Cracks In Sidewalks

No YouTube video or Last FM for this one.  You’ll just have to trust me and go out and buy it if you want to hear it, but it’s a CD that has brought me many hours of pleasure over the last 15 to 16 years.  Chopin is probably my favorite classical composer and I have listened to his compositions being played by many of the masters for hours on end, but it is this simple recording, and I own many others, of his music that remains my favorite.

I listen to it on Sunday mornings while sipping coffee and reading the New York Times.   I listen to it before I go to bed at night or as I’m falling asleep.  I’ll put it on when flying cross-country or across an ocean as I gaze out at the clouds or look into the night sky.  It relaxes me, calms me, and helps me to rest.  And I’ll put it on when I’m trying to create a certain mood and use it as a side dish while serving a romantic candlelit dinner.  I just love Chopin and this recording in particular.  An old French boyfriend gave it to me and I’m certain that that has added to the romance of the disc as he was a very romantic, handsome, charming guy.  But Roy Eaton’s “The Meditative Chopin” remains one of my most regularly played CD’s.

Schooled pianists I have spoken to about Chopin over the years have all recommended other recordings so I don’t know if Roy Eaton’s playing is technically brilliant.   But it’s expressive and I guess that’s what I like about it.  I’m not a classically trained musician or pianist.  I mostly go on feeling, and this CD has worked its magic on me.

A little bit about Roy Eaton, he made his American debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra performing Chopin’s F minor Concerto under George Schick in 1951.  After a stint in the army and a much longer stint in advertising and music for commercials, he is currently on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music and is scheduled to play at the 50th Anniversary concert of the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin awards that are scheduled to take place at The Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2009.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 5:49 am and is filed under Daily Tune On. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.