Chopin: Ballade No. 1 - Thomas Schwan, piano 

Dear Peter, thank you for such an incredible comment. When receiving words like these, one feels that a life of commitment to music is truly worth living. Thank you!!!

Today I listened again this performance, and I agree in full with Peter Watchorn! Thomas: you are at same level of the greatest pianists of the last Century !

@@luigimalinconico6383 ma dai, grazie di cuore carissimo Luigi! Un grande abbraccio!

Totally agree!!!!!! Exactly my feelings!

@@sirdicaudore Thank you wholeheartedly! All the best! Thomas

Thank you for listening, and for such kind words! All the best to you, Thomas

Dear Paul, thank you for listening to this, too, and for your wonderfully kind words; I am truly happy you also enjoyed this performance. As always, it is great to hear from you. Talk soon, all the best! Thomas

Thank you for your wonderful words and for listening! I am happy you are enjoying this interpretation! All the best, Thomas

Thank you wholeheartedly! All the best to you! Thomas

Dearest Jose, thank you once more from my heart for your kind words, donation, and fantastic support! It's great to have your appreciation and to connect - I feel truly moved by your kindness. Be in touch, and I am sending you my warmest wishes and blessings!! Thomas

@@ThomasSchwanyou're very welcome. Showing my support does good for my soul. 😊 I thank God for having given you such a tremendous gift which brings so much beauty and joy to those who hear you play. Didn't get to the Ravel last night, but will tonight.

Thank you for listening and for such kind words! All the very best to you! Thomas

Grazie di cuore! Sono d'accordo, questo è un brano "eterno". Un caro saluto! Thomas

Thank you!

Grazie, caro Luigi! Un abbraccio!

Dear Vanja, thank you so much for this poignant and profound comment, alongside your truly kind words as always; you touch upon two points that are deeply important to me: 1) the search for the purity and essential truth of the musical message of a musical work when interpreting it and 2) the possibility of communicating, consciously or subconsciously, the values that lead to this search for purity to others, particularly young students. And there is always the risk on the part of the artist to feel "too good about himself", automatically losing that same spiritual purity (that is a temptation to continuously fight). So I guess an essential humility - which I like to think I strive for every day, in spite of all my defects - might be the "spiritual starting position" you describe. At the same time - I wonder - this approach is also what leads me to do almost nothing in self-promotion and makes it hard for me to "be in the world". Also on this point, I like to think that it is all in God's hands. Thank you again for your wonderful words, talk soon! All the best! Thomas

@@ThomasSchwan Yes, you mentioned few quite challenging facts in time we all live in: the task, demanding indeed, of neglecting reality and its consumeristic values to focus on inner spirituality of human being as a primordial position tu build any true arts as manifestation of our potentials for higher existance and level of consciousness, and then to call youngsters for humility, humble treatment of themselves as the basis for selfdevelopment in fight for discovering the very idea of musical message that has to be transfered to the listener. The possibility of communicating is also one problem in era of massive talking and poor listening, insufficient thinking and complete lack of patience. I face this too in my work with young people every day, fighting with false selfconvinced egoistic atitudes with no background for such a position. Moreover, you never know how and when there is going to appear "the click" with a pupil, as a sort of energetic compatibility - an important condition for further transfer of knowledge and experiences. At least we can count on few such extraordinary students, but then there is a plenty of possibilities to do wonders. Stay well and talk soon! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! It is always a pleasure to exchange experiences...

​@@TrazomGV Dear Vanja, yes, in these times one often feels like Don Quixote fighting the windmills, such is the extent and penetration of materialistic and consumerist values in today's culture. Values that are essential anti-idealistic, as if there were no higher horizon to aspire to than some immediate and visible material gain. But investment in art is completely gratuitous and one has to be ready to give more than he receives ("folly to the eyes of the world"). I am also convinced that many distortions come from the fundamental ignorance of the reality of death. So many people planning, accumulating, calculating, and living as if they were eternal (no judgment on my part, of course); and when attempting to put out this simple, elementary fact in person, I usually see complete silence or ill-concealed distress. Thank you again for this great exchange of thoughts. Talk soon! Thomas

Thank you for your truly kind words and for listening! Actually, this was several years before I even took on Bach... Again, I truly appreciate your kind words. All the best! Thomas