Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu (1834) may be the musical equivalent of a posthumous tell-all book, but with more class, of course. Published after his death in 1855, this piece had Chopin channeling his inner Beethoven, and musicologist Ernst Oster was convinced that Chopin "got" Beethoven like no one else.

Now, this piece is like a rollercoaster ride through the classical world: sextuplets, semiquavers, and polyrhythms? Oh my! It's no wonder it's used as a test piece! We go from C# minor chaos to the smooth, lyrical shores of Db major, with a Bellini-inspired melody that's as graceful as a swan on a lake.

But wait! The pandemonium returns in 'Presto' like a caffeinated squirrel, only to wind down and end on a Picardy third, leaving you wondering, "Was that a Fantasie or an Impromptu?"

Could this whirlwind of a piece be the result of Chopin showing off at a swanky salon for Baroness Frances Sarah d'Este? We'll never know for sure, but one thing is certain: Fantasie-Impromptu has become a timeless classic, and if you listen closely, you might just hear the echoes of Chopin chasing rainbows.

This track is from the album F. Chopin: 4 Impromptus - F. Chopin: Piano Sonata No 3 in B Minor, Op. 58 - F. Chopin: Ballade No. 3 in a Flat Major, Op. 47 - F. Chopin: Scherzo No 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 31 and is available for purchase on CD Baby here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/archiechen

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Teaching Website: http://www.pianoacademy.ie

Piano: Fazioli F278
Recording Engineer: Jeremy Krug
Piano Technician: Dave Severence
Recorded at Washington State University School of Music

Frederic Chopin "Fantasie" Impromptu no. 4 in C Sharp Minor, op. 66

Archie Chen is a concert pianist, creator, and cultural leader whose music spans from the world’s great stages to the quantum unknown. Praised by the Irish Times for his “daring velocity” and “fiery temperament,” he has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Gewandhaus, and beyond — captivating audiences across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

As Executive Director of Holy Names Music Center in Spokane, Archie brings the same artistry and vision he brings to the keyboard: bold, creative, and committed to transformation. His recordings on Sony Classical and Carnegie Artists showcase not just technical brilliance but an alchemist’s touch — turning rhythm into resonance, matter into music.

This page is where it all comes together: live takes, studio sessions, and sound experiments. A space to step inside the frequency and hear music not just as notes, but as energy in motion.

"The Meaning of Life" is that we don't know what it is. There is no one "Meaning of Life." You find your own by living and learning whilst experiencing The Mystery, visualizing what the world can be rather than comprehending what it is, acquiring a vast collection of answers, but never The Answer. Life is inherently meaningful. I believe the foundational meaning is simply Creation, for The Creator, which also applies to fractals of The Creator, such as us, planets, stars, the universe itself, etc.

The universe is also within.

Time loops.

There is never nothing in Geometry (and thus 3D)!

Music is My World of Magic Sound  💀
My Drug. My Freedom. My Life !!!
👽kleiner Ton große Bogn!

My warmest thanks to everyone stopping by for listening to my tracks, the most of the representing a  'REVIEW   OF THE PAST TIME PIANISTS' INTERPRETATIONS ON THE HISTORICAL PIANO ROLLS, and in addition to them, also to a minor but growing  LISTS of MY MY OWN RENDITIONS, all of the latter representing a variety of piano music, & some pipe-organ classics, - and  TO THE Growing LISTS OF (just lately done and reproduced)  TRANSCRIPTIONS OF VARIOUS CHAMBER MUSIC CLASSICAL PEARLS FOR TWO PIANOS.
A HEADSET IS RECOMMENDED for optimal sound experience!
This kind of 'touching' on these old pre-sound-rec. era works by the great performers of the past, and giving my sound to these old 'punch rolls',  makes me feel  deep humbleness, .and I wish that this modest attempt to bring these  performances alive will satisfy you listening to them!
To introduce myself...
I am a Finnish M.D., PhD. and Hand Surgeon (now retired), previously when young with 10 years of professionally orientated piano studies at Turku Conservatory in 1965-1975, partly  along with medical University studies. 
The digital sound techniques have become very familiar to me already from 1980's along with my university research work  
and my musical activities.
As continuation to my musical and professional experience, I have, during the last few years of my retirement, adopted a music historical challenge
to bring the past time major and minor pianists, prior to sound-recording era, onto the same 'start line' with the present pianists, by making their presentations, played onto 'punch rolls' i.e. piano rolls, audible with modern digital techniques. This wouldn't be possible without the pioneering  efforts of Richard Stibbons, Wayne Stahnke, Terry Smythe, Warren Trachtman, Spencer Chase, and others, who developed the optical digitizing techniques of the piano rolls, and digitized them.

The main part of my recordings here in SC consists of selection recorded by me from optically digitized piano-rolls** (from 1910's on or earlier, classical and 'vintage era'). These recordings of mine are not and will not be commercially unavailable. - The rolls were first optically scanned and converted into a digital form by diverse operators** (see also to the info of each piece). The pieces here were partly (minor part) picked from various open net sources, publicly available, but mainly from the huge archive (n=ca.5000) of digitized copies copies of the original reproducing piano rolls, made available to me by one of the pioneers of roll digitizing tehchniques (willing to keep anonymous), and then recorded from this archive mainly with virtual grand piano (called by me 'Bluethner Model One') modified/re-designed by me, as well as the rec settings. 
Also a minor selection of my own renditions among my records can be found here, included on my playlist 'Bach Goes Virtual', the name of the list telling something about the techniques used for getting the end result... The list includes various organ works by J.S.Bach and others, and also a few piano renditions of mine. Then there are included also various pieces which have been in my repertoire, but here played mainly by the  'guest' great players of the past (before the sound recording era).
MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO THE NOBLE DONOR  OF THIS INVALUABLE PIANO ROLL MATERIAL FOR MY USE!!!
My Sincere Thanks also to The Player Piano Group, UK, for providing me their permission to use the information about the piano rolls collected and provided on their web page ( https://rolls.playerpianogroup.org.uk ),  and for simplifying my short historical presentations of these renditions on their re-publication here!
AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, MY MOST HUMBLE THANKS TO EVERYONE  OF YOU FOR LISTENING, AND FOR YOUR 'LIKES' & COMMENTS !
YOUR LISTENING & FEEDBACK IS TRULY APPRECIATED..!!.
Use of good headphones or speakers will make your music experience more enjoyable!
Best wishes, all the best
Veikko
These recordings are not commercially available, and ANY KIND OF THEIR COMMERCIAL USE IS PROHIBITED.

I’m a violinist and a pianist from the U.S.  Occasionally I like to fiddle around on other instruments, such as bass guitar, ukulele, kalimba, acoustic guitar, and more. I love music and everything about it, especially classical. I look up to Rachmaninoff, Bach, Lizst, and Beethoven quite a lot and hope to play music for others someday for them to enjoy. I’ve only just started my journey of music, but I hope it’s a long one! Reminder to practice everyone! 


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stay safe.

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you are worth it.

i love you!

you are worth every breath.

go drink some water.

don’t worry, everything will be okay!

don’t stress.

breathe.

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