Chris Campling
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After the Beethoven and Tchaikovsky Experiences and the Bach Christmas it’s time for Frédéric Chopin to sit in a deckchair in the Elysian Fields, sip a piña colada and wince as Radio 3 exposes every recorded note he ever wrote (including the bad ones, as only a mediocre talent is always at its best).
What’s different about The Chopin Experience (from today, 7am) is that Radio 3 has not redrawn its usual programme schedule to accommodate it. Which throws up a few apparent anomalies. Take, for example, The Early Music Show (today, 1pm). Or, in this instance, the Earlier Music than Now Show, since Chopin, era-wise, is no John Dowland.
That aside, it’s a fascinating listen in which three piano performances are compared – one Chopin’s, one by a pupil of his, and one given on a restoration of a Pleyel square piano similar to one that he might have played.
The cultural documentary strand World Routes (today, 3pm) is a better fit, in that Lucy Duran is in Warsaw, exploring some of the traditional folk forms associated with Chopin. Then, in programming guaranteed to further enrage those listeners who tune in to Radio 3 only to be enraged by it, Jazz Lineup (today, 4pm) includes a talk with the foremost proponent of classics-to-jazz, Jacques Loussier. He’s best known for reinterpreting Bach, but his trio has dabbled with Chopin, and his thoughts are illuminating.
For the rest, it’s pretty much as to be expected, particularly tomorrow, when the highlights appear to be Iain Burnside’s visit to Paris, the city most associated with the Chopin legacy (10am), and a special Private Passions (noon), in which Michael Berkeley runs down the Chopin pieces his guests have selected to comfort them on their desert island (only it isn’t, it just sounds like it).
For more details, as well the opportunity to download sheet music, visit bbc.co.uk/radio 3.
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