This Week in Classical Music: February 24, 2025.Chopin interpretations.Frédéric Chopin, one of the greatest composers of the 19th century, was born on March 1st of 1810.We’ll celebrate him through the works of pianists whose anniversaries fall around this date: we’ve been neglecting the interpreters for quite a while, and this is a good time to catch up.Most of these pianists are of the older generation when Chopin’s piano music was more popular and more often played than it is today.Their lives coincide with the early era of the recording industry, so the technical quality of some of the pieces we’ll hear today is not high, while the musicianship is, even if their approach may seem very different than what we hear today.
We’ll start with Benno Moiseiwitsch, born February 22nd of 1890 in Odessa (now Odesa), then in the Russian Empire and now in independent Ukraine.He started his studies in Odessa, then moved to Vienna to study with Theodor Leschetizky and eventually settled in England.Moiseiwitsch had a flourishing international career and for a while taught at the Curtis Institute of Music.Here’s Benno Moiseiwitsch performing Chopin’s Barcarolle, Op. 60.We like it a lot: the playing is elegant, the tone is singing. We don’t know the exact recording date but think it was made around 1950.
Alexander Brailowsky was also born in Ukraine, then part of Russia, and like Moiseiwitsch, he was Jewish.He was six years younger (his birthday is February 16th of 1896) and born in Kiev (now Kyiv). After studying at the Kiev Conservatory, he also went to Vienna to take lessons from Leschetizky. He then studied with Ferruccio Busoni in Switzerland and eventually settled in New York while getting French citizenship sometime later.Brailowsky was known for his interpretation of Chopin; in 1924 in Paris, he played 160 of his compositions in six concerts; then in 1938, he repeated the same program in New York (no established pianist would even consider such a programming choice these days).Here he is playing Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1.We believe the recording was made around 1957.
Nikita Magaloff was born in Saint Petersburg on February 21st of 1912 into a noble Georgian family.His family left Russia in 1918, following the Bolshevik Revolution.He studied at the Paris Conservatory where he befriended Ravel.Prokofiev also lived in Paris during that time and gave Magaloff composition lessons.Like Brailowsky, Magaloff was a “Chopinist”: he also performed all the piano music of Chopin in six concerts, but if Brailowsky did it twice, Magaloff did it many times.Magaloff was a noted teacher, starting in 1949 with a masterclass he picked up from his friend, the ailing Dinu Lipatti; Martha Argerich was one of his students.He married the daughter of the violinist Joseph Szigeti and often performed with the great violinist.Here’s Nikita Magaloff plays Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2.The recording was made in 1974.
Our last pianist is the only one not born in the Russian Empire: it’s Myra Hess.She’s also not famous for her Chopin, even though she played him a lot.Hess was born in London on February 25th of 1890.She was known for her interpretation of Bach and the Viennese classics, and even more so, for the free concerts of classical music she organized during WWII at the National Gallery.Here is her early recording of Chopin’s Nocturne in F sharp major, Op 15, No. 2.It was made in 1928.
Chopin interpretations, 2025
This Week in Classical Music: February 24, 2025. Chopin interpretations. Frédéric Chopin, one of the greatest composers of the 19th century, was born on March 1st of 1810. We’ll celebrate him
through the works of pianists whose anniversaries fall around this date: we’ve been neglecting the interpreters for quite a while, and this is a good time to catch up. Most of these pianists are of the older generation when Chopin’s piano music was more popular and more often played than it is today. Their lives coincide with the early era of the recording industry, so the technical quality of some of the pieces we’ll hear today is not high, while the musicianship is, even if their approach may seem very different than what we hear today.
We’ll start with Benno Moiseiwitsch, born February 22nd of 1890 in Odessa (now Odesa), then in the Russian Empire and now in independent Ukraine. He started his studies in Odessa, then moved to Vienna to study with Theodor Leschetizky and eventually settled in England. Moiseiwitsch had a flourishing international career and for a while taught at the Curtis Institute of Music. Here’s Benno Moiseiwitsch performing Chopin’s Barcarolle, Op. 60. We like it a lot: the playing is elegant, the tone is singing. We don’t know the exact recording date but think it was made around 1950.
Alexander Brailowsky was also born in Ukraine, then part of Russia, and like Moiseiwitsch, he was Jewish. He was six years younger (his birthday is February 16th of 1896) and born in Kiev (now Kyiv). After studying at the Kiev Conservatory, he also went to Vienna to take lessons from Leschetizky. He then studied with Ferruccio Busoni in Switzerland and eventually settled in New York while getting French citizenship sometime later. Brailowsky was known for his interpretation of Chopin; in 1924 in Paris, he played 160 of his compositions in six concerts; then in 1938, he repeated the same program in New York (no established pianist would even consider such a programming choice these days). Here he is playing Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 1. We believe the recording was made around 1957.
Nikita Magaloff was born in Saint Petersburg on February 21st of 1912 into a noble Georgian family. His family left Russia in 1918, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He studied at the Paris Conservatory where he befriended Ravel. Prokofiev also lived in Paris during that time and gave Magaloff composition lessons. Like Brailowsky, Magaloff was a “Chopinist”: he also performed all the piano music of Chopin in six concerts, but if Brailowsky did it twice, Magaloff did it many times. Magaloff was a noted teacher, starting in 1949 with a masterclass he picked up from his friend, the ailing Dinu Lipatti; Martha Argerich was one of his students. He married the daughter of the violinist Joseph Szigeti and often performed with the great violinist. Here’s Nikita Magaloff plays Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2. The recording was made in 1974.
Our last pianist is the only one not born in the Russian Empire: it’s Myra Hess. She’s also not famous for her Chopin, even though she played him a lot. Hess was born in London on February 25th of 1890. She was known for her interpretation of Bach and the Viennese classics, and even more so, for the free concerts of classical music she organized during WWII at the National Gallery. Here is her early recording of Chopin’s Nocturne in F sharp major, Op 15, No. 2. It was made in 1928.