Chopin Salon @ Home: Talon Smith

Until we can see you again at our live events, we are excited to present another edition of the Chopin Salons @ Home. We sincerely hope that all of our members and subscribers are keeping safe and healthy, and we invite you to enjoy these specially curated online programs, at home, and at your convenience. A free-will donation of any amount is gratefully accepted HERE

By the time the contestants of the National Chopin Piano Competition reach the semi-final round, they have already performed two recitals. Each round requires specific repertoire with clear time restrictions. For the semi-final round, each pianist performs 45 -55 minutes of music which, in and of itself is daunting, but also exciting, exhilarating and a unique opportunity - for both the musicians and the audience - to be completely immersed in the glorious music of a single composer. For this week’s Chopin Salon @ Home we have chosen to immerse ourselves in Talon Smith’s entire semi-final round recital. We invite you to get comfortable and follow Talon on his journey through the music (Click image below to begin):

Talon’s Selection Process

In spite of the repertoire requirements, there is still quite a bit of flexibility and it is fascinating to learn how the contestants select their pieces. Here is how Talon put together his semi-final round:

“Generally speaking, when I approached programming for my solo rounds in the 10th National Chopin Competition, I thought a great deal about not only picking music which fit the requirements for each individual round, but also about pairing individual and contrasting pieces in interesting and pleasing combinations. I wanted to construct my entire competition repertoire as one big concert made up of smaller concerts, each as its own unique microcosm that captured many shades of expression.

Considerations such as these influenced my choices of repertoire in the semifinal round of the competition. In some ways, the fact that all of the selections were to be picked from Chopin’s music made the process easy; Chopin’s compositions encompass such a vast range of emotion and style that ensuring that the program itself would be interesting was not difficult. My job was to pick a set of mazurkas and a sonata or the Preludes, Op. 28, and then add more music to the program to achieve a minimum performing time of forty-five minutes.

For the sonata category, the Sonata in B Minor, Op. 58 was an immediate choice. It stands as one of my favorite compositions of Chopin. It consists of four perfectly fashioned and seamless movements which complement one another like the facets of a gem. The gripping, tragic saga of the Allegro maestoso is followed by a Scherzo—an odd scherzo for Chopin, because nearly all the Scherzos he wrote were stormy and tumultuous, but this scherzo is the most charming and witty miniature that one could imagine. Perhaps the ensuing Largo is the most remarkable movement of them all. It flies like an eagle over deep chasms of time, remembering tales of which it was a part long ago. But the Finale surely serves as the epitome of heroic climax and grandeur. Without question, I felt this particular work to be an exquisitely constructed masterpiece that I truly wanted to include in my semifinal round program.

Then it was a matter of selecting a set of mazurkas. This was a more difficult task since Chopin’s mazurkas are numerous and all extremely well crafted. Three Mazurkas, Op. 59 is an exemplary set of these charming, colorful Polish dances. The first mazurka generally maintains a gently coiling, somewhat dreamy melodic line that seems to transport one into a remote, fogged over, exotic place—perhaps in the mountains. The second mazurka is sunnier with a livelier attitude and demeanor—maybe beside a stream in an open field. The third mazurka has more of a maverick quality. It possesses a fiery, insistent quality that is offset by a gracious duet in the midsection and a noble epilogue poised on a chord which precedes the Sonata in B Minor perfectly. I selected these mazurkas to hold the middle place in my semifinal round program.

However, at this point, I still had not reached the minimum performing time of forty-five minutes. I had selected a large-scale work, the Sonata, and a set of miniatures, the Mazurkas. I wanted to add a composition that was somewhere in between the styles of these works—a serious, rather midsized work to offset the charm of the Mazurkas and the brightness and glory of the Sonata. The Fantasy in F Minor, Op. 49 had already come to mind as a potential asset for the semifinal round in case of necessity. It is a somber, dark work, beginning with a funereal march which morphs into a torrent of passion, the intensity of which seems to wrest hints of Beethoven and Liszt from the pen of a normally more poised Chopin. The waves of tragedy he summons are immense, crashing with froth and spray upon the wild ocean. Nevertheless, if only for a few moments, the turmoil seems to subside as Chopin kneels to pray in the beautiful chorale midsection. And although the wind and the waves return with a vengeance, they are ultimately dissipated by rays of light piercing through and banishing the stormy clouds. It is a magnificent work which I felt was an appropriate opener for my semifinal round program.

This was a tiring round to perform, but it was well worth it. The experience of traversing this music all in one concert was very satisfying.”

Looking Back and Ahead

Competitions, by their very nature, are events fraught with high pressure but are also designed to allow contestants to exhibit their highest achievements. Whether in athletic meets, musical competitions, or even spelling bees, months and months of preparation lead up to these highly focused moments. At the National Chopin Piano Competition, we aim to make the contestants’ experience with us in Miami as positive as possible. Talon puts it all in perspective with an interesting metaphor:

“I deeply enjoyed my time spent at the 10th National Chopin Competition in Miami earlier this year. Without a doubt, preparing the music to my highest level and performing it all within several days’ time was exhausting. However, the music of Chopin is so beautiful. I imagine the preparation experience was akin to freeing a great jewel from a surrounding of crusted rock. Chiseling away the rock was hard and difficult work because the rock was strong, and I did not want to break the jewel. However, the more rock I chiseled away, the more of the jewel I saw, and this made me very happy. Besides the joys of Chopin, however, networking with so many old and new friends, cheering them on and receiving their encouragement concerning concerts, and living the dream of performing in the National Chopin Competition conspired to make the entire event a wonderful experience for me.

For the future, I expect that I will continue to pursue music professionally. I will probably compete in more competitions and continue to travel and play concerts. I am very young and still have a great vista of growth to explore. Currently, I am preparing for the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. However, with the COVID-19 crisis and the extra time it has put on my hands, I have also been using my time to expand my repertoire and look toward other opportunities I would not have had if the competition had taken place this year as planned. I am excited to see what God will do and extremely grateful for all the prospects I have received and continue to receive as a pianist and musician.”

In closing we asked Talon if he would like to share a “fun fact” or two with the Chopin Salons @ Home audience. “First and foremost, I am a follower of Jesus Christ and continue to learn to live my life as His disciple. Although my interests are diverse, among them are foreign languages, which I study using the Duolingo app; dogs, of which my family and I own seven; and diverse foods of all kinds, which I try at almost every opportunity.”

Thank you for joining us for the Chopin Salons @ Home. A donation of any amount will go directly to supporting the best young pianists that the US has to offer - like Talon Smith!

Chopin Foundation programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; and the City of Coral Gables. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture; Funding Arts Broward; the Miami Salon Group; and scores of generous donors.