Pianist Spins Chopin Obsession into Musical Metaphor

There was last year's pilgrimage to Poland, the homeland of Frédéric Chopin, a vow to perform all of Chopin’s 250 works in a decade, AKA “The Chopin Project,” and now there’s latest offshoot of pianist Brian Ganz’s homage to Chopin, a program Ganz is calling “The Musical Gardening,” which Ganz will perform Sunday, Oct. 16, at BlackRock Center for the Arts. Showtime is 7 p.m.

Ganz will perform Chopin’s orchestral works with the National Philharmonic at BlackRock, which partnered with the Philharmonic for its 10th anniversary season, said BlackRock Executive Director Charlotte Sommers.

“Chopin’s music is the language of my soul, and I have dreamed since childhood of someday performing all of his works,” Ganz said in a press release.

“The Musical Gardening,” according to Ganz, is a musical metaphor he uses to show how the “seeds” of Chopin’s genius germinated and flowered over the course of his work.

At BlackRock, Ganz plans to perform Chopin’s Waltz in E major, Waltz in C sharp minor, Op. 64, No. 2, Mazurka in B flat major, and Mazurka in F sharp minor, Op. 6, No. 1. Ganz will end the performance with Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A flat major, Op. 47. 

In addition to Chopin, Ganz will perform Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27, No. 2 by Beethoven; Consolation No. 3 in D flat major by Liszt; Reflets dans l’eau, from Images by Debussy. 

Ganz graduated from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, where he is also a faculty member. He is also the artist-in-residence at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Ganz is in the process of recording the complete works of Chopin for Maestoso Records. In addition, Ganz has been named an artist/editor for the Schirmer Performance Editions, which has already published his Chopin preludes.

If you go ...

What: Pianst Brian Ganz performs works by Chopin
Where: , Germantown
When: 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 16
Cost: $25; tickets can be purchased by calling 240-912-1058 or by visiting www.blackrockcenter.org.