Frédéric Chopin, the composer of these late piano works, was a pianistic genius who dreaded concert performances and was absorbed by a mundane social life.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded at the Fondation Royaumont, an international cultural center for music and dance artists, in March 2017.
Historical Context
Chopin left Warsaw just before the 1830 insurrection, and his works acquired immense emotional charge during the subsequent Russian oppression, leading Schumann to suggest his music could be banned.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Chopin's art is deeply rooted in the Romantic ideology, exploring themes of distance, recollection, memory, imagination, and melancholy, transforming suffering into creative impulse.
Instruments
The album features Edoardo Torbianelli playing a grand piano by Ignace Pleyel, built in Paris in 1842, from the collection of Edwin Beunk.
Interpretation
Pianist Edoardo Torbianelli's research and playing focus on the 'vocality' of the piano, drawing parallels between Chopin's technique and the bel canto singing tradition.
Recording & Production
This recording is a production of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a School of Early Music founded in 1933, in co-operation with the Fondation Royaumont.
