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Chopin Piano Concertos, salon style

Something of an intriguing concert to which I was alerted by a friend. I have heard opinions about over-familiarity with the full orchestral versions of Chopin's E minor (op. 11) and F minor (Op. 21) Piano Concertos, however it was very interesting to here them in the 'piano with string quartet' arrangement. The programme notes indicate that Chopin himself performed the E minor Concerto in this arrangement. Certainly a performance in this manner gives the listener an opportunity to hear a far more intimate performance than usual. 

Zuzana Šimurdová and Mazurka String Quartet
With that in mind - plus the enticement of an 1888 Weber 6' 3'' piano - I and slightly less than 100 others went to Southminster United Church on 2nd June. Sadly the concert didn't seem to have been widely advertised (I saw a very small advertisement in the OSCAR as well as my friend's email) as I had expected more people for an Embassy-sponsored event. 

The two concertos were performed by the Mazurka String Quartet with Zuzana Šimurdová (Concerto No. 1 in E minor) and Mikolaj Warszynski (Concerto No. 2 in F minor). Overall, both concertos were performed well, although I think the E minor was the better of the two. Šimurdová seemed to be able to work with better with the Weber piano; Warszynski seemed less comfortable on stage. From Šimurdová's first notes, the tone of the piano was noticeably different than that of a modern concert grand - slightly less projection, much more mellow and with a character that glowed, rather than sparkled. I found that my ear grew used to the sound throughout the first performance, but the difference was again noticeable after the interval before becoming familiar again. 

Mikolaj Warszynski and Mazurka String Quartet

A very enjoyable evening and for any Chopin concerto detractors, I would recommend listening to these 'salon' arrangements as the character is quite different. I own the recording of the two concertos by Tamami Honma and Vilnius String Quartet (label link here); from Zuzana Šimurdová's website it seems she has recorded the E minor Concerto with the Mazurka String Quartet (online availability here and here). Sadly and again rather surprisingly, there was no merchandise stand at the concert as the enthusiastic audience may well have bought a few copies!

Looking forward to the summer and another festival season, I read with excitement Music and Beyond's 2012 brochure. Five concerts featuring Vikram Seth! A four-part series entitled 'The Rivered Earth' and a concert featuring music from his 1999 novel An Equal Music. Roll on July!

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