PETER SCHAAF PLAYS CHOPIN

ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Peter Schaaf

So that we are clear, I did not happen to come upon Peter Schaaf’s CD Chopin: 17 Waltzes. The enterprising pianist happened to find this blog and did subsequently send us a copy of his October 2018 release. (SR 103).

Enterprising indeed.

This is the third of three releases on Schaaf’s own label, Schaaf Records. The nicely packaged and engineered album (SR 103) is available both for downloading and on hard copies from http://www.schaafrecords.com

Visit Schaaf there and you will encounter two site choices: Peter Schaaf, the photographer and Peter Schaaf, the pianist.

Both these labels belong to the same artist, one from whom I look forward to hear in the future.

Schaaf became the photographer of musical artists, after enjoying a two decade-plus career as a chamber musician and collaborative pianist.

He played for Vickers, Tebaldi, Yo-Yo Ma, Kyung-Wha Chung…

Lucky for us music lured Schaaf back via Isaac Albeniz’s pianistic  minefield Iberia and here he is helming his own label.

Enterprising indeed.

Chopin has long had a false reputation as a composer of dreamy salon pieces all perfume and sighs. Dig deeper, please, and you will encounter music full of emotion, elegance, and quintessentially-Polish strength. That, as long as it is in the hands of a knowing interpreter, which Peter Schaaf is.

Schaaf brings to his music making agility, joy, virility, intensity, flawless technique, and impeccable musicality underpinned by meticulous research of the material.

In addition to the gift of his protean pianistic qualities, Peter Schaaf also makes a gift to those who wish to disseminate this music.

For more details go to his website: http://www.schaafrecords.com

Enterprising indeed!

Rafael de Acha
http://www.RafaelMusicNotes.com

Published by ALL ABOUT THE ARTS

Rafael de Acha has enjoyed a distinguished career in the arts as a performer, stage director, producer, and educator. He was born and grew up in Cuba. At the age of 17 he moved to the United States to study Drama at the University of Minnesota, and later Languages at L.A. City College, Music at the Juilliard School of Music, at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music, and at the New England Conservatory of Music, from which he received the Master's degree. He has taught courses on the History of Music at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music and at Florida International University, and contributed writings and reviews to Seen and Heard International (www.seenandheard-international.com ) and to this blog. He co-founded the award-winning New Theatre in Coral Gables, Florida, where he produced and staged twenty seasons of classical and contemporary theater, including fifty world premieres of plays that went on to have international and national productions on and off Broadway, including Ana in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz (Pulitzer Prize for Drama 2002 and Tony Nomination 2003.) In 2006 he was presented with a citation from The Dade County Cultural Affairs Council for “trailblazing contributions to the arts in South Florida.”