For those of you who have not seen the movie "The Pianist", a 3 Oscar award winning movie including Best Actor and Best Director, you are missing out on the hauntingly beautiful scene below. Although the movie only features the shortened version of the piece, the set up of the scene makes the performance dramatically powerful. Based on a true story, Szpilman is a Jewish concert pianist on the run in Poland from the Nazi regime during WWII. When he scours an abandoned home in Warsaw for food, he is confronted by the German officer Hosenfeld. Miraculously, Hosenfeld suggests Szpilman play the piano after learning of his past profession, and is so moved by the performance he does not reveal Szpilman and allows him to hide in the attic.
The piece played by Szpilman in an desperate attempt to save his life is the Ballade No. 1 in G Minor Opus 23, composed by Chopin. (What does underlined gibberish mean? See previous post here and here). A Ballade is like a waltz, but more complex and rich in variations. Chopin was a master of romantic music, and while this piece is not as popular as some of his other mainstream compositions (Fantasy Impromptu, Nocturne opus 9 No. 2) I think it provides the right mood for a once outstanding pianist, now with decrepit fingers, to pour out his emotions of sorrow, misery, his passion for life, and the will to survive.
Enjoy!
Soundtrack from the movie "The Pianist"
Ballade No. 1 in G Minor Opus 23, composed by Frédéric Chopin
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