Mazurka elegiaca, Op 23 No 2 (Britten) - from CDA67903 - Hyperion Records

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Track(s) taken from CDA67903

Digital booklet (PDF)

Mazurka elegiaca, Op 23 No 2

composer

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)

for two pianos; written for, but not included in because of its scoring, the 1942 Boosey & Hawkes volume Homage to Paderewski

Jonathan Plowright (piano), Aaron Shorr (piano)

Recording details: December 2010
Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Scotland
Produced by Jeremy Hayes
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: November 2011
Total duration: 8 minutes 21 seconds

Cover artwork: Adaptation of the cover illustration for Homage to Paderewski (Boosey & Hawkes, 1942).

Benjamin Britten misunderstood the commission and composed a work, entitled Mazurka elegiaca, scored for two pianos, instead of writing one for solo piano. Thus although it was intended for the volume it had to be published separately. Britten captures the melancholy characteristic of so many of Chopin’s mazurkas, thereby saluting Paderewski as the great Chopin interpreter.

Se méprenant sur la commande, Benjamin Britten composa non une œuvre pour piano solo mais une Mazurka elegiaca pour deux pianos, qu’il fallut donc publier à part. Il y appréhende la mélancolie propre à tant de mazurkas chopiniennes, saluant ainsi le grand interprète de Chopin qu’avait été Paderewski.

Benjamin Britten verstand den Auftrag falsch und komponierte ein Stück mit dem Titel Mazurka elegiaca für zwei Klaviere anstelle eines Werkes für Soloklavier. Es war zwar für das Album geplant, mußte nun aber separat erscheinen. Britten fängt die Melancholie vieler Mazurken von Chopin ein und ehrt damit den großen Chopin-Interpreten Paderewski.

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Mazurka elegiaca, Op 23 No 2

Jonathan Plowright (piano), Aaron Shorr (piano)

Introduction