Roll over, Chopin, and tell Beethoven the news

The dynasty of great Texan pianists dating back to Van Cliburn has entered its Golden Age with the emergence of Cindy Elizondo, fourth runner-up in the 2000 Miss Texas Pageant!  Mlle Elizondo, who was named Miss Teen Texas in 1997, Miss Gulf Coast in 2000 and Miss White Settlement (!) in 2001, gives us an utterly breathtaking, unforgettable performance in this recording (1.8MB, right-click if you want to download to your hard drive). The announcer astutely points out that "music is the universal language, and Chopin was the greatest composer of this language." Mmm, I guess I never thought of it that way. But I assure you, you have never heard showPAN's Sharezo No. 1 in b min, op. 20 played like this.

After listening, it is interesting to reflect on the fact that Mlle Elizondo was subsequently awarded the $1,000 William R. Morris Memorial Talent Award and the $200 Rick Stitzel Most Talented Musician Award.

As a bonus, I stwongly encouwage you to pwease, pwease awso go wisit Wing.  She twuly is a wonder!

Heartfelt thanks go out to M. L- and M. S- for bringing these joyous performances to my ears.

Comments

[m.croche]

Just an historical footnote:

The great grandmother of all Texas pianists was the estimable Lucy Hickenlooper (b. 1882)of San Antonio. On the advice of a manager, she changed her name to Olga Samaroff and as Mme. Samaroff (as my Nebraska piano teacher, a student of Josef Lhevinne, always called her) she went on to fame and fortune, becoming a well-known force in the development of musical education in America.

Mme. Samaroff's most famous marriage was to Leopold Stokowski, who, despite his accent was born in England as Leo Stokes. They eventually divorced, I believe. Perhaps some enterprising composer or filmmaker might want to portray the domestic disputes of the final days of their marriage, with what must have been a fascinating amalgam of Texas, cockney and East-European accents.

I have heard only one recording by Mme. Samaroff, her performance of the Ride of the Valkyries. As fans of Ann Richards and Molly Ivins know, Texas women are tough.

[m.croche]

One correction: she was born Lucie Hickenlooper. Not Lucy.

And having heard Mlle Elizondo's performance and the ensuing rapturous ovation, I'm wondering if Stockhausen shouldn't consider doing a concert tour down south......

[M. C-]

Zut alors -- He is arisen! Bonjour, M. Croche. I knew I should have done some research on Texan pianists before writing this post. Merci for the expanding the boundaries of my knowledge, as usual.

[Jessica]

From the Wing site:

"I have worked hard and I hope you have all found I am improving."

I cannot COUNT how many times I have used this line on my audience.

[Brett Klaus]

I think i just puked a little bit in my mouth after hearing that performance, as well as the announcer... (sherzo?)

[rootlesscosmo]

"And so, kind friends, what I have wrote
I hope you will pass o'er,
And not criticize as some have done
Hitherto herebefore."

--Julia Moore, "The Sweet Singer of Michigan" (1847-1920), quoted in The Stuffed Owl: an Anthology of Bad Verse

Meh.

[Chopin Advocate]

http://ingolfwunder.at/recordings/Chopin_Scherzo_No.1.mp3

[Greg Brown]

Miss Gulf Coast's Chopin Sharezo is becoming an underground favorite at Juilliard. You also might be interested to know that this partictular performance won Cindy 2 talent awards in that pagent. That's right, I said 2!! Proof?...Check it out: http://www.misstexas.org/scholr2000.htm

Thanks for the laughs,
Greg