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Showing posts from October 13, 2024

The Death of Chopin - 175th Anniversary - The great Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko played at the Church of the Holy Cross, Warsaw

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Watercolour and pencil drawing of Chopin on his death bed by Kwiatkowski. The painter was a witness to his last hours and death and drew a number of likenesses The plinth in which the heart of Fryderyk Chopin has been laid  Holy Cross Church, Warsaw The grave of Fryderyk Chopin in the  Cimetière du Père-Lachaise Paris   Today was the 175th anniversary of Chopin's death in Paris at two in the morning on 17 October 1849. This immortal work was performed at his funeral at his request. He always felt himself close to Mozart and admired his music above all excepting that of Bach. This single death took me on a journey towards the universality of this dark or light mystery. I truly loved the performance on the solo instrument last night. Kholodenko avoided imitating orchestral instruments to the advantage of this alteration of sensibility.The emotional temperature and intimacy was heightened by the presence of his mother who had travelled the fraught distance from embattled Kyiv for the