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by Richard Crews
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I happened to hear a remarkable pianist play Chopin last night. He is technically perfect--but then so are hundreds of young pianists. What stopped me in my tracks and brought tears to my eyes is his remarkable, profound, subtle, emotional expression. It is truly Chopin as Chopin should be played: all the joy, all the despair of a tortured but triumphant life are there.
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Chopin, in my estimation, is one of the greatest composers of all time, ranking with Bach and Mozart--significantly above Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, et al. There seems to be a bit of a conspiracy to overlook him in academic music circles mainly because his work is 95% piano and because he doesn't fit neatly into the evolution of Western classical harmony and tonality, but also because his music is very difficult to play and almost impossible to play "fully." He was barely mentioned in my undergraduate music (theory and composition) courses.
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When I finally discovered Chopin a couple of decades ago, I got CDs of a dozen pianists renowned for their performances of Chopin--Horowitz, Rubenstein, Ashkenazy, and others. I only found two that were not disappointing--that fulfilled the essence of the music: Peter Katin and Zolton Kocsis.
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Last night I discovered another--perhaps the king of the lot--Rafal Blechacz. When I looked him up on WikiPedia this evening, I found the following.
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Rafał Blechacz born June 30 1985 Nakło n. Notecią, Poland) is a Polish classical pianist.
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On October 21, 2005, he became the sole recipient of all five first prizes at the 15th International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition* in Warsaw, taking First Prize and the polonaise, mazurka, sonata, and concerto prizes. According to ABC News, one of the judges, Professor Piotr Paleczny, said that Blechacz "so outclassed the remaining finalists that no second prize could actually be awarded." Another judge, the distinguished Irish pianist John O'Conor, said "He is one of the greatest artists I have had a chance to hear in my entire life," according to PBS.
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* Note: This competition is held every five years. There are initially 200 successful applicants chosen; these are whittled down to six finalists.
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If you never "got" Chopin--if you never thought you liked his music--go out of your way to hear this young man. (If you have already discovered the glory of Chopin, here is a chance to double down.)
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Coda: there are several performances by Rafal Blechacz of Frederic Chopin's music on YouTube, specifically at--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHV0ByoaKF0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh_7bdVICqQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBY4KzMM8Qw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMI62SBiQBM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28aSoUfp6Q
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Perhaps I should also mention--for clarification of the fact that the piano competition was held in Warsaw although Chopin is French by reputation--that he was born in Poland (and is considered a great Polish national treasure) but transplanted by circumstance to Paris (the massive Russian-forced Polish emigration) at age 20; he died at 36.
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