Chopin: Mazurka No. 33 in B major, Op. 56 No. 1

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

Shebanova interprets further works by Chopin. She is more than qualified to do so, as she did Postgraduate studies at the Warsaw Fryderyck Chopin Music Academy and since 1983 has given annual lectures at the Chopin Master Classes in Duszniki-Zdrój. She performs on an Erard 1849 fortepiano.

Recorded directly on master lacquers at RCA recording studios, Studio A, New York, 1976

We continue our comprehensive survey of the many great pianists who worked in Russia in the Soviet era with the first two discs in the Igumnov School. The bulk of the issues will be divided into 'schools' which represent the three main teachers of this period - Neuhaus, Goldenweiser and Igumnov, - and their pupils. Igumnov was the oldest of the three great teachers we are considering.