Chopin: Mazurka No. 5 in B flat major, Op. 7 No. 1

Janina Fialkowski’s first Chopin recital received marvellous reviews and ATMA is delighted to release a second collection.

“This is some of Chopin’s greatest music and the playing is sheer bliss.” Sunday Times. “Her technical brilliance is matched by the vivid originality of her interpretations.” Independent – Album of the Week.

Cédric Tiberghien offers us a panorama of Chopin’s output, with three of the composer’s key works framed by a selection of mazurkas.

“I devised a recital programme for the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death in 1999. The idea was to offer a panoramic survey of his output featuring several representative ‘large’ pieces, with the mazurkas providing a sort of chronological thread between them. So ten years later it was a natural process to narrow the focus down to three key pieces from different periods of Chopin’s life, surrounded by a generous selection of mazurkas… One of the very first Chopin pieces I discovered was on a record telling the story of the composer’s life: the Mazurka op.68 no.2, which illustrates the nostalgia for his homeland, the melancholy so often present in his music. I think the mazurkas show the most intimate side of Chopin’s personality, with their mixture of improvisation, evocation, and the ephemeral. These short pieces were a way for him to stay in touch with the roots of his country; he has nothing to prove, he submits to no rule except that of his inner music. I find it fascinating to see how varied Chopin’s inspiration is despite the common basis of all the mazurkas. As I explored the fifty-one pieces in the collection, I rediscovered masterpieces I thought I knew already, while others that were new to me have now become essential parts of my life. Chopin wrote mazurkas throughout his adult career, from 1830 to 1849. The first ones (opp.6 and 7) emphasise the popular element, while the later examples (op.59, op.68 no.4) show an unprecedented harmonic refinement that betrays his contact with French culture. The Scherzo has always struck me with its violence, which grips you right from the first chord and never lets up until the magnificent ‘Christmas carol’ which is transcendent in its simplicity. The Nocturne illustrates how important melody was for Chopin. He insisted that all his pupils should practise singing so that they would sense the phrasing, the direction of the lines, the moments of tension and relaxation. The Polonaise-Fantaisie is a very special work. It’s at the very opposite pole from the mazurkas, if only in its dimensions; and it achieves a mysterious balance between its improvisatory aspect and the strength of its architecture, between extreme complexity and a feeling of intimacy. The opening chords warn the listener: ‘Prepare for an extraordinary journey.’ If I were allowed to keep only one work by Chopin, it would be this Polonaise-Fantaisie in A flat – a key which was very dear to him, incidentally. For me it’s the perfect expression of his personality.” Cédric Tiberghien

“When Tiberghien next plays in London, be there.” Geoff Brown, The Times

Concert reviews: Chopin Mazurkas

“The case for the innovatory nature of Chopin's mazurkas, penetrating the deepest of emotions often with the sparsest of musical gestures, was formidably made.” Tim Ashley, The Guardian, 26 January 2010

“This is very close to what we know about Chopin's own playing...How well Tiberghien caught the gentle, musing melancholy of the opening, and how the silence before the ensuing storm seemed to press on our eardrums!” The Daily Telegraph

Idealised by romantic myth, Frédéric Chopin is one of the most celebrated composers in history. This virtuoso pianist devoted his whole output to his instrument and developed a unique style which made him “an extraordinary artist” (Berlioz). Here the musicians of harmonia mundi present some of his most famous pieces, a glimpse of the inner world of this genius who “made use of art solely to fulfil his own tragic destiny” (Liszt).

The Latvian pianist Dina Yoffe is a professor at the Anton Rubinstein International Academy in Germany and has worked with many celebrated orchestras and conductors. She has made numerous recordings for radio, television and phonographic companies including Chopin’s 24 Preludes, Fantasy in F minor and 19 Waltzes. She performs here on a 1848 Pleyel fortepiano.

This collection includes live recordings from concert halls in Japan and Germany. Katsaris performs Preludes Op.28 Nos 15, 20, 6, 7 & 4; Souvenir de Paganini, Polonaise Op.26 No.1; Nocturnes Op.15 Nos. 3, 9, 2, 20 and others.

This collection includes Nocturne in D flat major Op.27 no.2, Mazurka in B flat Op.7 No.1 and Ballade in G minor Op.23. A special recital was given by this pianist in Warsaw in 1948. He was a pupil of Karol Mikuli, who was himself a disciple of Chopin. Koczalski performed on Chopin’s own piano and the concert was broadcast on Polish radio and now we have an opportunity to listen to these interpretations.