In pop music, pieces featuring the "original artists" are usually big sellers. These are the performances we heard first and are used to -- not the cover songs performed by other artists years later. Some pieces are so familiar that we mentally hear the scratches and pops on the 45's that we had at home back in the day.
There are not many "original" artists in the world of classical music, and in a way this fact ultimately benefits the listener. If we like tidy and conservative performances, there are artists that approach the music that way, and if we want the other end of the spectrum then there are unfettered musicians that will meet our needs there, but what about music before recordings?
Historical accounts of artists of the long past aren't helpful because we have no reference to judge them by. Descriptions like: "passages like strings of pearls" are up for interpretation and can only take us so far. On The Piano this Sunday we continue the search for Chopin's original playing style. We delve into the history of Chopin's playing and link performers who studied with students of the master, or those whose playing style seems to recall those romantic descriptions of Chopin's poetic approach to his music.
This Sunday is the second part in search of Chopin's playing style. Hear the poetry this Sunday evening at 5 on KPAC &KTXI.
