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About Chopin Waltz Op. 42 - Gail played at the musicale on 5/28

I almost chose this piece for the Chopin Competition for the Amateur Pianists in Warsaw, Poland in 2018. I start studying a bit but realized how complex this music is and decided to choose Op. 18, which is also not easy, though...

Here is the copy from Henle book about Op. 42:

The fact that Chopin’s waltzes are no longer dance music, but refined concert pieces for performance in salon or concert hall, emerges nowhere as sharply as in the “Grande Valse” op. 42. The main theme banters with a delightful rhythmic shifting between the accompaniment in the typical ¾ time and the melody, which, in its turn, is heard in duple time. Robert Schumann called this waltz a “salon piece of the most noble type”; one which, in spite of all its brilliance and virtuosity, can still be mastered by advanced amateurs.

Here are some examples from 10 pianists!

9 pianists Op. 42 Hostorical Comparison https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5wInJZh-go

1. Eugen d'Albert (00:00) 2. Emil von Sauer (3:32) 3. Moriz Rosenthal (7:20) 4. Leopold Godowsky (11:09) 5. Sergei Rachmaninoff (14:59) 6. Josef Hofmann (18:57) 7. Egon Petri (22:32) 8. Wilhelm Backhaus (25:42) 9. Simon Barere, live (29:14)

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1 Kommentar


Gail Ravin Starr
Gail Ravin Starr
04. Juni 2020

Thank you so much for these excellent recordings, dear Utako!

Since I'm still learning this wonderful piece, I plan to study each of these so I can improve my performance.

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