Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works Krystian Zimerman

• Karol Szymanowski )1882 - 1937): 9 Preludes, Op. 1:
• 1 Szymanowski: 9 Preludes, Op. 1: No. 1 in B Minor. Andante ma non troppo 02:56
• 2 Szymanowski: 9 Preludes, Op. 1: No. 2 in D Minor. Andante con moto 03:44
• 3 Szymanowski: 9 Preludes, Op. 1: No. 7 in C Minor. Moderato 02:57
• 4 Szymanowski: 9 Preludes, Op. 1: No. 8 in E-Flat Minor. Andante ma non troppo 03:32
• Masques, Op. 34:
• 5 Szymanowski: Masques, Op. 34: I. Shéhérazade. Lento assai. Languido 09:56
• 6 Szymanowski: Masques, Op. 34: II. Tantris le Bouffon. Vivace assai 07:07
• 7 Szymanowski: Masques, Op. 34: III. Sérénade de Don Juan. Vivace 05:52
• 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50:
• 8 Szymanowski: 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50: No. 13, Moderato 03:33
• 9 Szymanowski: 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50: No. 14, Animato 01:58
• 10 Szymanowski: 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50: No. 15, Allegretto dolce 02:58
• 11 Szymanowski: 20 Mazurkas, Op. 50: No. 16, Allegramente. Vigoroso 03:38
• Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10:
• 12 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Andante doloroso rubato 00:50
• 13 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Tema. Andantino semplice 02:10
• 14 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 1. Meno mosso 01:20
• 15 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 2. Agitato 00:43
• 16 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 3. Lento mesto, ma poco agitato 01:11
• 17 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 4. Allegro molto agitato 00:42
• 18 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 5. Andantino 01:09
• 19 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 6. Andante dolcissimo 03:12
• 20 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 7. Più mosso 01:06
• 21 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 8. Marcia funebre 03:34
• 22 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 9. Più mosso (Allegro) 00:55
• 23 Szymanowski: Variations on a Polish Folk Theme, Op. 10: Var. 10. Finale. Allegro vivo 05:25
• Total Runtime 01:10:28

Info for Karol Szymanowski: Piano Works

Der polnische Pianist Krystian Zimerman kehrt zu seinen Wurzeln zurück und würdigt seinen Landsmann Karol Szymanowski zum 140. Geburtstag des Komponisten. Nachdem er sich jahrzehntelang mit seinen Solo-Klavierwerken auseinandergesetzt hat, präsentiert Zimerman ein neues Album mit einem facettenreichen Repertoire, das den Zeitraum von 1899 bis Mitte der 1920er Jahre umspannt. Sein Ziel ist es, ein neues Licht auf diesen weniger bekannten Aspekt von Szymanowskis Schaffen zu werfen und dazu beizutragen, seinen Ruf als einen der großen Klaviermusik-Komponisten zu festigen.

Krystian Zimerman kam 1956 im südpolnischen Zabrze als Sohn einer musikalischen Familie zur Welt. Schon als Kleinkind wurde er durch die vielen Musiker, die bei seinen Eltern zu Gast waren, mit der Aufführung von Kammermusik vertraut. Als Fünfjähriger erhielt er ersten Klavierunterricht bei seinem Vater, der selbst Pianist war, und studierte später privat sowie am Konservatorium von Katowice bei Andrzej Jasiński. Sein Durchbruch erfolgte, als er 1975 den ersten Preis beim Chopin-Wettbewerb in Warschau gewann. Der 18-Jährige war der jüngste Sieger in der Geschichte des renommierten Wettbewerbs und er wusste, dass er noch Zeit brauchte, um seine künstlerischen Fähigkeiten voll zu entwickeln. 1976 lud ihn der legendäre Artur Rubinstein ein, mit ihm in Paris zu arbeiten. Diese Phase der engen Zusammenarbeit mit einem der größten Pianisten des 20. Jahrhunderts brachte ihm neue künstlerische und psychologische Erkenntnisse, ebenso wie die Arbeit mit Claudio Arrau, Emil Gilels, Svjatoslov Richter und Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli.

Krystian Zimerman, Klavier

Krystian Zimerman
Krystian Zimerman rose to fame at an early age when he was the youngest pianist to be awarded First Prize in the Chopin Competition at the age of 18. He has since embarked on a world-class career working with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and giving recitals in the top international concert halls.

Born into a family with a music-making tradition, musicians would meet almost daily in Zimerman’s home to play chamber music, and these performances afforded him an intimate, natural, everyday contact with live music. He undertook his first steps in music under his father’s supervision and then, at the age of seven, started working systematically with Andrzej Jasinski, then a senior lecturer at the conservatoire in Katowice.

He has collaborated with many pre-eminent musicians: chamber partners such as Gidon Kremer, Kyung-Wha Chung and Yehudi Menuhin, and conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Herbert von Karajan, Seiji Ozawa, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, André Previn, Pierre Boulez, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Stanisław Skrowaczewski and Sir Simon Rattle. In 2010 Zimerman performed the Chopin Birthday recital on the anniversary of the composer’s birth in the International Piano Series in London as part of the Chopin 200 celebrations. Since 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Lutoslawski, Zimerman will be performing the Piano Concerto, which the composer wrote for him, in a number of cities worldwide including at the Royal Festival Hall, London with the Philharmonia Orchestra and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

Since making the decision to transport his own piano for every performance, he has alerted audiences to the complexities and capabilities of the instrument. The confidence which is afforded by always performing on his own, thoroughly-familiar instrument, combined with his own piano- building expertise (acquired in Katowice and developed through close co-operation with Steinway’s in Hamburg) allows him to reduce to an absolute minimum anything which might distract him from purely musical issues.

Zimerman lives with his wife and family in Switzerland where he has spent the greater part of his life, dividing his time between family, concert life, chamber music and, over the last few years, a teaching position at the Music Academy in Basel. He limits himself to 50 concerts per season and pursues a comprehensive approach to the musical profession, organising his own management, studying hall acoustics, the latest sound technology and instrument construction. He has also applied himself to the study of psychology and computer science.

He has developed a similar approach to recording, a process which he controls at each and every stage. During his long collaboration with Deutsche Grammophon his recordings have earned him many of the most prestigious awards. In 1999 he recorded the Chopin Concertos with an orchestra specially formed for this project, the Polish Festival Orchestra, with whom he then toured throughout Europe and America, performing these two works to commemorate the 150th anniversary of Chopin’s death. His most recent recording is a disc of chamber music to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Polish composer Grazyna Bacewicz whose music he has championed. (Source: Harrison Parrott)

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