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Six
Dances for Piano (1981)
This
webpage provides information about the André Tchaikowsky composition,
Six Dances for Piano (1981). This includes text from the book, The
Other Tchaikowsky - A Biographical Sketch of André Tchaikowsky.
Of the six dances, only two were completed before André's death:
Tango and Mazurka. There is a single professional recording of the two
dances by Colin Stone (www.colinstone.co.uk)
on the Merlin Records (www.merlinclassics.com),
MRFD 20033. There is an additional recording of the Mazurka by André
himself that he taped and sent to his friend Halinka Janowska in Warsaw,
with an introduction by André (in Polish).
South
Africa - Nico De Villiers (2014)
The Ladybird International Arts Academy was the location of a piano
recital given by pianist Nico De Villiers in September 2014, a recital
that included the Mazurka and Tango dances. The Academy, located in
Ladybrand, a Free State province of South Africa, has a Facebook connection
and posted the following:
The Volksblad
newspaper reviewed the recital with the headline "De Villiers convincing
and flamboyant," following with: "The program concluded with
a grand and dramatic interpretation of the Tchaikowsky works, the Mazurka
and Tango dances, which were reminiscent of Baroque suites, but in modern
idiom. De Villiers's flamboyant interpretation and security of these
technically challenging works were no surprise and had the audience
on its feet." Click
Here for the full article (in Afrikaans). Images related to the
piano recital are below (click images for larger versions).
Nicolette van den Heever (sister)
and Nico De Villiers
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From
the Piano
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Nico
de Villiers
and Ladybird Auditorium
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Nico
de Villiers
and Ladybird Auditorium
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Bregenz
Festival (2013)
The Bregenz (Austria) Festival 2013 featured a piano recital on August
7, 2013 where young Austrian pianist Aaron Pilsan played both the Tango
and Mazurka. This was one of the "Musik und Poesie" ("Music
and Poetry") concerts that were held throughout the festival.
Photo: Bregenz
Festival/Anja Köhler
Music/MP3
The following music of the Tango and Mazurka is courtesy of Colin Stone
and Merlin Records:
Tango
/ 01_six_dances_tango.mp3
Mazurka / 02_six_dances_mazurka.mp3
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The
Tango is on YouTube. Click
Here (opens new window) |
The following
introduction and music of the Mazurka is by André himself, courtesy
of Halinka Janowska:
Mazurka
Introduction by André (in Polish) / 01_at_mazurka_intro.mp3
Mazurka
/ 02_at_mazurka.mp3
From
the biography The
Other Tchaikowsky
André
had undertaken in 1981 to write Six Dances for Piano for pianist Stephen
Kovacevitch. An earlier commission for a composition, Pink Theme and
Variations based on the movie music “The Pink Panther,” had
been declined by André. André had not accepted payment
for the six dances composition, but when he fell on hard financial times,
Stephen called the Six Dances for Piano a commission and paid André
£500. Only the Mazurka and Tango were finished. André arranged
the Mazurka for piano duet and presented it to the Crommelynck Duo while
he was at the Crommelynck home in Paris recovering from his January
1982 cancer operation. The Mazurka and Tango were recorded by Colin
Stone on the Merlin Records label (MRFD 20033). The original scores
are held by Stephen Kovacevitch and the Crommelynck Duo. Since their
death by double suicide in 1994, the whereabouts of the original Crommelynck
Duo score is unknown, but a copy is in the Weinberger archives.
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