The Classical Music Book

165

See also: Pièces de clavecin 82–83 ■ Die schöne Müllerin 150 –155 ■

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 228–231 ■ Ravel’s Piano Concerto in D for

the left hand 266–267

ROMANTIC 1810 –1920

the instrument itself, Chopin had a

profound effect on piano technique

and helped push the instrument

to the forefront of 19th-century

music. Preferring to compose in

miniature rather than on a large

scale, he produced three four-

movement piano sonatas and many

short “character” pieces, especially

preludes, nocturnes, études, and

dances, such as the mazurka,

polonaise, and waltz.

Mood and style

Between 1835 and 1839, Chopin

composed a set of 24 preludes—

one in each of the major and minor

keys—using J.S. Bach’s Preludes

from the Well-Tempered Clavier

(1722) as his model. For Chopin, the

prelude was essentially an abstract

form, although some of his pieces

were prescribed titles by his

publishers that suggested specific

influences. The “Raindrop” Prelude,

for example, earned its (inauthentic)

nickname from the French novelist

George Sand’s account of incessant

rain at Valldemossa, on the island

of Majorca, where she and Chopin,

who was then her lover, spent the

winter of 1838–1839 together.

Polish dance

Chopin’s interest in dance was

partly a conscious homage to his

Polish heritage. The polonaise

(meaning “Polish” in French)

was used by many composers

across Europe, and Chopin wrote

more than a dozen examples,

his first when he was just seven

years old. Like the polonaise,

the mazurka was a traditional

dance form to which Chopin

returned regularly on no fewer

than 50 occasions.

Chopin mainly used the waltz

dance form for lighter salon music.

The so-called “Minute Waltz”

and the Waltz in E-flat, Op. 18

(Grande valse brillante) are rapid

pieces. In contrast to the showy

waltzes, Chopin’s 20 nocturnes

are predominantly intimate and

introverted in mood, slow and

dreamy, as their title suggests.

The nocturnes enjoy an enduring

legacy as some of the most popular

solo works ever written for piano.

The term “nocturne” and its style

were the invention of the Irish

composer and celebrated pianist

John Field, whose work Chopin

knew and admired.

Like Field, Chopin was a

virtuoso pianist, and his interest

in the extension of piano technique

is demonstrated in his 27 études

(“studies”), which he began writing

in his teens. In these pieces, Chopin

managed to combine technical

advances with great expressive

and musical quality. They have

remained both a challenge and

a joy to pianists ever since. ■

Frédéric Chopin

Born near Warsaw in 1810,

Chopin studied the piano

in the Polish capital and

performed at musical soirées

in its greatest houses. He

visited Paris at the age of 20

and settled there, making a

living by teaching, publishing

his music, and appearing at

salons. Chopin disliked

concerts, and performed in

few, yet his influence was

huge, founded on works that

embraced the folk music of his

native land, as well as other,

more conceptual forms that

lifted piano technique to new

levels. Initially composing in

a style that favored virtuosity

in the tradition of composers

Johann Nepomuk Hummel,

Friedrich Kalkbrenner, and

Carl Maria von Weber, he later

absorbed within his piano

textures the influence of Bach.

His most durable personal

relationship, with the novelist

George Sand, ended in 1847.

He died of tuberculosis two

years later in Paris.

Other key works

1830 Piano Concerto No. 1

1835 Ballade No. 1 in G minor

1844 Sonata No. 3 in B minor

1846 Barcarolle in F-sharp

Preludes, nocturnes,

and études

Short introductory

movement often

preceding a

larger piece.

Expressive and

tranquil compositions

inspired by the night,

following no set form.

Pieces designed for

practice, to perfect

musical skills.

Preludes

Nocturnes

Études

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