'retrospection' Incls Sonata in B flat minor, 2 Nocturnes, opus 32, etc

"lovely individual touches... fabulous articulation."
International Records Review

At first glance, it would appear that Chopin's musical powers were concentrated exclusively on the piano; but when one devotes attention to the deepest levels of the music composed by this poet and virtuoso of the piano, then one realizes that his works can also be categorized as orchestral, chamber music-inspired, or as songs with accompaniment.

His highly personal and daring harmonies, underlined by great rhythmic diversity, already point the way to impressionism, and show how far Chopin was in advance of his own times. For me it was a special challenge to record a Chopin retrospective right after the Mozart retrospective. There is hardly any other pair of composers who are at the same time so similar and so different. Both composed rapidly and effortlessly in the course of their short lives, and their music is direct and transparent. But Mozart was creative in every aspect of music, while Chopin was someone for whom the piano was 'all in one'....With every compositional form I endeavor to preserve Chopin's improvisatory spontaneity. This cd includes works from different creative periods in the composer's life, but all the compositions have something in common: patriotism, numerous elements from folk music, and in his later works, longing for his native Poland.

One of the greatest, most disturbing, most unconventional, and at the same time most controversial works of Chopin is surely the Sonata in B flat minor, op. 35. In the words of Robert Schumann, it encompasses "Chopin's four most beautiful children'. Although the March Funèbre was composed at a much earlier date, the sonata as a whole has a tragic, Wagnerian cast. In the first movement, following the totally unsentimental leap of a diminished seventh which returns in the development section, a restless valkyrie-like first theme is built up to the second movement. The scherzo is even more agitated, both rhythmically and harmonically, as though the first movement had not concluded. Some degree of calm arrives at last in the trio, in the form of a simple Polish melody. Who would not welcome it after this storm! In the famous funeral march - although it becomes dreamy in the trio - I have tried, by means of a great crescendo in the repetition of the main section, to convey a still more painful and immortal atmosphere. And then - even for Robert Schumann, the eternally unanswered question - both musically and philosophically: the finale. It is a kind of capriccio, a stormy, infernal picture by Goya, beyond beauty and ugliness, beyond good and evil.

In great contrast, the two Nocturnes, op. 32, constitute a unity in themselves.
The first nocturne, a carefree promenade punctuated by brief, emotional outbursts, only acquires a more tragic character with its final cadence. The second nocturne, in the 'mediant' tonality relative to the first and to be played nearly attacca, gives us an even quieter beginning, as though the excitement portrayed in the middle section needed time to find its own expression, and then, with the repetition of the opening, to fade away.

Chopin's 4 Ballades were inspired by the poetic Ballades of Adam Mickiewicz. In the first Ballade in G minor, op. 23, after an almost dramatic introduction, consolation arrives with the mournful first theme. The second theme is still more tranquil, but at the same time more cheerful. It is encouraging, as though everything were already preparing for the passionate coda. The sonata form, which can still be discerned in this ballade, is particularly interesting.

The 6 Waltzes were composed at differing periods and have a profound, concert-like character; in no way should they be considered superficial or salon music. This is already clear in the Grande Valse Brillante, op. 18. It is wonderful the Chopin succeeded in combining many smaller sections into a large-scale masterpiece. The virtuosic 'Minute Waltz', op. 64 nr. 1 is like a pearl in a sea of genius-inspired inventions. With the yearning music of the waltz in C sharp minor, whose central section in D flat major is similar to the waltz in A flat major, Chopin shows another side of his personality. The playful, scherzando waltz in G flat major and the somewhat protesting, contrary waltz in e minor are once again perpetually well-received encore pieces.

The Grande Polonaise Brillante, E flat major, op. 22, preceded by an Andante Spianato, is also published in a version for piano and orchestral accompaniment. I have endeavored to convey clearly the contrast between solo and tutti sections not only in terms of dynamics but also agogically. After a tranquil Andante, which encloses a central mazurka, the fanfares come in, like an invitation to the dance. The polonaise, even if heavily ornamented, retains its characteristic rhythmic structure literally to the very last measure.

++++++++++++++++++++++

Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb in 1977. He began his piano studies at the age of 7. At 9 years he was already playing the clarinet and a year later he wrote his first compositions. He participated in various competitions and won first prizes for both instruments. His meeting with Hungarian pianists Zoltan Kocsis and Imre Rohmann at the Bartok Festival in Szombathely (Hungary) added a new dimension to his artistic development. In 1991 Dejan moved to Salzburg, where he continued his studies at the Mozarteum. Immediately afterwards he started recording for radio and television at home and abroad (RTL,WDR, RAI, RTBF, ORF) and played with various orchestras like the St. Petersburg Hermitage Orchestra, Rhine Philharmonic and the Camerata Academica Salzburg. He concertized in many of Europe's greatest halls, including the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw and the Queen Elisabeth Hall.
In 1990, (he was just 13) he made his first recording together with the famous Solisti di Zagreb playing the Mozart Clarinet concerto KV 622 and Piano concerto KV 449. His double gift as an instrumental virtuoso is augmented by his composing talent. His "Conversazioni" for clarinet and viola has been played throughout the world, his first string quartet was composed for the gala of Mstislav Rostropovich's 70th birthday. In 1999, another famous cellist, the Dutchman Pieter Wispelwey, played Dejan's "Chaconne" for cello solo.
A new release for the fall of 2000 teams Dejan with Pieter Wispelwey playing the famous "Davidoff" transcriptions for cello and piano of Waltzes by Chopin. The cd releases will be supported by concerts in Australia, the United States, Canada, Israel and Japan. In Europe as well, recitals are planned in main venues and Festivals such as: Flanders Festival, Kuhmo Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Edinburgh Festival, de Singel (Antwerp), Lissabon Festival, Grand Opera Lyon and the Brussels Philharmonic Society. Orchestral projects include performances with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, European Festival Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Klassische Philharmonie Bonn and the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg.