Alessandro Taverna (Italy)


25.10.2010

7 pm Concert hall "Florianka"



Fryderyk Chopin
2 Nocturnes op. 62
             no. 1 B major
            no. 2 E major
3 Waltzes op. 34
             no. 1 A flat major
            no. 2 A minor
            no. 3 F major
Scherzo E major op. 54
--------------------
Sonata B minor op. 58
             1. Allegro maestoso
             2. Scherzo. Molto vivace
             3. Largo
             4. Finale. Presto non tanto


Purposefully tricky


               In his recital this Italian pianist will play exclusively Chopin's works, fitting the main theme of this year's edition of the Festival - the international celebration of the bicentenary of the Polish composer's birth. Alessandro Taverna opens this series of seven concerts, raising the bar of the challenging repertoire very high indeed. One also notices some trickery in this artist from sunny Italy's choice of repertoire because all the works in his programme were composed between 1831 and 1846. The recital is constructed interestingly - it contains the two last nocturnes which have opus numbers, which are also the last of Chopin's compositions. These works are typical of this stage of his composing, when he looked for new ways of harmonic expression and form. The evolution of Chopin's sound language lead him towards pure sound effects without any functional reference, where melodic ornamentation levels out the regular metric pulse. In Taverna's recital this new, not really Chopin-like musical world is contrasted with some of the composer's greatest "hits".
              The Three Waltzes, op. 34 are the most representative works of this genre, and at the same time the height of artistic supremacy. Contrastingly the Scherzo in E major, op. 54, unlike any of the remaining three Chopin's scherzos, (which are violent and even demonic) contains a good modicum of humour, despite which Chopin remains faithful to the central esthetics of his composing where cantilena melodic beauty remains unrivalled. The Sonata in B minor, op. 58, which closes the recital, is Chopin's real masterpiece: a very mature work which surely provided the composer with great pride and satisfaction. In one piece of music, divided into four parts, Chopin puts together a ballad, a scherzo, a march, a lullaby, a rondo and an étude. All of them allow the pianist to display the vast array of his pianistic skills and his ability to create a musical atmosphere. Juxtaposing representative works of Chopin's idiom with those far from the beaten track, allows us to appreciate the wonderful diversity and richness of his music.