Chopin: Scherzi and Other Music

Moravec, Ivan

95098

A ‘scherzo’ may be a joke, but Chopin’s Scherzi are not to be laughed at: indeed, they are highly virtuosic and require performers with the utmost skill. Within their complexity, though, is hidden some of the most sensitive and tender music Chopin ever composed. On hearing his Scherzo in B flat minor Op.31, Robert Schumann felt compelled to compare it to the romantic poems of Byron, as it seemed to overflow with passion and feeling. The Scherzo in B minor Op.20, marked ‘Presto con fuoco’, starts at tremendous speed, and climaxes in astonishingly virtuosic arpeggios that span almost the entire length of the keyboard, ending in a minor plagal cadence that seems to sum up the dark despair the piece encapsulates. More light‐ hearted but equally complex are Chopin’s Études and Mazurkas, which he performed himself to great acclaim. It was Schumann, again, who praised Chopin’s skilful playing, marvelling at his capacity to bring out the inner voices just as clearly as the melody. At a time when other composers were turning towards large‐scale orchestral works, Chopin knew his strengths lay with his solo compositions for piano: his Waltzes, Scherzi, Mazurkas and Études still rank among the most performed and beloved solo piano works today.

Works:
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 1 in A flat major 'Aeolian Harp'
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 7 in C sharp minor
• Chopin: Études (12), Op. 25
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 2 in F minor
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 3 in F major
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 4 in A minor
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 5 in E minor
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 6 in G sharp minor
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 8 in D flat major
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 9 in G flat major 'Butterfly'
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 10 in B minor
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 11 in A minor 'Winter Wind'
• Chopin: Étude Op. 25 No. 12 in C minor
• Chopin: Mazurka No. 9 in C major, Op. 7 No. 5
• Chopin: Mazurka No. 26 in C sharp minor, Op. 41 No. 1
• Chopin: Mazurka No. 27 in E minor, Op. 41 No. 2
• Chopin: Mazurka No. 34 in C major, Op. 56 No. 2
• Chopin: Mazurka No. 49 in F minor, Op. 68 No. 4
• Chopin: Scherzi Nos. 1-4
• Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, Op. 20
• Chopin: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
• Chopin: Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, Op. 39
• Chopin: Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54

CD x 1

Brilliant Classics

13.11.19

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