Alexander Boldachev - Frédéric (Arr. for Harp) (2020)

“Sometime after the recording, staying at the Georges Sand Hotel in the small village of Gargilesse, I looked around and realized that everything is done right – the Harp perfectly complements the worlds around Chopin and his contemporaries.”

This is the first full-length album with Chopin’s works on the harp. These are no arrangements, since Alexander Boldachev preserved the entire ur-text, allowing only unavoidable changes. The only piece transcribed for the harp is Fantasia-Impromptu is arranged by Wilhelm Posse, who was born three years after Chopin’s death. This is one of the most virtuoso pieces performed on the harp.

The album is dedicated not only to the new sound of Chopin’s works, the development of the harp’s repertoire, and the presentation of harp capabilities. But also, to the life of the author, his experiences, and the unique touch of the piano, which contemporaries sometimes described: “plucking the strings of the harp.” For example, Schumann called Chopin’s etude in A-flat major – “Aeolian Harp.”

“One of the main characters that motivated me to record Chopin on the harp was Georges Sand. Her house in Nohant-Vic keeps within its walls the Erard harp, which Georges played. Inspired by their complex love story, I began to check one composition after another, going through all archives. The final program of the disc – the quintessence of the most interesting and colorfully sounding pieces on the harp. A small scattering of Chopin’s diamonds”.

The album consists of 16 pieces, including Etudes, Mazurkas, Nocturnes, Waltzes, Preludes, and Impromptu Fantasy. Polish dances, salons, suffering, and joy – Alexander tried to cover the entire spectrum of Chopin’s and convey them through natural and varied rhythms – the harp.

“I hope that this album will allow people to hear familiar melodies in a new way or give the motivation to turn their attention to Chopin’s work for the first time. That through the harp, I was able to convey that complex, intricate, and sometimes piercing love that connected Chopin with music.”