North of the Border

Donald Macleod follows Chopin as he escapes north from smog-bound London.

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. Two of those concert appearances were in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and in Thursday’s episode, Donald explores the visit Chopin made to Scotland, far away from the polluted air which troubled him in London. Much of his time was spent as a guest at various grand Scottish country houses, some replete with resident ghosts. The composer though was beginning to despair. Exhaustion had set in, and this was not helped by a near-death experience.

Two Nocturnes, op. 55
Eugene Istomin (piano)

Mazurka no. 44, op.67’1
Vladimir Feltsman (piano)

Wiosna, op.74’2
Elisabeth Söderström (soprano)
Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)

Krakowiak, Op.14
Garrick Ohlsson (piano)
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra
Jerzy Maksymiuk (conductor)

Nocturne op. 37’2
Mauricio Pollini (piano)

Sonata in G minor for Cello and Piano - II. Scherzo
Alisa Weilerstein (cello)
Inon Barnatan (piano)

Berceuse in D flat major, op.59
Nelson Freire (piano)

Producer: Sam Phillips