years that these guardians of the Chopin legacy come together to distinguish a mere four extraordinary recordings. Now this Chinese pianist blessed with a special interpretive sense celebrates her induction into this illustrious circle with a continuation and a rarity - and invites you to join her! Chopin's third Piano Sonata, an enigmatic and gigantic work eschewing everything normally associated with a sonata forms the centerpiece e. It instead has episodes of nocturne character, extended static harmonic expanses, and ballads of fairy tale magic that Jin Ju knows how to narrate with great intensity. The many little pieces, above all the mazurkas, only seemingly form a contrast to this work. Plain and simple on the surface, these sometimes very short miniatures reveal an entire cosmos of associations. This is hardly surprising: Chopin's extant sketchbooks show with what great precision he worked on these pieces during the last years of his life. The Largo from the Cello Sonata, Chopin's last finished composition, is an interesting rarity, and Jin Ju plays it in a version for piano solo by Alfred Cortot, whose standard-setting Chopin interpretations have influenced generations of pianists and music enthusiasts. The perfectly maintained "Manfred Burki" Steinway concert grand piano and the recording technology are on the same high level as the loving selection and performance: this high-resolution, three-dimensional Super Audio album is dressed for success- let's party!

CHOPIN GREATEST HITS

Classical Music

PIANO CONCERTO 4 BALLADES

PIANO WORKS

Classical Music

Classical Music

Classical Music

On this new release, pianist Emmanuel Despax performs Chopin’s timeless collection of 24 Preludes, Op. 28, alongside the Berceuse in Op. 57 and Barcarolle Op. 60. Working from the latest editions as well as original facsimiles of Chopin’s scores, Despax’s brings his own passion for the works into performances that seek to remain as truthful to the composer’s intentions as possible on a modern instrument. He writes: “Chopin the composer has always fascinated me- multifaceted, complex, a man of paradoxes. His music has huge scope yet at the same time is incredibly intimate and poetic. He sometimes has a reputation for being merely a writer of sentimental salon music; I wanted to correct this through this recording, and demonstrate how timeless and relevant, indeed modern his message is…” Emmanuel Despax is establishing himself as an artist whose interpretations bring a rare sincerity and imagination to the music. He performs internationally and is regularly broadcast on many radio stations including France Musique, BBC Radio 3 and Medici TV. Recent highlights include recitals in Paris, Amsterdam, and a performance of three piano concertos at Cadogan Hall.

Classical Music

Classical Music