Bach and Chopin: Reunion

Author / Artist: 
Publication Date: 
April, 2011

Nearly two years ago, at the invitation of the Chopin Foundation of the United States, I was asked to present a recital of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach and Fryderyk Chopin. Works of these composers constitute a major part of any pianist’s education, and remain, or at least should remain, every pianist’s “daily bread.” This was a wonderful opportunity for me to share the beauty of this music, and at the same time to demonstrate the little-known fact that Chopin had a musical debt to Bach. My intention was to explore the strong influence Bach had on Chopin. Imagining a scenario of both composers meeting at the keyboard, I called the program “Bach and Chopin: Reunion.”