Ever since I was little, the Chopin E minor Piano Concerto has been one of my favorite pieces–so much so that as a teenager, I managed to learn enough of it to put myself in a state of bliss. But oh, that Rondo! Such big chords and gargantuan leaps across the keyboard and glittering fingerwork that culminates in one of the most exciting finales in the piano repertoire! I never quite mastered it, so I'm a bit jealous of the lovely Argentinian pianist Ingrid Filter, who whips it off with such ease and grace that it looks like she could watch TV and ride a Lifecycle at the same time. Chopin wrote this exquisite work when he was just 19, and it's still hard to believe that one so young had such maturity and passion in his soul. Filter, the informal successor of the great Martha Argerich, sealed her success when she won First Prize at the awesome Busoni competition in Italy and the Silver Medal at the Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Her Chopin has been likened to the legendary Artur Rubinstein, the “Mr. Chopin” of his day, and this week she performs the Chopin E minor Concerto with Jeffrey Kahane and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. The program also includes Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 3 in A minor (“Scottish”) and the world premiere of Damian Montano's Introduction and Scherzo. Preceded by a Concert Prelude with Kahane and Montano one hour prior to concerts. Note: This program is repeated at UCLA, Royce Hall; Sun., Jan. 25, 7pm.

Sat., Jan. 24, 8 p.m., 2009

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