Schubert: Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960

Featuring

Eduard Stan
Johann Sebastian Bach
Ferruccio Busoni
Franz Schubert
Frédéric Chopin

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Critical Reception

Chopin's Barcarolle is one of his most popular works, with figures like André Gide and Friedrich Nietzsche ranking it among his best compositions.

Composition History

Frédéric Chopin composed the Barcarolle, Nocturne in E Major, and Mazurka Op. 63 No. 3 in 1846, three years before his death, placing them in his late creative period.

Performer Biography

Pianist Eduard Stan, born in multicultural Brasov, Romania, in 1967, moved to West Germany in 1978 and studied at the Hanover College of Music and Theater.

Album & Artwork

The chorale "Jesus bleibet meine Freude" (Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring) is included as a motto for this recording, reflecting J.S. Bach's "Soli Deo Gloria" and honoring pianist Dinu Lipatti.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Chopin stylized the Mazurka, a Polish national dance of the "common man," into art music, clearly intending it "not for dancing."

Interpretation

The album acknowledges that "masterly arrangements" were once considered "sacrilege" by purists, but defends Ferruccio Busoni's transcriptions as a way to engage a wider audience with Bach's compositions.