Sunday Music Salon - Folk Re-Imagined 2, Chopin & the Russians

Music has a deep connection with the spoken language. The Russian language uses a lot of open vowels; its melodic line is rather smooth and rhythmically relaxed. Polish language uses more of the clustered consonances. Poles tend to speak fast. The melody of Polish language has a variety of ornamentations while its rhythm is rather intricate. Polish dances, such as the Mazurka, Polka and Polonaise, possess the same characteristics.

Chopin’s father came to Poland from France. Chopin closed the circle by coming to France from Poland. If Russians are looking in two opposite directions, the East and the West, Poles tend to look only west. Their music possesses elegance and sophistication.

Elena Kushnerova explores the mystical world of Alexander Skriabin and his co-student and rival, Sergei Rachmaninoff. In addition, she performs excerpts from her piano arrangement of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Tanya Anisimova performs her own original pieces in Russian style. The central focus of the program is the glorious and notoriously difficult Sonata for Cello and Piano Op.65 by Chopin, which is one of the last works he had composed.