Feb. 18: Sony Classical Releases Ivo Pogorelich – Chopin – His First Chopin Recording in Over Twenty Years

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Maggie Stapleton, Jensen Artists
maggie@jensenartists.com | 646.536.7864 x2

Sony Music Masterworks: Larissa Slezak
Larissa.Slezak@sonymusic.com 

Ivo Pogorelich – Chopin
Available February 18, 2022 on Sony Classical | Preorder Now

Legendary pianist Ivo Pogorelich once again turns his attention to the music of Frédéric Chopin

Ivo Pogorelich has a special relationship with the piano music of the Polish Romantic composer Frédéric Chopin. It is Chopin, after all, whom he has to thank for his international breakthrough. When, at the age of 22, Pogorelich took part in the 1980 Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, his exceptional playing caused an immediate sensation. Martha Argerich, who was on the jury, described him as a “genius.”  Since that time, Pogorelich has been increasingly committed, on recording and in concert, to an image of Chopin that is far from the commonplace cliché of the brilliant and pleasing composer of salon music.

Now Pogorelich once again offers completely new insights into Chopin’s world and the soul within the sound in what is in fact his fifth Chopin album, but the first for more than twenty years, set for release on Sony Classical on February 18, 2022. He has selected works from the 1840s, the last decade of the Polish master’s life. These include the Nocturnes Op. 48 No. 1 and Op. 62 No. 2; the Fantasy, Op. 49; and Chopin’s third and final Piano Sonata, Op. 58.

What Pogorelich admires in these works is Chopin’s ability to make the piano a gateway to the soul: “Chopin delivers an open invitation to penetrate human psychology. It’s a specific invitation to continually seek out and explore every possibility that the piano has to offer. That’s a never-ending process, and it will continue to challenge new generations of artists in the future too.”

The Croatian-born pianist traces a path in this recital that starts with the small form, continues by way of the brilliant Fantasy and finally reaches the large-scale, four-movement sonata form. In Pogorelich’s hands, despite their magical lyricism, the two Nocturnes have a gripping sense of tension and drama. The Fantasy in F minor, Op. 49 is marked by a sombre mood of conflict, yet at the same time it reflects the improvisational skill for which Chopin was celebrated. With the Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, op. 58, the composer not merely bids farewell to this genre, with all its rich tradition. The work also demonstrates his efforts to create a new kind of sonata. And with Ivo Pogorelich this much-performed and popular piano work is transformed into an exciting new encounter with Frédéric Chopin. 

Album Contents:

Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 1
Nocturne, Op 62, No. 2
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60

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