Alex Jennings

The last in a series of three concerts celebrating the Polish genius Frédéric Chopin. A virtuoso pianist himself, Chopin’s œuvre – of which every work involves the piano – is universally admired to this day. Lucy Parham’s celebrated account of the tender but volatile relationship between Chopin and the controversial novelist George Sand comes at last to Cadogan Hall. Told through a seamless narrative comprising extracts from letters and diaries, interspersed with some of the composer’s most loved and poignant works for solo piano, the story covers their time together in Majorca, his fragile health, and his ultimate demise in poverty in Paris at the age of 39. “Parham’s velvet-gloved sonority and rare ability to impart a poetic coherence to Chopin’s stream-of-consciousness flights of inspiration has one listening afresh.” (BBC Music Magazine) “A passionate, humorous and deeply moving portrait of the relationship between Chopin and Sand.” (MusicWeb International) Duration: approx. 2 hours (incl. 20-minute interval) PERFORMERS Lucy Parham piano Patricia Hodge narrator Alex Jennings narrator