Unspeakable Beauty: Chopin

Photo taken in the year that he died.

What can I say? I was in love with Chopin's music from the first time my piano teacher introduced me to a Chopin Polonaise when I was eight. It was a simplified version, no doubt, as I was but a beginner on the piano. But my appreciation for Chopin's music has never wavered. 

Here are a dozen or more quotes about his music with some links at the end.

"Chopin wrote poetry that only a soul could hold."

-- George Sand

"Each of Chopin’s compositions is a conversation between two souls; one never perceives a distinction between a soloist and an accompanying instrument."
-- Robert Schumann

"Chopin's work is one of the peaks in the development of piano music. You could say he was a prophet of the piano. He was different from the people of his time. He created a new epoch."
-- Vladimir Horowitz

"Chopin was a kind of creator who valued ideas and emotions more than anything. He was always eager to provide unexpected harmonies."
-- Ignacy Jan Paderewski

"Chopin is the border between romanticism and modernism."
-- Artur Rubinstein

"Chopin spoke in his music directly to the hearts of the people. His music is direct, spontaneous and clear."
-- Arthur Honegger

"Chopin's music resembles a universe. It is self-contained, it is perfect, it is complete."
-- Leopold Godowsky

"Chopin has written some waltzes that are actually love letters." 

-- Wilfrid Mellers

"Chopin is the only soul who has revealed the genius of that instrument."
-- Franz Liszt

"Chopin is the greatest of them all – he reached the highest point of enlightenment and I have the feeling he is speaking directly to me with each piece."
-- Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

"His creation was spontaneous, miraculous. He found it without searching for it, without foreseeing it. It came to his piano suddenly, complete, sublime, or it sang in his head during a walk, and he would hasten to hear it again by, tossing it off on his instrument. But then would begin the most heartbreaking labor I have ever witnessed. He would spend six weeks on one page, only to end up writing it just as he had traced it in his first outpouring."
--George Sand

"After playing Chopin, I feel as if I had been weeping over sins that I had never committed, and mourning over tragedies that were not my own."
--Oscar Wilde

 * * * 

Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; (1 March 1810 – 17 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation" --Wikipedia

"The most vigorous applause seemed not to suffice to our enthusiasm in the presence of this talented musician, who revealed a new phase of poetic sentiment combined with such happy innovation in the form of his art."--Franz Liszt

* * * 

You may remember this from The Truman Show, where Truman first meets Lauren, the girl who captures his heart.

Simplicity is the final achievement. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art.
--Frédéric Chopin

TW0 MORE FAVORITES

ETUDE  Opus 10 No. 3

PRELUDE  Opus 28 No. 4

Eric Himy's Homage to Liszt

“Art is Heaven on earth, to which one never appeals in vain when faced with the oppressions of this world.” ~ Franz Liszt

I like surprises. Two weeks ago I discovered the Oldenburg House Bed & Breakfast. Located on the outskirts of Carlton it was the birthplace of Jay Cooke State Park. The Oldenburg House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, bordering not only the park but also the Willard Munger State Trail, the National Kayak and Canoe Center and Thompson Reservoir.

In addition to being tangent to a corner of North Country paradise, the Oldenburg House is also host to music and arts events, one of which is taking place May 9 when the world-renowned pianist Eric Himy performs here. Himy, who’s training from his youth is an amazing story in-and-of itself, has been compared to pianists as distinguished as Vladimer Horowitz. The “short list” of nations where he has played to critical acclaim include Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Czech Republic, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, Monaco, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and Slovenia… and, of course, the United States where he was born to immigrant parents in New York.

I’ll share a little more about Mr. Himy another time, but wanted to make sure you had a chance to put May 9 on your calendar because there are so many things happening in May with the inaugural North X North music and arts experience.

I took lessons in classical piano when I was a boy, falling in love with the staggering beauty of Chopin (whom I am listening to as I write this) and Beethoven and Tschaikovski at that time. Any comparison, however, between Mr. Himy and myself stops there. In additino to having the wonderful privilege of being able to obtain rich musical experiences and training at an early age, Himy followed it through to some great experiences on both coasts and all the way to Juilliard. Among his earliest teachers was a 90-year old Madame Rosa who claimed to be a student of the man who is clearly his hero, Franz Liszt.

This past week I asked Mr. Himy a few questions, one of which was to make a comment on each of several classic masters and what distinguishes them. Here were his replies.

Chopin: His soul, poet of the piano.
Beethoven: His defiance and will, triumph of the human spirit.
Gershwin: Cool independent unique genius, American par excellence.
Ravel: Craftsman, sensational piano writing and colors.
Tschaikovski: All heart and passion.
Rachmaninov: In the lineage of Liszt, pianist composer, thus knows how to write for piano, harmonies that overripe and wrenching.
Liszt: The MASTER pianist…. the ROMANTIC, the DEVIL, the VIRTUSOSO…. has it all.
Mozart: Music to get purged with after, such simplicity, honesty and purity.

In addition to being an amazing pianist he’s also an insightful writer. The liner notes to his Homage To Liszt CD make for an excellent reading experience even if you are not a lover of classical music. The essay begins with a gripping opening.

“To speak of Liszt is to speak of an immense force of nature. His music has been described as powerful, radical, enigmatic and spellbinding. With his music Liszt seems to have captured the very spirit, heart, soul and genuineness of humanity.”

For an even more satisfying experience I encourage you to set aside May 9 for this memorable evening of music. The program will be hosted by Keith Swanson, conductor of the Itasca Symphony Orchestra with cellist Jeffrey Erband opening. Purchase your tickets online at  oacc.oldenburghouse.com

Photo courtesy Eric Himy