Polish folk flourishes in hands of Kazakh piano queen

ALBUM REVIEW: Mazurkas From Chopin to Ades, Dina Duisen, Piano

"It takes time to develop a relationship (in a musical partnership and) you have to stay sensitive all the time" Kazakhstan-born pianist Dina Duisen

The soothing piano chords of Mazurkas from Chopin to Ades make more perfect listening when the clocks go back an hour, rather than forward as they will this weekend.

Mazurkas, a series of Polish folk dances which began in the countryside around Warsaw from about the 16th century, take on a life of their own in the hands of the Master of Arts in performance graduate from London’s Royal Academy of Music.

The album itself is made up of 26 piano pieces composed by a collection of famous and not-so-famous names, from Frenchmen Chopin, Debussy and Liszt to Russians Anatoly Lyadov, Alexander Scriabin and Anton Arensky.

But in Dina’s hands, these individual works become far more than just a series of bite-sized piano recitals fit for putting your feet up in front of a coal fire.

As befitting someone whose musical education spans three countries, Dina adds new freshness and vitality to both familiar and more unfamiliar works. During her visit to Spalding, Dina said: “I have been working with Alessandro Ruisi (violin) for the last two years, but it takes time to develop a relationship.

Read the review at Spalding Today