As I am soon to record a Chopin CD, I am frequently meditating on this mysterious and sublime composer, on his pieces and the way to interpret them. I thought I’d share here some interesting thoughts on his music, beautifully and poetically expressed by André Gide in his book Notes on Chopin.

“The cinema has enabled us to see the surprising grace which a human or animal gesture can achieve when it is shown in slow-motion; imperceptible when the movement is rapid. It is not a question here (though one may do it) of slowing down the tempo of Chopin’s music excessively. It is very simply a matter of not hurrying, of allowing its natural movement, easy as breathing. I should like to inscribe, at the head of Chopin’s work, the exquisite verses of Valéry : 

Est-il art plus tendre

Que cette lenteur?...  

(Is there art more gentle

  Than this slowness ?)

I find that quote very perceptive, full of wisdom and understanding of Chopin’s work in its typical and tender flow of movement and harmony.

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