The Art of Chopin
PROGRAM AIRS ON
Monday, June 24, 2013
With this documentary, we pay tribute to Chopinâs art, to his highly original writing, and show how much of a contribution it made to 20th century music and modern-day piano music. To this end, we are combining two approaches: a narrative approach, with a biographical account, which focuses on the composerâs most creative periods, and an analytical approach with first-hand accounts by some of the greatest performers of his works. Among them: Garrick Ohlsson, Bella Davidovich, Evgeny Kissin, Piotr Anderszewski and Yuja Wang. The first approach captures Chopinâs genius in his time by evoking his life, his work, his existential concerns and his musical influences. The second approach, which forms the mainstay of this documentary, conveys the passion artists today have for performing Chopin and their understanding of his music, which appears to be so easy and is yet so difficult to play. Filmed archives of prestigious pianists, some of whom are no longer with us, complete this portrait of Chopinâs art.