Asiya Korepanova in Personal Piano Project
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Midnight Pieces – Episode #7
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“Midnight Pieces’ is a project presenting 53 beautiful works from 53 composers (originally meant as one piece for each week of the year, plus one) – music, that is just perfect for night-time listening.
The pieces follow a hidden pattern: within each consecutive 4 works one is famous, one is by a Russian composer, one is obscure work and one is a transcription by yours truly.
These categories mix and match sometimes, but overall there are iconic and less-known pieces by well-known composers, quite a bit of breathtaking pieces by obscure composers and several world premieres of my transcriptions of rare and famous works of different authors.
I felt a need to fight the general fascination of the general audience with piano pieces that are primarily virtuosic encores (Volodos Turkish March etc), and wanted to create a project that fulfills the desire for aesthetic pleasure, for beauty of the music itself. It doesn’t mean there is no virtuosity there – there is plenty, but not as the main point at all.”
Asiya Korepanova.
Asiya Korepanova and Pianists Corner offer you a weekly rendezvous. Each rendezvous will contain 4 pieces.
Episode #7
The composers : 
“They say that John Field invented the piano Nocturne and I disagree. The night music existed long before that. And though the views on the performing style can be absolutely polar, and many people find it unacceptable to play Bach Romantically in any way, it is hard to rule that J.S Bach’s beautiful Sinfonia in G minor did not anticipate all the future Nocturnes in the world.” A.K.
Johann Sebastian Bach : Sinfonias (1723) – 11. Sinfonia in G minor (BWV 797)
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“The subtle colors and transparency of this rare and little Dvořák composition, Vzpominaní (Reminiscing) remind me of Chopin mazurkas, having a bit of a dance-like mood to it. And although the unfolding climax in the middle is rather passionate, it doesn’t alter the overall pastel palette of the piece.” A.K.
Antonín Dvořák : Poetic Tone Pictures Opus 85 (1889) – 6. Reverie (Vzpomínání) – Andante in B major
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“Soothing, enlightening, elevating, and iconic, Franz Schubert’s Impromptu in G flat major is a mysterious world of its own. Not many people know that this worldwide known and beloved work wasn’t published for almost 30 years after its creation, and first was published in a wrong “simplified” key of G major and modified time signature, which was believed to be the original for many years!” A.K.
Franz Schubert : Impromptus D 899 (1827) – 3. Andante (G-flat major)
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“Mily Balakirev is an author of much more beautiful pieces than we are familiar with. One of them – this rarely played Nocturne in D minor, which breaks my heart each time I hear the first notes of its closing section. It’s almost mystical, enigmatic…who would expect something like this from the composer of the brave and brilliant “Islamey”? Meanwhile, the Nocturne has that shiny side, too: it’s thundering climax grows on musical material which is very similar to Islamey’s middle part. But it’s piercing lyricism is something very special…” A.K.
Mily Balakirev : Nocturne No. 3 in D minor (1902)
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