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May I be among the first to say: "Welcome back!"

Regards,

Great to see so much going on here! I haven't been able to keep up with a lot of things, unfortunately including this thread.

I see that I wasn't keeping up with books about Chopin either! Fascinating to know about the "Chopin's Piano" book. I was horrified to read about Wanda Landowska having to escape without her instruments and other effects, then spending years trying to find them. Very recently the guitar I'd had for 38 years was stolen, and I can imagine just a little bit of what she must have experienced.

My own piano has been away since early June being rebuilt, and will return on 9/28. I literally have not touched a piano during this time-- only an electronic keyboard.

Regarding the bindings of various editions of Chopin-- sadly, the volumes of the Polish National Edition, while they're great otherwise, won't stay open well and could have been constructed a whole lot better. I hope maybe they've been improved in the past few years.

Elene

It has always seemed to me that towards the end Chopin was sounding a bit like Brahms. I can't see him as becoming much like Liszt. But I haven't made a detailed analysis of any of that.

Elene

For the anniversary of Chopin's death, one of the most striking portraits of him ever:

Chopin Anew by Jan Nyka

Reposted (posted to wrong forum earlier today):

Article about first person from UK to memorize Chopin's entire output.[/quote]

That's astonishing!

Needless to say, I have been away for a long, long time. I was astounded for when they talk about things going viral , our thread has to have set some kind of record . 46, 531, 994 people have looked at and read whatever was posted here.. This is the best tribute to Chopin that I can imagine . But I should say I am not surprised. His music lives in the hearts of so many people , around the world . And I know he will continue to be there for decades and decades to come. Thank you all for not giving up on this thread . Thank you Professor Kallberg, I was so pleased to see that you have checked in and answered the questions people posted. To the rest of you, I would like to give you a big hug . I'm back at the piano , after a long time , and trying to relearn all the pieces of music I have forgotten. Wish me luck.

Kathleen

HOW GREAT TO SEE YOU BACK!

.....and I see that meanwhile we've had some more visits by Dr. Kallberg!!

Welcome back, Kathleen! Glad you’re back to it. I have read some of this thread but it’s too long to read the whole thing. What a success!

Do hope you relearn all of the pieces you are now working on!

Also, anyone who is devoted to Chopin should watch this performance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAmy9xaXKdg

Will soon be acquiring a Baldwin SF-10 grand -- signed by Jorge Bolet:

https://imgur.com/a/3nkwAKA

Extra note:

One of the reasons Chopin is a favorite composer of mine is that my blood line ancestry is from Poland since my father originally had a Polish last name that he westernized into an easier to spell and more common American name before he married my mother. I am glad to carry this ancestry going back to Poland. Hence, my particular affection for Chopin's music!

Here is a great recording of the 4th Ballade by Polish pianist, Krystian Zimerman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe-GrRQz8pk

Hi Mark , I certainly remember you as one of the old-timers, not that-you're old. And I do recall your vast knowledge of music and Chopin that you were willing to share with us and, if I'm correct, I seem to also recall a wonderful sense of humor. Thank you for your welcome . I'm glad to be back.

Cmb13. As proud as I am of this thread , I know that you know that nothing like this could ever be accomplished without the help of many, many people. I would venture to say a couple of hundred at one time. The reason I am so proud, even thrilled, is that all those people, the lurkers, and the peepers, and those who contributed , all of them have made their lives richer by learning a little bit more about Chopin . Whether it was about his life or his music or the man himself. And we all know, that we cannot separate the two . Chopin was his music and his music and Chopin. I sat at the piano yesterday and was really dumbfounded at the extent of my muscle memory. It took over . Quite frankly I was pleased and only wished that my brain memory could keep up. I hope to get perhaps 20 or 30 pieces back before the end of next year . But that is certainly a pipedream . Thank you for your good wishes and welcome aboard .

gp84: Thank you for the link to that astounding rendition of Chopin's G minor ballad. It has always been one of my favorites and the pianist certainly did it proud. I also have a Polish heritage. With the exception of my mother, all five of my aunts and uncles were born in Poland. And yes, like you, I was led to him because I wanted to be proud to be Polish. I grew up at a time when Polish jokes were quite the rage, and how I longed to be able to put those insensitive clods in their place by stating that the most famous composer of classical piano was Polish. Of course, I am assuming that none of them had ever heard of him. Their loss, for certain. Thank you for joining us on this thread and I hope to hear from you often.

For Fryderyk's name-day, this unusual portrait, based on the death mask. It has some issues but is mostly successful. (Hair is too dark for one thing.) I don't know anything about the artist, but I received it from Mary-Rose Douglas.

I haven't had any success getting the image to show up here, but I've put it on Box.com for you.

https://app.box.com/s/ps2bk7hd8hqn5rqlxnmwenwoi6fq3mc0

Elene

Very convincing. Thanks for posting.

Can i ask here what is the piece that people usually start with by Chopin? I was listening to Violin Sonata 35 and really enjoyed it as well as some Etudes and was really impressed.

Hi, Dobro

I'm afraid I'm confused by your question. Chopin didn't write any violin sonatas. (He did write a trio for violin, cello and piano.) The sonata you mentioned must be a transcription, if it's supposed to have been written by Chopin. Does it say which piece it's a transcription of?

One of the most accessible pieces Chopin did write is the 4th prelude in E minor (Op. 28 No. 4). That would be a likely first piece of his for someone to try. The 6th prelude, in B minor, is at about the same level of difficulty. A few less commonly known miscellaneous short pieces are around as well.

Elene

Thank you Elene, the piece that i referred to was something i heard on the radio and thats what the announcer called it. The piece was a very good piano and violin. I havent seen a score for it. I will certainly look into the ones that you mentioned as im an 18 month beginner.

dobro, you can find the easiest Chopin pieces (which are not easy at all, if you ask me) in the Wiener Urtext Primo series, book 5 (Chopin, Liszt, Hiller). This it the list, if you want to look for them on IMSLP:

Bourrée I in G major (KK VIIb/1)
Bourrée II in A major (KK VIIb/2)
Cantabile in Bb major (KK IVb/6)
Waltz in a minor (KK IVb/11)
Sostenuto in Eb major (KK IVb/10)
Prelude in e minor (op. 28/4)
Prelude in b minor (op. 28/6)
Prelude in A major (op. 28/7)
Prelude in c minor (op. 28/20)
Polonaise in Bb major (KK IVa/1)
Mazurka in g minor (op. 67/2)
Mazurka in F major (op. 68/3)
Mazurka in Ab major (op. 7/4a)

What a great list! Thanks for sharing this, I believe I'll save this (there are so many new players asking for accessible Chopin pieces!)

You're welcome!

The bourrées are easy but not very interesting, the Cantabile and the Sostenuto sound nice and are very short and feasible, the A minor Waltz is the usual one that everybody plays (op. posth. B 150 - hard to play quickly and smoothly IMO), the preludes we all know about them (not easy to make them sound good), the Mazurka in F major is the easiest one, very march-style, the others I haven't tried yet...