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GUIOMAR NOVAES PLAYS CHOPIN



Guiomar Novaes plays Chopin in a unique and special way.  She does not get lost in the notes as some are wont to do.  It is music pure and simple that she plays, and while it is certainly Chopinesque stylistically, one can't help having the impression of hearing these pieces through a musical process that emphasizes the musicality first and the pianism second.

Novaes had a superb technique.  So much so that she was able to create an impression of unevenness, for lack of a better word, in passages that most pianists slave for years trying to play evenly.  At first it may seem that she is not able to do this.  Then one begins to discern patterns within these passages that bring out sub-themes one has never before heard in the music.

A case in point is the performance in which Novaes plays Chopin's Revolutionary Etude, Opus 10 No 12.  Instead of giving giving equal emphasis to the notes in an effort to achieve clarity, she gives emphasis to individual notes within the rapid runs and arpeggios resulting in new and wondrous shapes to the phrases supporting the melodic line.  In the end one feels that one has heard the inner meaning of some of this music for the first time.

Novaes plays Chopin's Etude Op 25 No 7 as exquisite counterpoint, the two melodic lines sometimes alternating in importance, sometimes competing for dominance.  The Nocturnes, so refined, so beautifully played.  And the Sonatas, lovely two and three part contrapuntal effects in the Lento of the B minor sonata.  And the Scherzo ....

Follow this link for performances of Guiomar Novaes playing Chopin Mazurkas, Waltzes and Polonaises.

Listen to Novaes play Chopin.  Then go back to a favorite pianist and hear the difference.  Of course, if your favorite happens to be Dinu Lipatti, you may find yourself rejoicing in the similarities, not so much in the details as in the musical vision of the whole.



Études

Op 10
1 in C major
2:102 in A minor
3:433 in E major "Tristesse"
7:434 in C minor
9:535 in G major "Black Key"
11:286 in E minor
15:097 in C major
16:418 in F major
19:089 in F minor
21:0910 in A♭ major
23:5811 in E♭ major "Winter Wind"
26:3712 in C minor "Revolutionary"

Op 25
29:181 in A♭ major
31:582 in F minor
33:243 in F major
35:224 in A minor
37:125 in E minor
40:436 in G♯ minor
42:527 in C minor
47:498 in D♭ major
48:589 in G major "Butterfly"
49:5610 in B minor
53:4311 in A minor
57:2912 in C minor



Nocturnes


1 in B minor, Op 9~1
2 in E major, Op 9~2
3 in B major



4 in F major, Op 15~1
5 in F major, Op 15~2
6 in G minor, Op 15~3



7 in C minor, Op 27~1
8 in D major, Op 27~2



9 in B major, Op 32~1
10 in A major, Op 32~2



11 in G minor, Op 37~1
12 in G major, Op 37~2



13 in C minor, Op 48~1
14 in F minor, Op 48~2



15 in F minor, Op 55~1
16 in E major, Op 55~2



17 in B major, Op 62~1
18 in E major, Op 62~2



19 in E minor, Op 72~1



20 in C minor, Op posth




24 Preludes, Op 28

recorded in 1950




Mazurkas, Waltzes, and Polonaises



Piano Sonata 2 in B minor, Op 35

i Grave. Doppio movimento
ii Scherzo
iii Marche funèbre: Lento
iv Finale: Presto




Impromptu 2 in F minor, Op 36




Scherzi


1 in B minor, Op 20



3 in C minor, Op 39
recorded in 1940



4 in E major, Op 54
recorded live in 1949




Ballades


3 in A major, Op 47

recorded in 1942



4 in F minor, Op 54




Fantaisie in F minor, Op 49

recorded in 1957




Berceuse in D major, Op 57




Piano Sonata 3 in B minor, Op 58

recorded in the 1950s


i Allegro maestoso



ii Scherzo
iii
Lento



iv Presto non tanto




Barcarolle in F major, Op 60

recorded ca 1960




Trois Ecossaises




Trois Nouvelles Études

1 in F minor
2 in D major




For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background

Murder in the House of the Muse

which is also available as an audiobook.



And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:

Murder Follows the Muse



Follow these links to our main subject categories

Or return to the Guiomar Novaes page



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