West Coast pianist Shirley Kirsten follows up her well received A Musical Journey with an equally vital second collection juxtaposing the Baroque Italian Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) against the Polish Parisian Frederic Chopin (1810-1849). Kirsten again shows that the “indie” method of music promotion works for “classical music” also. In the past decade, the Internet, mp3s, downloadable music, and new compression methods revolutionized the production, marketing, and distribution of newly-minted popular music and jazz, they have also done the same for classical music.
Having studied in New York City with Lillian Freundlich and in the Wild West with Ena Bronstein, Kirsten has the chops necessary in her life as concert pianist, teacher, and world class “piano finder.” One of her most significant peers and influences is pianist Murray Perahia with whom she attended the Fiorello H La Guardia High School of Music and the Arts. This association with Perahia colors both her Scarlatti and Chopin performance. Kirsten approaches each composer interrogatively, coaxing the respective scores to reveal something new in a fluid dynamic like that of Perahia.
Kirsten infuses her new set of Scarlatti with a playful flare. Note the dance in the "Sonata in E Major, K 162," where Kirsten skips to the beat of the Italian master. She is able to slow things down to capture Scarlatti’s plaintive moods as in the "Sonata in C sharp minor, K247." This is Scarlatti at his compositional best, not with pyrotechnic technique challenge but with the internal emotional challenge necessary to interpret such pieces as his adagio minor key sonatas.
The Chopin Kirsten chooses provides a wide expanse of that composer’s talent. Her performances of the "Mazurke in C, Op. 67" and "Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64" are staid and her "Nocturne in C Sharp Minor, Op posthum." "Etude in C sharp minor, Op. 10, No. 12" is melancholy. The brilliance in coupling Scarlatti and Chopin lay in the fact that both composers were masters at vignette pieces, small drops of aural emotion. To be sure, they are vastly different but Kirsten expertly shows how talents as vastly disparate as Scarlatti and Chopin could conjure the same notes from the Hammerklavier.
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