Donald Macleod explores the music and life of Chopin, zooming in on five key places on his lifetime itinerary - starting today in the composer's hometown, Warsaw, where he spent the formative years - 20 out of a total 39 - of his life.
Chopin's exceptional gifts - as both pianist and composer - were apparent very early. His first published piece is a creditable effort for a seven-year-old, and by the age of sixteen he was writing music that bore the hallmarks of his mature style. Trips to Berlin and Vienna - where two impromptu concerts at the Kärntnerthor Theatre caused a sensation - gave him a taste for foreign exploration, and heightened his sense that Warsaw could not give him all that he needed as an artist. So at the end of 1830, the 20-year-old Chopin set off on a coach for Vienna, little realizing that the failure of the Polish Uprising - which would be brutally crushed by Russia - was soon to make him a permanent exile.
00:00 Fryderyk Chopin 5 Mazurkas Op.7 For Piano Performer: Arthur Rubinstein.
00:04 Fryderyk Chopin Polonaise In G Minor Op.Posth. For Piano [1817] Performer: Garrick Ohlsson.
00:08 Fryderyk Chopin Polonaise In A Flat Major Op.53 (Eroica) For Piano Performer: Garrick Ohlsson.
00:14 Fryderyk Chopin Rondo 'A La Mazur' In F Major Op.5 For Piano Performer: Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy.
00:24 Fryderyk Chopin Fantasia On Polish Airs In A Major Op.13 For Piano And Orchestra Performer: Nelson Goerner. Conductor: Frans Brüggen.
00:41 Fryderyk Chopin Trio In G Minor Op.8 For Piano And Strings - Andante sostenuto Performer: Pamela Frank. Performer: Emanuel Ax. Performer: Yo‐Yo Ma.
00:49 Fryderyk Chopin Concerto No. 2 In F Minor Op.21 For Piano And Orchestra - Allegro vivace Performer: Rafał Blechacz. Orchestra: Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. Conductor: Jerzy Semkow.
First broadcast: 06 Apr 2015 (b05pqzdh) http://vk.com/wall-71199334_60