Chopin - Variations on a Theme by Rossini for Flute and Piano in E major B.9 (Walker, Shaw)

Chopin Variations on a Theme by Rossini for Flute and Piano in E major B.9 Elizabeth Walker (Louis Lot Flute 1859) Richard Shaw (Pleyel no.13819) (Chopin's old piano) Chopin was probably no older than 14 when he set to work on a set of variations for piano and flute. Already in love with opera, he decided on the happy- ending aria, “Non più mesta” (No longer sad) from Rossini’s opera Cinderella. As the curtain comes down, Cinderella gleefully warbles, “No longer sad beside the fire shall I sit alone, singing; my long years of heartache were but a streak of lightning, a dream, a game.” We are unsure what actually prompted Chopin to select this for his unique combination of flute and piano, but it was most likely written for the composer’s father who was a capable amateur flute player. In the end, the piece was probably dedicated to Józef Cichowski, a close friend of his fathers and an amateur flautist as well. Source: https://interlude.hk/minors-majors-fr... About the Performance: Elizabeth Walker's fine example of an early Louis Lot Flute, number 435, made in France in 1859 is wooden, conically bored with silver ringed keys and a Dorus G#. The pitch is 'old' a = 443. (Louis Lot wrote in a letter dated 1876, that he could supply a flute in normal tuning, A= 435, and old, A= 440-450). We now know that a Mr Nauwelaers, flautist at the Lyon Theatre Orchestra, originally owned this flute. Richard Shaw was incredibly excited to be given access to play and record the Chopin and Schubert using Chopin's own piano, a Pleyel No.13819, part of the Cobbe Collection of keyboard instruments at Hatchlands Park in Surrey, a National Trust property. We are most grateful to The Cobbe Collection Trust for this very special opportunity. The Music Room has a fine acoustic and was built on to the Eighteenth Century house c. 1903 Source:    • Frédéric Chopin - Variations on a Theme by...   0:00 Theme - Andantino. Beautiful theme, and absolutely not boring, I really like this. 0:37 Var I - Con anima. The first variation is absolutely energetic, and it has a lot of brightness by the high notes on the flute. 01:15 Var II - Più Lento. My favourite variation, Is just perfect, the whole set of harmony, It's different compared to the Original theme. 03:23 Var III - Vivo. It has a lot of life. And a lot of arpeggios too. 03:59 Var IV - A really good end. Sheet: https://imslp.org/wiki/Variations_for...)