Ravinia_2018_Issue_6_Week

spacer, o en painted or carved, that was used

in ancient Greece to ll spaces between triglyph

blocks. In Szymanowski’s composition, the “tri-

glyphs” are three female characters that Odys-

seus encountered on his journeys: Sirens, the

mythological women/birds whose enchanting

songs lured sailors to their peril; Calypso, the

nymph living on the island of Ogygia who kept

Odysseus captive for seven years; and Nausicaa,

the beautiful young daughter of King Alcinous

and Queen Arete of Phaeacia who cared for the

shipwrecked Odysseus.

FRYDERYK FRANCISZEK CHOPIN (1810–49)

Andante spianato

and

Grande polonaise

brillante

, op.

rongs of th-century piano a cionados, en-

chanted by the exotic strains of Polish dances,

rushed to public recitals by Fryderyk Franciszek

Chopin. During his early tours to Germany and

Austria, Chopin obliged with a steady outpour-

ing of mazurkas and polonaises. While the ma-

zurkas re ected the idyllic side of Polish peas-

antry, the polonaises represented something

more robust and de ant.

e latter-day image

of a diminutive and frail Chopin quickly with-

ers amid the virtuosic grandeur of his dozen

or more polonaises for piano (and occasionally

other instruments).

Franz Liszt, whose own involvement in musical

nationalism culminated in the Hungarian Rhap-

sodies for solo piano, neatly summarized Cho-

pin’s importance to the polonaise tradition. “ e

polonaise is the true and purest type of Polish

national character, as in the course of centuries

it was developed, partly through the political

position of the kingdom toward east and west,

partly through an inde nable, peculiar, inborn

disposition of the entire race. … [Chopin’s] po-

lonaises are the keystone in the development

of the form.

ey belong to the most beautiful

of Chopin’s inspirations. With their energetic

rhythm they electrify, to the point of excited

demonstration, even the sleepiest indi erence.”

While concertizing in Vienna during the win-

ter and spring of

– , Chopin composed his

most ambitious polonaise for piano and orches-

tra, the

Grande polonaise brillante

in E- at ma-

jor, op.

is work completed a magni cent

trilogy of solo/orchestral works including his

two piano concertos. Unfortunately, Chopin’s

popularity reached its lowest point during that

tour, and he soon moved permanently to friend-

lier Parisian environs.

Andante spianato

is a semi-independent

solo-piano piece in G major, written in

and

subsequently attached as a preface to the

Grande

polonaise brillante

. Gentle, sweeping arpeggios

establish a lyrical setting for the exquisite right-

hand melody. A simple mazurka o ers a morsel

of Polish dance. Smooth (

spianato

) arpeggios

begin again without the theme. A mazurka

phrase concludes this prelude.

Grande po-

lonaise brillante

, frequently performed without

orchestral support, introduces a majestic tri-

ple-meter rhythm. Chopin provided an impres-

sive display of Romantic piano virtuosity in this

extended polonaise.

–Program notes ©

Todd E. Sullivan

AARON PILSAN,

piano

Born in Dornbirn, Austria, in

, Aaron Pil-

san began playing piano at age . Now a protégé

of Lars Vogt, he previously worked with Karl

Heinz Kämmerling at the Mozarteum Salz-

burg. His studies have been supported by the

Orpheum Foundation of Switzerland and the

Mozart Gesellscha Dortmund, and in

was awarded the Förderpreis Deutschlandfunk

by German Radio and the Musikfest Bremen.

Pilsan he previously been honored as a Rising

Star by the European Concert Hall Organization

and was named Best Young Artist of the Year for

by the German magazine

Fono Forum

. His

performance credits include the stages of Am-

sterdam’s Concertgebouw, Brussels’s Palais des

Beaux Arts, Berlin’s Boulez Saal, Vienna’s Kon-

zerthaus, and the Philharmonie halls of Paris

and Luxembourg. He is also regularly invited to

such festivals as the Menuhin Festival in Gsta-

ad, the Schubertiade, Schwetzingen Festival,

Bregenz Festival, Musikfest Bremen, Klavierfes-

tival Ruhr, Mozartfest

Würzburg, Mecklenburg-

Vorpommern Festival

, and Kissinger Sommer.

An avid chamber musician, Pilsan frequently

performs alongside cellist Kian Soltani, violin-

ist Isabelle Faust, and clarinetist Sharon Kam,

as well as the Szymanowski Quartet and the

Quartetto di Cremona. His repertoire spans not

only Classical- and Romantic-era works, but

also contemporary music from the likes of Jörg

Widmann and

omas Larcher, both of whom

he has worked closely with. Pilsan recently per-

formed the world premiere of a work for cello

and piano by Persian composer Reza Vali at the

Boulez Saal. He made his recording debut on

the French label Naive, presenting a collection

of works by Schubert and Beethoven that was

praised by

Gramophone

Magazine. Earlier this

year Pilsan appeared on Deutsche Grammo-

phon with

Home

, a tribute to Austria featuring

works by Schubert and Schumann recorded

with his longtime duo partner Soltani. Aaron

Pilsan in making his Ravinia debut.

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin by Antar-Teofil

Kwiatkowski

AUGUST 20 – AUGUST 26, 2018 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE

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