Despite his virtuosity, Chopin disliked performing in public and preferred intimate concerts for a select few in his Paris circle, avoiding the 'populist spectacle' of mid-19th century concert halls.
Compositional Technique
Chopin's later Ballades, particularly the third and fourth, feature a form that is difficult to analyze with classical music theory, using modal changes rather than tonic-dominant contrasts to bridge tonalities.
Performer Biography
Pianist Freddy Kempf's third prize at the 1998 Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow caused an outcry in the Russian press, which hailed him as 'the hero of the competition'.
Performer Biography
Freddy Kempf, the pianist on this album, began playing piano at age four and achieved national recognition at eight by performing Mozart's Piano Concerto K.V.414 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Composer Biography
Chopin, the composer of the works on this album, was a child prodigy in Warsaw, hailed as 'Mozart's successor', and performed for Tsar Alexander I at age fifteen, receiving a diamond ring.
Recording & Production
This recording was made in July 2000 at Nybrokajen 11, the former Academy of Music in Stockholm, Sweden, using Neumann microphones and a Yamaha grand piano.
Composition History
Chopin largely invented the instrumental ballad genre, as the ballad had been an exclusively vocal form with medieval roots until he composed his four Ballades starting in 1831.
