Monday, July 25, 2016

Chopin

ABC  Wednesday
July 27, 2016
The letter is C for Chopin



In my quest to fulfill my Bucket List by playing once again all my many CD's I found in the stack today a cherished disc of a Chopin Program performed by Gwendolyn Moore, of Turtle Island, Washington, and I was immediately flooded with memories of the day my sister-in-law took me along when she went for a music lesson under Gwendolyn's tutelage.  A lovely day which ended with me buying two of her discs, one a program by Schuman, and the other a beautiful performance of Frederick Chopin's music  -  Chopin with a "C" - perfect!

Considered Poland's greatest composer, Chopin was born March 1st, 1810, growing up in a middle class family.  He was a child prodigy who  published his first composition at seven.

In Vienna, where he had made his performance debut in 1829, the audiences loved his highly technical "yet poetically expressive' playing.  In 1832 he moved to Paris, and although his delicate style didn't always enthrall the large concert audiences who were used to Franz Schubert and Beethoven, Chopin soon found employment as as recitalist and teacher.

Though Chopin had youthful love affairs and was at one time engaged, none of his relationships lasted more than a year, - until he met the French novelist Amantine  Lucile Aurore Dupin, aka George Sand.

But that's another story for another time......

Here is a lovely recording of Chopin's Nocturne in E Flat Major and I'm sorry I don't know the name of the performer, but enjoy her beautiful rendition.



For more exciting Cs visit here at ABC Wednesday, with thanks to Roger, Denise and all their Creative helpers.

12 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

I too love Chopin Hildred. For one thing, moderate pianists like me can make a good stab at quite a lot of his work. Don'e know the name of the artist I;m afraid.

Leslie: said...

Oh I just love this piece - always have! What a great choice for this week.

Leslie
abcw team

Rajesh said...

Very lovely composition.

photowannabe said...

Beautiful and dreamlike.
Thank you for sharing the soundtrack.

MelodyK said...

What a wonderful choice for c, thank you, you've pleased me wit it


Have a nice ABC-W-Day / - week
♫ M e l ☺ d y ♫ (abc-w-team)
http://melodymusic.nl/abc-wednesday-19-c/

Unknown said...

incredible.

Amit Agarwal said...

Great to know about Chopin!

Gerald (SK14) said...

nice how pieces of music evoke memories

Reader Wil said...

Chopin has always been one of my greatest idols. When I was a teenager I loved to listen to his exquisite music. But I also loved Beethoven and Schubert, who were more popular at that time.
Thank you for the treat!

Joy said...

There is a relatively recent statue of Chopin playing the piano in Manchester. It relates to the time when he played in a sell out concert in the city despite being very ill.

Roger Owen Green said...

Very lovely telling of the tale.

ROG, ABCW

David Finch said...

This invokes many wonderful memories Mom, as do all the works and melodies you played so splendidly on the piano in my youth. You probably don't tell folks what an accomplished artist you are but I will proudly do so.
This recording reminds me of my mother... and her lifelong love of music.
Love you Mom