Chopin in Winter - the truest, even heroic, devotion to his music in -10C and gloves
As I walked out one freezing morning last week and prepared to board the Metro at Młociny Station in Warsaw, the end of the M1 line, I thought I recognized a Chopin waltz. What was this ? Impossible surely. Having attended and reviewed hour upon hour of this charming music in the recently completed International Chopin Piano Competition, I felt my imagination playing tricks in such echoes of delight. I turned the corner and to my surprise here he was, in -10C and wearing gloves, playing Chopin for us on a keyboard. S urely t he truest, even heroic, musical devotion to the Polish national composer I have ever encountered. Full of admiration at his accuracy, stamina and dedication, I mumbled pathetic appreciation as a fellow musician. 'I just love his music!' our anonymous performer replied in heavily accented English. I felt my own devotion on a period Pleyel instrument in my warm flat with comforting hot coffee and biscuits t...