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Productive contradictions: Chopin from Sonata to Waltz A Romantic who hated Romanticism, a quintessentially 19th-century composer whose heart lay in the 18th with Bach and Mozart, Chopin was an intriguing bundle of unbelievably productive contradictions. As may be heard here, they produced music of quite astonishing range and originality. The Barcarolle, with which Ingrid Fliter begins, is unique. A barcarolle is not a form as such, but rather an atmospheric character piece derived from a boat song, in this case a Venetian one, evoking the bygone age of singing gondoliers. Chopin was strongly opposed to programme music, but his combination of this title with the audible push-off of the opening suggests that the imagery is entirely deliberate. The tone, build, sensuality and rapture of the proceedings thereafter suggest, further, that the water-borne passengers are probably lovers. Certainly Chopin was never more overtly Romantic than in this marvel of manipulated emotion and musical craftsmanship. His use of pianistic means to create vocal effects is miraculous, and his asymmetrical use of a standard ABA form, not least in its highly condensed recapitulation, is an unsurpassed example of his ability to render form itself an integral part of the expression. Chopin’s 51 mazurkas constitute one of the greatest bodies of music in the repertoire. The extraordinary richness and freshness of the harmony, the kaleidoscopic modulations, the combined ‘simplicity’ and complexity of the polyphony, the hugely sophisticated counterpoint, the structural use of canon (how dared Artur Schnabel dub Chopin ‘the right-handed genius’?!), the exploitation of small repeated figures to create an illusion of symphonic breadth within the confines of so-called ‘miniatures’, and the unending originality of invention are unsurpassed by any composer. They remain, as ever, entrancing and demanding, delightful and formidable, seductive and intimidating. The Op.59 set was composed in 1845 for ‘a learned musician’ – and it shows. The ubiquity of the ‘Minute’ Waltz (which no true musician would dream of playing in a minute) should blind no one to its enduring quality, charm and elegance, its exquisite craftsmanship, its supreme (hence understated) sophistication. This little jewel of 1847, one of the last three waltzes Chopin wrote, gives us the composer at his most neo-Mozartian. The remaining two may be heard in tracks 12 and 13. The great B minor Sonata dates from 1844, when Chopin’s reverence for Bach was at its height. Nothing by Chopin is more riddled with polyphonic devices. In overall design, the B minor follows the Second Sonata, with the scherzo (again highly polyphonic) coming second. The slow movement is a more or less straightforward ABA pattern, but one in which the disproportionate length of the middle section practically dwarfs its flanking sections, and the finale is one of Chopin’s biggest and most stirring conceptions. In his entire output there is nothing more confident or more steadfastly affirmative than this thrilling, 4 driving sonata-rondo. The Op.18 Waltz (1832) is the first of only eight whose publication Chopin sanctioned. Perhaps no piece more exhilaratingly demonstrates his Mozartian ability to pander to the fashions of his time without ever compromising his artistic integrity. Like Mozart, he knew how to write light music that was not trivial. In addition to the pianistic brilliance here, he keeps the ear engaged and guessing, dishing out no fewer than seven different ideas to savour. The Ballade No.4 in F minor (1843) is one of Chopin’s greatest achievements, and formally unique. Appearing at first to be a series of variations on an inward-looking theme, unfurled near the beginning, it builds to a climax through the pursuit of altogether different material (though not as ‘altogether different’ as would at first appear). Few works in any medium so deftly combine a sense of the inevitable with such freshness and unpredictability. Here too, characteristically, he combines some of his most profound and thought-out music with the trappings of a style renowned for its sensual frivolity – the waltz, whose stereotyped accompaniment plays an important role in his music as a whole. Irony and paradox are essential elements of Chopin’s style. Chopin was not a happy composer. But despite his gift for creating a seductive atmosphere of veiled melancholy (then a fashionable commodity), he was never depressing. And his veiled melancholy went beyond fashion, arising from his inner self. In addition to his genius, it was the genuineness of his emotion that spoke to people, and still does. When we hear him, we recognise his experience, as we respond to the beauty and grace of his expression. It is surely this, not anything objectively describable, that has made his C sharp minor Waltz so