A Tale of Two Cities

Donald Macleod examines the circumstances that led to Chopin’s second trip to Britain.

Chopin made just two trips to Britain, both in later life. These visits are often portrayed as a disaster - a calamitous mistake of no worth to Chopin which hastened the composer’s death. Over the course of this week, Donald Macleod explores these two trips in depth, during which the virtuoso pianist gave six of the thirty public concerts he gave during the whole of his life, and also made many private appearances meeting the great and the good of British society. Chopin’s second visit to Britain, like the first, was preceded by a romantic break up – the split with his companion of eight years, the writer Georges Sand. In Tuesday’s episode, Donald examines how the composer’s personal life, combined with the situation in the city he’d made his home - Paris - forced Chopin's hand about whether to accept an invitation to come back to these shores.

Mazurka in F minor, Op. posth. 68 no. 4 - Andantino
Maurizio Pollini (piano)

Barcarolle, op.60
Georgijs Osokins (piano)

Andante Spianato & Grande Polonaise
Eldar Nebolsin (piano)
Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra
Antoni Wit (conductor)

Mazurkas no. 16 in A flat major, op.24`3; no. 18 in C minor, op. 30`1; no. 19 in B minor, 30`2; no. 31 in A flat major, op.50`2
Pavel Kolesnikov (piano)

3 Waltzes, op.64
Anne-Marie McDermott (piano)

Producer: Sam Phillips