This Week in Classical Music: February 28, 2022.Chopin and Vivaldi. The great Polish composer Frédéric Chopin was born this week, on March 1st of 1810.His works form the core of the classical piano repertoire and have been performed continuously from the moment they were premiered, often by Chopin himself.Musical tastes change in waves, one composer comes to the fore and then recedes only to come back decades later.These days it feels like the music of Chopin with all its full-blooded romanticism is, if not in nadir, then clearly in descent: the time of Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz or the young Maurizio Pollini has passed.But as it has never left the concert stage (and never will), it still has its champions.One of them is a 26-year-old Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki.He is of the Polish descent and that may have influenced his musical tastes, as in addition to playing a lot of Chopin he promotes the music of Paderewski.Lisiecki clearly feels an affinity with the country of his ancestors, he performs there often and had his first CD issued by the Polish Fryderyk Chopin Institute.He’s one of the very few pianists these days who can build a whole program around the music of Chopin.Recently, he brought one such program to Chicago.It was quite unusual: he played all twelve Etudes, op. 10, but not straight, as they are usually performed, but mixing them with eleven Nocturnes, six Etudes and six Nocturnes in the first half, and six Etudes and five Nocturnes after the intermission.It was an excellent concert: even if one may quibble with some interpretations, Lisiecki clearly has a vision of how this music should be played, he has great technique, wonderful touch and singing tone.Orchestra Hall, the venue where he performed, was full, an unusual occurrence in these Covid days, and, what’s important is that there were many young people in the audience.Lisiecki seems to have a following, and that he’s tall, slim and good looking, reminding one of the young Van Cliburn, clearly doesn’t hurt.There was another matter about this concert worth mentioning: it hasn’t been reviewed by either one of Chicago’s main newspapers.These days it’s not surprising: Chicago Tribune, the home to Claudia Cassidy, and the newspaper that published John von Rhein’s reviews for 40 years, doesn’t even have a music critic on its staff that could credibly write about classical concerts.Kyle MacMillan, whose reviews the Chicago Tribune publishes from time to time, is a free-lance writer.Chicago Sun Times is no different.This attests to the current sorry state of classical music in our society.
Antonio Vivaldi was born March 4th of 1678 in Venice.We are on a quest to find great pieces by Vivaldi that are not the Four Seasons.Here’s one of our discoveries, the Intorduzioni, the motets for solo voice, choir and orchestra.There are eight of them altogether, and Canta in Prato, RV 636 is one of them.It consists of three parts, about six minutes of music in total.The English soprano Margaret Marshall is the solo.English Chamber Orchestra and John Alldis Choir are conducted by Vittorio Negri (here).
Chopin and Vivaldi, 2022
This Week in Classical Music: February 28, 2022. Chopin and Vivaldi. The great Polish composer Frédéric Chopin was born this week, on March 1st of 1810. His works form the core
of the classical piano repertoire and have been performed continuously from the moment they were premiered, often by Chopin himself. Musical tastes change in waves, one composer comes to the fore and then recedes only to come back decades later. These days it feels like the music of Chopin with all its full-blooded romanticism is, if not in nadir, then clearly in descent: the time of Arthur Rubinstein, Vladimir Horowitz or the young Maurizio Pollini has passed. But as it has never left the concert stage (and never will), it still has its champions. One of them is a 26-year-old Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki. He is of the Polish descent and that may have influenced his musical tastes, as in addition to playing a lot of Chopin he promotes the music of Paderewski. Lisiecki clearly feels an affinity with the country of his ancestors, he performs there often and had his first CD issued by the Polish Fryderyk Chopin Institute. He’s one of the very few pianists these days who can build a whole program around the music of Chopin. Recently, he brought one such program to Chicago. It was quite unusual: he played all twelve Etudes, op. 10, but not straight, as they are usually performed, but mixing them with eleven Nocturnes, six Etudes and six Nocturnes in the first half, and six Etudes and five Nocturnes after the intermission. It was an excellent concert: even if one may quibble with some interpretations, Lisiecki clearly has a vision of how this music should be played, he has great technique, wonderful touch and singing tone. Orchestra Hall, the venue where he performed, was full, an unusual occurrence in these Covid days, and, what’s important is that there were many young people in the audience. Lisiecki seems to have a following, and that he’s tall, slim and good looking, reminding one of the young Van Cliburn, clearly doesn’t hurt. There was another matter about this concert worth mentioning: it hasn’t been reviewed by either one of Chicago’s main newspapers. These days it’s not surprising: Chicago Tribune, the home to Claudia Cassidy, and the newspaper that published John von Rhein’s reviews for 40 years, doesn’t even have a music critic on its staff that could credibly write about classical concerts. Kyle MacMillan, whose reviews the Chicago Tribune publishes from time to time, is a free-lance writer. Chicago Sun Times is no different. This attests to the current sorry state of classical music in our society.
Antonio Vivaldi was born March 4th of 1678 in Venice. We are on a quest to find great pieces by Vivaldi that are not the Four Seasons. Here’s one of our discoveries, the Intorduzioni, the motets for solo voice, choir and orchestra. There are eight of them altogether, and Canta in Prato, RV 636 is one of them. It consists of three parts, about six minutes of music in total. The English soprano Margaret Marshall is the solo. English Chamber Orchestra and John Alldis Choir are conducted by Vittorio Negri (here).