Louis Lortie plays Chopin (Volume 3).
On this CD, pianist Louis Lortie plays Chopin’s four Impromptus and the Piano Sonata in B-Minor, introducing each with a Chopin Nocturne (typically of an improvisatory character) in the same or a related key.
Here is the listing of the selections on this CD:
Chopin:
- Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
- Nocturne No. 3 in B major, Op. 9 No. 3
- Nocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
- Impromptus Nos. 1-4
- Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
- Nocturne No. 14 in F sharp minor, Op. 48 No. 2
- Nocturne No. 10 in A flat major, Op. 32 No. 2
Performed by Louis Lortie (piano)
Of all the Impromptus, the first and most famous was actually withdrawn from the public during Chopin’s lifetime. Ultimately, it was published posthumously as ‘Fantaisie-Impromptu’, and it set the style for the unpretentious pieces that followed, all striving more toward casual entertainment than high artistic expression.
The third and last of Chopin’s Piano Sonatas, Op. 58 in B minor was composed in 1845. While its four-movement design reflects a traditional Sonata-form approach, the appearance of chromatic harmonies, and a lot of rhythmic tension mark it as an inspired masterwork of Chopin’s late creative period.
Here is Louis Lortie playing the amazingly beautiful Chopin Etude Op. 25 No 2:
And next, here is the Chopin Etude Op, 10 No. 3, as performed by Louis Lortie:
Finally, here’s something different: Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, with Louis Lortie, piano:
Tags: Louis Lortie, Pianist, Chopin, Gershwin
