Choose artist...
Home   >   Projects   >   Chopin
Rafal Blechacz

Chopin

Deutsche Grammophon
Release Date: March 3, 2023

Press Release

Read press

Artist Details

Read bio

Tour Dates

View

Website

Visit
1 Piano Sonata No_ 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op_ 35 - I_ Grave - Doppio movimento  
2 II_ Scherzo - Piu` lento  
3 III_ Marche fune`bre  
4 IV_ Finale_ Presto  
5 Nocturnes, Op_ 48 - No_ 2 in F-Sharp Minor  
6 Piano Sonata No_ 3 in B Minor, Op_ 58 - I_ Allegro maestoso  
7 II_ Scherzo_ Molto vivace  
8 III_ Largo  
9 IV_ Finale_ Presto non tanto  
10 Barcarolle in F-Sharp Major, Op_ 60  
Show all tracks
Hide

“I feel that I have had some adventures with these pieces before recording them,” says Rafal Blechacz, whose latest album is a tribute to his compatriot Chopin. “I’m freer today regarding the use of tempo rubato, dynamic contrasts and emotional extremes, and maybe I’m braver with certain ideas. I didn’t want to wait any longer before going into the studio.” 

Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin predates his victory in the 2005 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition – when he became just the fourth Polish winner in its prestigious history. It has continued to deepen and mature over the years, underpinned by a desire to uncover fresh layers of expression and meaning. Rafal Blechacz – Chopin presents his insightful interpretations of Sonatas Nos. 2 and 3, among the most musically adventurous and technically demanding in the piano repertoire. It also includes two carefully chosen companion pieces: the Nocturne Op. 48 No. 2 and the Barcarolle Op. 60. The album will be released by Deutsche Grammophon in all formats, including a 2-LP vinyl edition, on 3 March 2023. 

Chopin completed his Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor in 1839 while staying at Nohant, the novelist George Sand’s idyllic country manor south of Paris. The work channels elements of technical display, lyricism and dance rhythms into the framework of a four-movement sonata. Its sombre slow movement, the famous Funeral March, originally conceived in 1837 as a free-standing piece and often performed as such, is one of Chopin’s most popular compositions; its pathos and drama, however, are intensified when heard in the context of the sonata as a whole. 

  • Rafal Blechacz's new Chopin recording shines in both the flashy sections and quieter moments / THE CLASSIC REVIEW
    Posted At: April 10, 2023 12:00 AM
    “I feel that I have had some adventures with these pieces before recording them,” says Rafal Blechacz, whose latest album is a tribute to his compatriot Chopin. “I’m freer today regarding the use of tempo rubato, dynamic contrasts and emotional extremes, and maybe I’m braver with certain ideas. I didn’t want to wait any longer before going into the studio.” Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin pred...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafal Blechacz new DG release is pure, Chopin enchantment / Audiophile Audition
    Posted At: March 28, 2023 12:00 AM
    Audiophile Audition's Gary Lemco writes….Recorded in Berlin from September to October 2021, this Chopin recital by Rafal Blechacz (b. 1985) comes from his deep response to a series of world catastrophes – this especially true for the “Funeral March” Sonata – given the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Blechacz, the winner of the 2005 Warsaw International Chopin Competition, had lived with this repertory for ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafa Blechacz gets cover of 'Pianist / April/May issue'
    Posted At: March 10, 2023 12:00 AM
    Rafal Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin predates his victory in the 2005 Warsaw International Chopin Piano Competition – when he became just the fourth Polish winner in its prestigious history. It has continued to deepen and mature over the years, underpinned by a desire to uncover fresh layers of expression and meaning. Rafal Blechacz – Chopin presents his insightful interpretations of Sonatas Nos. ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafa Blechacz - Chopin is the WFMT: Featured New Release
    Posted At: March 9, 2023 12:00 AM
    “I feel that I have had some adventures with these pieces before recording them,” says Rafal Blechacz, whose latest album is a tribute to his compatriot Chopin. “I’m freer today regarding the use of tempo rubato, dynamic contrasts and emotional extremes, and maybe I’m braver with certain ideas. I didn’t want to wait any longer before going into the studio.” Blechacz’s devotion to the art of Chopin pred...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafal Blechacz - thrillingly direct and fiercely engaged at Wigmore Hall / The Guardian
    Posted At: January 22, 2019 12:00 AM

    Even now, more than 13 years after he swept the board at the 15th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, Rafał Blechacz remains an enigmatic pianist, at least as far as British audiences are concerned. That's partly because his appearances here are sporadic – his last London recital was in 2015.  He began with Mozart: a distinctly brisk, unsentimental account of the A minor...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Immersed in Bach since childhood, Rafał Blechacz feat. on WCRB's The Bach Hour
    Posted At: August 30, 2018 12:00 AM

    The virtually limitless well of music by J.S. Bach has always had a prominent place on radio airwaves in Boston. Whether it's an iconic work like the Toccata and Fugue in D minor or a rarely heard but emotionally riveting church cantata, Bach's music is a touchstone, returning listeners to a foundation on which so much subsequent music has been built. Hosted by Brian McCreath, The Bach Hour can be heard ...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafal Blechacz - Bach is KDFC 'Album Of the Week'
    Posted At: March 6, 2017 12:00 AM

    Tune in throughout the week for tracks from KDFC: San Francisco - Album of the Week. More to discover with KDFC and KDFC.com. For the Week of March 6th KDFC selects, Johann Sebastian Bach from Rafal Blechacz. Praised by the Washington Post as "a musician in service to [Bach's] music, searching its depths, exploring its meaning and probing its possibilities", the now 31-year-old Polish pianist, Ra...
    Bookmark and Share

  • Rafal Blechacz - Johann Sebastian Bach / WCRB 'CD Of the Week'
    Posted At: February 27, 2017 12:00 AM

    "Of course, it's very important to be well-informed about Baroque style... but sometimes with Bach I feel it's even more important to listen to your heart and intuition." -  Rafał Blechacz. The Polish pianist (and former organist) curates an album featuring works from Bach's timeless Clavier-Übung collections. At the heart of J.S. Bach's compositions lay his...
    Bookmark and Share
Go to artist details