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Valentina Lisitsa. Recording in Hannover Germany Dec 2009

Valentina Lisitsa. Recording in Hannover Germany Dec 2009

Valentina Lisitsa. Recording in Hannover Germany Dec 2009

The CD with Chopin and Schumann Etudes is released on Decca now! 85 minutes + ( plus 3 Nouvelles Etudes in digital album ) Sound samples here : http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/De... or here ( different ones ) http://www.deccaclassics.com/us/cat/4... To get it on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/sg/album/cho...

This is an enigma of a nocturne. There are many things written about it , all trying to explain it away, to make sense of it. You probably heard about " death in Venice, murder perhaps.. ....body silently covered by soft waves while the moon keeps shining etc ".....Ah , all this romantic stuff - I will add just my two cents worth, no more ... If Nocturnes are indeed songs of love , this one has strong undertones of jealousy , betrayal and , ultimately , death. It hauntingly fascinating -- but you can't call it beautiful. Just think about the meloldy here - where is it ??? and can you call this strange and gratingly chromatic chant a melody ? Or .... another question , which key IS it -- C sharp minor or major? Is it a half-smile or half-cry?...The melody very soon becomes a duet -- and then middle part comes all of a sudden as a violent burst of energy and action. I don't recall any other piece of Chopin (supposedly effeminate and weakling invalid of a composer ) where he would use triple forte- fortissimo so boldly ( that is like FFF forte !)The octave recitative in the left hand before the recap sounds like a curse . The most telling and poignant remark however is reserved for the very last "words" of the duet before the coda: Chopin writes " con duolo" (with grief) - the last farewell of unhappy lovers perhaps... PS. For those visual people ( like myself LOL) here is a perfect visual match : type pre-Raphaelites into Google image search -- you will see "Ophelia" and many others that fit the mood and color of the piece perfectly  PSPS. On understanding composer's intent: Chopin often uses remark "con anima". Don't mix it with "animato" . Yes , the root is the same but the meaning and action is opposite. It was made very clear in this nocturne -- in the middle part there are measures marked "con anima" and then come the ones marked "stretto"."Con anima" bars are slowing down. He treated con anima literally -- "with soul" -- not "in an animated way". Russian language has a better direct translation "душевно"!

Multiple Grammy winner sound engineer Wolf Dieter Karwatky kills a great take. Funny takes of Rachmaninoff # 3 and #4 concerti recordings with the LSO. "Little Red Riding Hood" goes wild.

Valentina Lisitsa plays Beethoven Op 57 Appassionata Mov3