6.) Chopin ~ Mazurka, op. 17, no. 4

Without a doubt, this is the most remarkable work on the program...and we're
only able to present it because I made the almost-sacrilegious decision to orchestrate
Chopin's piano original.

Chopin wrote about 50 Mazurkas for piano and this one stands out from the rest
in a most astounding way; it's like he was abducted by aliens the day he wrote
it, then returned to earth.

The Mazurka is, of course, a popular Polish dance...but Chopin's Mazurkas are
almost like fantasies for piano based on the style of the Mazurka; some of the
them are very high-spirited and could, in fact, be used for dancing. Others are
delicate, more intimate, etc...but this one is, as I've hinted, totally off-the-chart.

You will see why when you hear it; in fact, I'm not even going to attempt
to describe it, except to say that it exists in some shadowy, remote and
melancholy realm of the composer's soul. And the most astounding thing
about Chopin is the fact that he accomplished what he did almost
exclusively by using the PIANO----all of the amazing emotional depths
which he explored...the color, poetry, majesty, tenderness... which
revolutionized the concept of the keyboard's expressive capacity like no
other composer had dreamt of. And we in the orchestral world unfortunately
know so little of his true genius.

In transcribing this work for orchestra, I felt it was essential, above all,
NOT to "dress up" the piano original with showy instrumentation, but rather
to use only the combination of instruments which might evoke the essence
of the piece, so that the listener can clearly sense the power and imagination
of the Chopin's musical thought. I suppose we could just wheel a piano out
onstage and engage a pianist to play it for you (you'll be amazed at the
stark contrast with the Mlynarksi Mazurka that you will have just heard)...
but no, if it's going to be presented at one of our concerts, the orchestra itself
should play it.

I scored it for the most intimate, delicate complement of
instruments:  muted strings (using a string quartet for one passage), 2 flutes,
1 oboe, English Horn, 1 clarinet, 1 bassoon, and 3 muted french horns.
You will be the first audience to hear it in this version.

If I were to choose the three most revolutionary composers of the
19th-century, they would be Beethoven, Wagner....and Frederic Chopin,
a composer that we all know and admire for a handful of his most
popular, melodic pieces but who, in fact, blazed a trail of profoundly
original, influential musical thought.

And he did it all by using...almost exclusively.... the piano.

Thanks for reading.

Larry R