The first concert Fr?d?ric Chopin gave in Paris (the city which would be his new home town) was in 1832 playing a new Pleyel piano. The press, in the person of the influential Francois-Joseph F?tis, was enthousiastic, he praised the “spiritualized melodies, the fanciful landscapes and uniqueness in all”. Chopin himself was in love with the instrument, with “the lightness of touch and the songful singsong tone”. From then on his instrument of preference would be Pleyel. In his search for the ideal Chopin tone pianist Hubert Rutkowski studies the writings and recordings of the students of Mikuli, who himself was a student of Chopin. Notably Moritz Rosenthal and Raul Koczalski are the greatest inspirations, in their refined artistic ease, fanciful rubato and a perfect legato. Hubert Rutkowski chose a representative program, in which all facets of the Pleyel instrument and Chopin’s unique pianism are presented: Etudes, Nocturnes, Waltzes, Ballade, Scherzo, Mazurka, Polonaise, Fantaisie-Impromptu. He plays a magnificent Pleyel instrument from 1847. He is the winner of the International Chopin Piano Competition in Hannover in 2007. The booklet contains extensive liner notes written by the artist.
