Images of a Homeland

Track Listings
1. Mazurka in G Minor, Op.24, No.1    
2. Mazurka in C Major, Op.24, No.2    
3. Mazurka in C Sharp Minor, Op.6, No.2    
4. Mazurka in A Minor, Op.68, No.2    
5. Mazurka in B Flat Major, Op.7, No.1    
6. Waltz in F Minor, Op.70, No.2    
7. Mazurka in F Major, Op.68, No.3    
8. Mazurka in A Flat Major, Op.41, No.4    
9. Mazurka in B Minor, Op.33, No.4    
10. Waltz in A Flat Major, Op.69, No.1    
11. Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op.9,No.2    
12. Polonaise in A Major, Op.40, No.1    
13. Waltz in A Minor, Op.34, No.2    
14. Mazurka in C Major, Op.7, No.5    
15. Mazurka in F Minor, Op.7, No.3    
16. Mazurka in A Flat Major, Op.50, No.2    
17. Mazurka in G Minor, Op.67, No.2    
18. Prelude in D Flat Major, Op.28,No.15    
19. Mazurka in C Major, Op.68, No.1    
20. Mazurka in A Minor, Op.17, No.4    

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Chopin is the quintessential piano composer. His works occupy a central place not only in the repertoire, but in the hearts of performers and listeners, and his music evokes a personal, individual response from everyone who plays or hears it. Not surprisingly, there is a large Chopin discography. But an addition is always welcome if the pianist has a strong feeling and affinity for the music. In this disc, Marjan Kiepura, the son of the great Polish tenor Jan Kiepura, proves that he has Chopin's style and idiom in his heart and bloodstream.

The program features primarily the mazurkas, both famous and unfamiliar, because they tend to be neglected, and because, along with the Polonaises, they are Chopin's most "Polish" compositions. They most poignantly express the yearning for his native Poland that never left him during his 18 years in Paris. He wrote mazurkas throughout his life, transforming them from a folk dance into a sophisticated art form without losing their idiomatic character. All this comes out in Kiepura's playing, which is first-rate. His technical mastery is always at the service of the music; he even makes the running passages sound like melodies. His tone is warm and singing at every dynamic level and has great variety of articulation, color, and inflection. The balance between the two hands is admirable, the rhythmic control infallible. Kiepura brings out every expressive nuance, whether poetic, dreamy, pensive, and wistful, or exuberant, majestic, and triumphant, and he feels everything so honestly that he needs no exaggeration or sentimentality. --Edith Eisler

Images of a Homeland, Music, Marjan Kiepura, Frederic Chopin
Images of a Homeland
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • Good Upbeat Chopin Playing; Mazurkas the Reason to Buy
  • Chopin comes alive
  • Most enjoyable......
 Images of a Homeland

Manufacturer: Patria Productions, Inc.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

ClassicalClassical | Indie Music | Stores | Music
GeneralGeneral | Classical | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000505DC
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

  1. Mazurka in G Minor, Op.24, No.1
  2. Mazurka in C Major, Op.24, No.2
  3. Mazurka in C Sharp Minor, Op.6, No.2
  4. Mazurka in A Minor, Op.68, No.2
  5. Mazurka in B Flat Major, Op.7, No.1
  6. Waltz in F Minor, Op.70, No.2
  7. Mazurka in F Major, Op.68, No.3
  8. Mazurka in A Flat Major, Op.41, No.4
  9. Mazurka in B Minor, Op.33, No.4
  10. Waltz in A Flat Major, Op.69, No.1
  11. Nocturne in E Flat Major, Op.9,No.2
  12. Polonaise in A Major, Op.40, No.1
  13. Waltz in A Minor, Op.34, No.2
  14. Mazurka in C Major, Op.7, No.5
  15. Mazurka in F Minor, Op.7, No.3
  16. Mazurka in A Flat Major, Op.50, No.2
  17. Mazurka in G Minor, Op.67, No.2
  18. Prelude in D Flat Major, Op.28,No.15
  19. Mazurka in C Major, Op.68, No.1
  20. Mazurka in A Minor, Op.17, No.4

