Renowned pianist Artur Pizarro turns to the Romantic piano music of Chopin for his third album.

 

Reminiscences is a collection of Chopin's best loved works for solo piano, each one of personal significance to Portuguese pianist Artur Pizarro, who in turn delivers sensitive and thrilling performances. The inspiration for the title came from Artur's experience of Chopin frequently being played in his childhood home, as well as being the original name of the c sharp minor Nocturne.

 

Reminiscences is the third disc Pizarro recorded with Linn, following on from the huge success of his two Beethoven Piano Sonatas albums. For the recordings Artur plays a Blüthner grand piano, which responds phenomenally to his dazzling articulation, while giving huge sonorous depth to the sound.

 

Artur has this to say about the release: "The repertoire of this CD looks back to my childhood and my early contact with Chopin. Piano has been a part of my life since before I can remember as my maternal grandmother was one half of a classical piano duo. A lot of solo piano was also played and Chopin was prominently featured. I also was able to listen to a lot of Rubinstein and Neuhaus playing Chopin on LPs. The Fantaisie-Impromptu, the c-sharp minor posthumous nocturne (which I played on my first recital 25 years ago!) and the mazurkas on this CD where among the first piano works I ever played. The rest are either pieces I would hear my grandmother, Berta da Nóbrega, play or her duo partner Evaristo Campos Coelho (a student of Vianna da Motta, Viñes, and Isidor Phillip) or my own teacher Sequeira Costa (who also studied with Vianna da Motta, and with Mark Hambourg, Edwin Fischer, Marguerite Long and Jacques Février). I mention these great teachers of the piano who have influenced me in one way or another as their teachings have always been present in my life with Chopin."