perennially popular. And in all respects but popularity, the elegant and graceful A flat Waltz which closes Op.64 is certainly its equal. © JEREMY SIEPMANN, 2008 5 Ingrid Fliter Argentinian pianist Ingrid Fliter, the 2006 Gilmore Artist, has been noted for her uncanny musicality, natural sensitivity and elegance in performances throughout the world since her career was launched at the age of 16 at the Teatro Colón in her native Buenos Aires. The Gilmore Artist Award is made to an exceptional pianist who, regardless of age or nationality, possesses broad and profound musicianship and charisma and who desires and can sustain a career as a major international concert artist: Ms Fliter is its fifth recipient. Ingrid Fliter began her piano studies in Argentina with Elizabeth Westerkamp. In 1992, at the suggestion of Martha Argerich, she moved to Europe where she continued her studies with Vitaly Margulis at the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg and subsequently with Carlo Bruno in Rome and at the Academy ‘Incontri col Maestro’ in Imola under the leadership of Franco Scala and Boris Petrushansky. Already the winner of several Argentine competitions, she went on to win prizes at the Cantù International Competition and the Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Italy, and in 2000 she was awarded the silver medal at the Frédéric Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Since winning the Gilmore Award, Ms Fliter has been increasingly in demand as a soloist with orchestra and in recital. Recent highlights have included her debut at the Hollywood Bowl (with the Los Angeles Philharmonic), an appearance with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Paavo Järvi at the New York Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival, and recital performances in San Francisco, Chicago, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall. Future seasons in North America will bring Ms Fliter’s orchestral debuts with the San Francisco, St Louis, Cincinnati, Washington National, Dallas and Toronto symphony orchestras. In Europe she is due to appear with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and Gulbenkian orchestras, and on tour in Spain with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. She will give recitals in Vancouver, London, Japan, Barcelona and Lisbon. In September 2007 Ms Fliter was added to the roster of BBC New Generation Artists for a period of two years. As a New Generation Artist she will appear with many of the BBC’s orchestras and will participate in some of the UK’s most prominent festivals, including the City of London Festival as well as the BBC Proms. 7 Produktive Widersprüche: Chopin von der Sonate bis zum Walzer Frédéric Chopin war ein Romantiker, der die Romantik hasste, ein Komponist aus den Tiefen des 19. Jahrhunderts, dessen Herz aber dem 18. Jahrhundert mit seinem Bach und seinem Mozart gehörte – kurzum ein faszinierendes Bündel ebenso unglaublicher wie produktiver Widersprüche, aus denen, wie hier zu hören ist, Musik von bemerkenswerter Spannweite und Originalität entstand. Die Barcarolle, mit der Ingrid Fliter beginnt, ist in seinem Schaffen einzigartig. Eigentlich handelt es sich bei der Barkarole nicht um eine Form, sondern vielmehr um ein stimmungsvolles Charakterstück, dem ein venezianisches Schifferlied zugrunde liegt, das also die vergangene Zeit singender Gondolieri beschwört. Chopin war ein entschiedener Gegner der Programmusik; der Titel in Verbindung mit dem hörbaren Abstoßen am Anfang lässt jedoch vermuten, dass er die Bilder ganz bewusst gewählt hat. Tonfall, Aufbau, Sinnlichkeit und der entzückte Fortgang der Dinge nähren im weiteren Verlauf des Stückes überdies die Vermutung, dass es sich bei den auf dem Wasser dahingleitenden Passagieren um ein Liebespaar handelt. Chopin dürfte nie romantischer gewesen sein als in diesem Wunder an kunstvoll gestalteter Emotion und musikalischem Können. Der Einsatz pianistischer Mittel zur Beschwörung vokaler Effekte ist außergewöhnlich, und die asymmetrische Ausführung der üblichen ABA-Form ist, nicht zuletzt in der äußerst dichten Reprise, ein unübertreffliches Beispiel für seine Fähigkeit, Formen selbst als integralen Teil des Ausdrucks zu verwenden. Chopins 51 Mazurkas bilden einen der größten musikalischen Komplexe des Repertoires. Die außerordentliche Fülle und Frische der Harmonik, die kaleidoskopischen Modulationen, die Verbindung von „Einfachheit“ und polyphoner Komplexität, die äußerst raffinierte Kontrapunktik, der strukturelle Gebrauch kanonischer Bildungen (wie konnte es Artur Schnabel nur wagen, Chopin ein „Genie der rechten Hand“ zu nennen?), die Arbeit mit kleinen Wiederholungsfiguren, dank derer in den Grenzen sogenannter „Miniaturen“ der Eindruck einer sinfonischen Breite entsteht, und schließlich die unendliche

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