August 29, 2008

Be Still My Heart

No, I am not in love with Evgeny Kissin, the performer in this video (although that last name should factor in just a little, no?), but I am in love with Frederic Chopin. He has been one of my favorite composers for many years and this piece, his Fantasie Impromptu Opus 66, has held the number one spot on my list of favorite piano pieces for some time now. Like so much good art, whether it's Virginia Woolf's The Waves or Rothko's Orange and Tan, I think the best way to enjoy this is to just let it wash over you. (Go ahead and skip ahead to 1:30 on the video, unless you like listening to Germans speak German--I know I do.)



And, in case you're interested, here's a link to the sheet music.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

David Grover said...

When I lived in Korea I met a little girl (maybe 8 or 9 years old) who could play this song flawlessly and passionately. Her hands had a spread of maybe 14 centimeters.

The scary part of it is, she wasn't unique there. Lots of Korean kids can do stuff like that. Freaks me out.

joojierose said...

oh danke danke danke for giving me the chance to listen to german again :) she has such a beautiful voice this presenter! and of course chopin. i mean c'mon. chopin. c'mon.