Amazon.com

Chopin is the quintessential piano composer. His works occupy a central place not only in the repertoire, but in the hearts of performers and listeners, and his music evokes a personal, individual response from everyone who plays or hears it. Not surprisingly, there is a large Chopin discography. But an addition is always welcome if the pianist has a strong feeling and affinity for the music. In this disc, Marjan Kiepura, the son of the great Polish tenor Jan Kiepura, proves that he has Chopin's style and idiom in his heart and bloodstream.

The program features primarily the mazurkas, both famous and unfamiliar, because they tend to be neglected, and because, along with the Polonaises, they are Chopin's most "Polish" compositions. They most poignantly express the yearning for his native Poland that never left him during his 18 years in Paris. He wrote mazurkas throughout his life, transforming them from a folk dance into a sophisticated art form without losing their idiomatic character. All this comes out in Kiepura's playing, which is first-rate. His technical mastery is always at the service of the music; he even makes the running passages sound like melodies. His tone is warm and singing at every dynamic level and has great variety of articulation, color, and inflection. The balance between the two hands is admirable, the rhythmic control infallible. Kiepura brings out every expressive nuance, whether poetic, dreamy, pensive, and wistful, or exuberant, majestic, and triumphant, and he feels everything so honestly that he needs no exaggeration or sentimentality. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars Good Upbeat Chopin Playing; Mazurkas the Reason to Buy.......2006-10-14

Marjan Kiepura plays 14 Mazurkas and six other 'warhorses'. The more well-known pieces are well played and cannot be criticized, but in these works the choices are nearly endless and the competition redoubtable. Thus four stars and not five.
In the Mazurkas Kiepura brings a light elegant attractive touch: these are certainly among the least neurotic performances of this complex unsettling music on CD. Because of Mr. Kiepura's basically happy ambience this CD is a pleasure to listen to more than once - a trait some more distinquished performances do not share. This would be a nice CD to give to someone whose favorite pieces by Chopin are the waltzes.
I did not care for the linear notes which are too much along the lines of fifties musical appreciation. I did like the eye-popping colors of the Polish artist whose harvest paintings enliven the inside of the CD case and the booklet.
The piano is recorded quite well without the reverberation that's so annoying in the older recording of all the Mazurkas played by Wasowski.

5 out of 5 stars Chopin comes alive.......2001-04-20

Lots of pianists play Chopin - so it takes special qualities to make one set of performances stand out. Marjan Kiepura combines the necessary elements - mastery of rubato, agogics, dynamics, and tone color - to convey a palpable sense of Chopin's style. Added to the feeling of authenticity is sonething even more important - a real feeling of freshness and spontaneity. One hesitates to use the term "great" too freely, especially with an artist so recently encountered. But there is a performance magic at work here that compels attantion from start to finish. Bravo!

5 out of 5 stars Most enjoyable.............2000-10-09

A fabulous CD -- beautifully played, very informative liner notes. Please read each note as the piece is being played -- it will make it totally enjoyable, knowing what Chopin had in mind. The playing is sensitive and you are totally immersed in Chopin's longing for his homeland Poland.

Track Listings:

  1. Introducing Violinist Mihai Craioveanu
  2. Johannes Brahms: Complete Symphonies
  3. Ludwig van Beethoven: Complete String Quartets - Végh Quartet [Box set]
  4. Masterworks of the New Era - Vol. 3
  5. Mendelssohn: Complete Symphonies
  6. Messiaen: La transfiguration de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ
  7. Messiaen: Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus
  8. Missa Pange Lingua/Missa La Sol Fa Re Mi
  9. Morton Feldman: Violin and String Quartet / Christina Fong, Rangzen Quartet
  10. Music Of Medieval Love

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