“After Chopin, he best understands how to write for the piano.” The composer and pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski had nothing but praise for his compatriot Moritz Moszkowski: a cosmopolitan who diverted his regret for his own curtailed virtuoso career into exquisite compositions for the piano. With Dobrzynski, Wolff and Mikuli, the Chopin specialist Naruhiko Kawaguchi sheds light on the Polish School, who devoted themselves to limpid, luminous and sumptuous piano music in the slipstream of the great master. Work by the Spaniards Pedrell, Falla and Mendizábal open our perspective wider: the Chopinesque aesthetic was a pan-European phenomenon that resulted in a richer range of nocturnes than you would ever believe possible.
Program
F. Chopin: Nocturnes, opus 15, no. 1, 2, 3 | Nocturne in C# minor, KK IVa, no. 16 | Polish nocturnes by E. Wolff, J. Fontana, M. Moszkowski, I.F. Dobrzynski, K. Mikuli and I.J. Paderewski | Spanish nocturnes by F. Pedrell, M. de Falla & M. Mendizábal
Performers
Naruhiko Kawaguchi, piano (Pleyel 1843, Bechstein 1860)