Henryk Siemiradzki, Chopin plays for the Radziwiłłs, 1829. Oil on canvas, 1887

In preparing a review of last year’s Bard Music Festival, Chopin and his World, I was especially struck by the ability of a festival to present his oeuvre in such a way that the audience could clearly perceive the course of his development as a composer. Jim Samson, one of the preeminent Chopin scholars, I found, had an especially convincing view of his development, which he published in his The Music of Chopin (London, Boston, 1985). The organizers of the Board Festival presented a rather different, but  not irrelevant, selection of Chopin’s works. I still thought it worthwhile to put together musical illustrations to Professor Samson’s outline of the points de repère, the landmarks of Chopin’s development. In my review I suggest that an extra concert devoted to Chopin might fill some gaps. This offering, with multiple performances of some of the works, is more of a Chopin orgy than a concert, but you can of course pick and choose.

I have chosen the performances with some care. They begin with a piano roll of Saint-Saëns and end with George Li, and include a representative selection of the great Chopin players of the past century or more, as well as three especially gifted young pianists who shone at the Bard Festival, Hélène Tysman,  Fei-Fei Dong, and Nimrod David Pfeffer. I hope you enjoy them.

To read my preview of Chopin and his World, click here.

To read my review of Chopin and his World, click here.