Great Pianists: Ivo Pogorelich plays Chopin

Ivo Pogorelich

After more than 30 years, Ivo Pogorelich is back in The Concertgebouw, a memorable moment. This idiosyncratic Croatian pianist sharpens the senses; no composer sounds as you would expect under his hands. In addition to his life as a pianist, Pogorelich is involved in humanitarian causes and is committed to young artists. After about 20 years, he recently put music by Chopin back on CD, the composer with whom he is celebrating his return to the Concertgebouw.

Chopin, a lot of Chopin

"Mozart encompasses the entire domain of musical creativity; I only have the keyboard in my poor head," complained Frédéric Chopin. Good thing, too! No one has influenced piano literature so much; no one has enhanced the instrument's status. Chopin gave romantic music an unprecedented harmonic colour. He brought the lyricism of bel canto to his instrument and inspired generations of pianists. Tonight's program bears witness to that.