Stephen Aron, Teacher of Classical Guitar, To Offer Recital of All-Chopin Mazurkas, Tuesday, February 22, 8 P.M., in Kulas Recital Hall Story by Linda Shockley
			"The most difficult challenge as a guitarist in the performance of Chopin's mazurkas is in learning how to 'hear' it," says Stephen Aron, teacher of classical guitar. "Chopin's harmonic language is more complex. His sense of melodic invention is a wonder. And while the formal structure of the pieces - at first glance - seems straightforward, even in this area, the mazurkas offer surprises. There's no preparation for music of this type in the guitar repertoire. It has been a fascinating journey." Area audiences will have a chance to share in that journey when Aron offers selections from the first comprehensive arrangement of Frédéric Chopin's entire 51 marzurkas in a recital on Tuesday, February 22, 8 p.m., in Kulas Recital Hall. The concert is free and open to the public. "The mazurka is a popular folk dance of the Warsaw-area of Poland," Aron explains. "During the 1800s, it became one of the leading court dances; stylized versions of the marzurka were the rage throughout Europe. Chopin took the form to another level and in his mazurkas, one finds such an adventurous use of harmony and melodic content that the resulting pieces are exotic. He uses folk material in a way that anticipates what Bartók and Aaron Copland did much later. "Guitarists are well accustomed to playing folk-based material, especially from the Latin and Spanish traditions, so playing folk-derived music is a natural endeavor. But the unique characteristics of the Polish mazurkas, through Chopin's pen, are endlessly fascinating to my ears. Chopin's marzurkas are written in a 3/4 rhythm, but because they feature shifting emphases on different beats with subtle manipulations of rhythm, they are utterly unlike waltzes. Several guitarists have arranged individual marzurkas over the years, including a Polish contemporary of Chopin." Aron continues, "I've always loved Chopin. I've been listening to Chopin since I was a teenager. But guitarists soon discover that the period that boasts the greatest music of the classical tradition- that is, the 19th century - has little of substance to show in the guitar repertoire. Virtually no major composer wrote works for guitar in this period. So the pull of the major repertoire is very powerful. Many of my colleagues over the years have arranged piano works for inclusion in our recitals." He adds, "My attraction to this project was the possibility that in arranging the entire collection, I could contribute a major new block of works to the repertoire. Indeed, the mazurkas are a 2-1/2-hour body of music, which in terms of quality needs no defense." Aron's arrangements of Chopin's marzurka repertoire will be released by Mel Bay Publications later this year.
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