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GUIOMAR NOVAES PLAYS CHOPIN
Guiomar Novaes plays Chopin in a unique and special way. She does not get lost in the notes as some are wont to do. It is music pure and simple that she plays, and while it is certainly Chopinesque stylistically, one can't help having the impression of hearing these pieces through a musical process that emphasizes the musicality first and the pianism second.
Novaes had a superb technique. So much so that she was able to create an impression of unevenness, for lack of a better word, in passages that most pianists slave for years trying to play evenly. At first it may seem that she is not able to do this. Then one begins to discern patterns within these passages that bring out sub-themes one has never before heard in the music.
A case in point is the performance in which Novaes plays Chopin's Revolutionary Etude, Opus 10 No 12. Instead of giving giving equal emphasis to the notes in an effort to achieve clarity, she gives emphasis to individual notes within the rapid runs and arpeggios resulting in new and wondrous shapes to the phrases supporting the melodic line. In the end one feels that one has heard the inner meaning of some of this music for the first time.
Novaes plays Chopin's Etude Op 25 No 7 as exquisite counterpoint, the two melodic lines sometimes alternating in importance, sometimes competing for dominance. The Nocturnes, so refined, so beautifully played. And the Sonatas, lovely two and three part contrapuntal effects in the Lento of the B minor sonata. And the Scherzo ....
Follow this link for performances of Guiomar Novaes playing Chopin Mazurkas, Waltzes and Polonaises.
Listen to Novaes play Chopin. Then go back to a favorite pianist and hear the difference. Of course, if your favorite happens to be Dinu Lipatti, you may find yourself rejoicing in the similarities, not so much in the details as in the musical vision of the whole.
Études
Op 10
1 in C major
2:10 ➢ 2 in A minor
3:43 ➢ 3 in E major "Tristesse"
7:43 ➢ 4 in C♯ minor
9:53 ➢ 5 in G♭ major "Black Key"
11:28 ➢ 6 in E♭ minor
15:09 ➢ 7 in C major
16:41 ➢ 8 in F major
19:08 ➢ 9 in F minor
21:09 ➢ 10 in A♭ major
23:58 ➢ 11 in E♭ major "Winter Wind"
26:37 ➢ 12 in C minor "Revolutionary"
Op 25
29:18 ➢ 1 in A♭ major
31:58 ➢ 2 in F minor
33:24 ➢ 3 in F major
35:22 ➢ 4 in A minor
37:12 ➢ 5 in E minor
40:43 ➢ 6 in G♯ minor
42:52 ➢ 7 in C♯ minor
47:49 ➢ 8 in D♭ major
48:58 ➢ 9 in G♭ major "Butterfly"
49:56 ➢ 10 in B minor
53:43 ➢ 11 in A minor
57:29 ➢ 12 in C minor
Nocturnes
1 in B♭ minor, Op 9~1
2 in E♭ major, Op 9~2
3 in B major
4 in F major, Op 15~1
5 in F♯ major, Op 15~2
6 in G minor, Op 15~3
7 in C♯ minor, Op 27~1
8 in D♭ major, Op 27~2
9 in B major, Op 32~1
10 in A♭ major, Op 32~2
11 in G minor, Op 37~1
12 in G major, Op 37~2
13 in C minor, Op 48~1
14 in F♯ minor, Op 48~2
15 in F minor, Op 55~1
16 in E♭ major, Op 55~2
17 in B major, Op 62~1
18 in E major, Op 62~2
19 in E minor, Op 72~1
20 in C♯ minor, Op posth
24 Preludes, Op 28
recorded in 1950
Mazurkas, Waltzes, and Polonaises
Piano Sonata 2 in B♭ minor, Op 35
i Grave. Doppio movimento
ii Scherzo
iii Marche funèbre: Lento
iv Finale: Presto
Impromptu 2 in F♯ minor, Op 36
Scherzi
1 in B minor, Op 20
3 in C♯ minor, Op 39
recorded in 1940
4 in E major, Op 54
recorded live in 1949
Ballades
3 in A♭ major, Op 47
recorded in 1942
4 in F minor, Op 54
Fantaisie in F minor, Op 49
recorded in 1957
Berceuse in D♭ major, Op 57
Piano Sonata 3 in B minor, Op 58
recorded in the 1950s
i Allegro maestoso
ii Scherzo
iii Lento
iv Presto non tanto
Barcarolle in F♯ major, Op 60
recorded ca 1960
Trois Ecossaises
Trois Nouvelles Études
1 in F minor
2 in D♭ major
For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background
Murder in the House of the Muse
which is also available as an audiobook.
And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:
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