Volodos!

Arcadi Volodos is celebrated as a “poet of the piano.” Critics particularly emphasize his ability to “make the piano sing” and his pianissimi of rare magic, which shine especially in the works of Schubert and Chopin. Both left a decisive mark on 19th-century piano music, creating masterpieces in short forms filled with melancholy.
Schubert founded, with the Impromptus and Moments Musicaux, the tradition of the intimate, singable characteristic piece. Chopin revolutionized the piano through poetic Études, Mazurkas, and Nocturnes, combining technical virtuosity and emotional expression and transforming the instrument into a protagonist of musical salons.
Schubert discovered the infinity of the melodic arc, often referred to as “celestial length,” and leads us, with its transitions between major and minor, in a continuous alternation of emotions. Chopin, on the other hand, with his bold chromaticity, became a forerunner of modern harmony. Both were celebrated protagonists of the musical life of the salons, one in Vienna, the other in Paris, and both died too young.

In the Mazurkas, Chopin transforms the rhythms of his Polish homeland into refined character miniatures. The path ranges from the narrative Op. 33 to the simple Op. 41 to the melancholy late Op. 63. The Prélude op. 45 appears almost like an improvised masterpiece, full of bold harmonic modulations.

Schubert completed his last Piano Sonata, No. 21, two months before his death. It is a work of monumental dimensions and dizzying depth of expression, leaving one with the impression of hearing an anticipated message from the beyond.