AWA: Academic Writing at Auckland

Oftentimes in the history of Western music, new phenomena have sprung up, resulting in its alteration forever. Some happen in a flash and take the world by storm, whereas others are gradual, permeating and catalysing the development of music over time. Some are completely original, while others simply divert the direction of a pre-existing musical concept. They can manifest in the form of ideas, man-made things, people, or individuals; all are turning points. Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849) was one such miracle. [1]

Chopin was no ‘normal’ musician. He was far above that; a virtuoso, regarded as a child prodigy, hailed as another Mozart. [2] By a mere seven years of age, his first piano compositions had been published. [3] By the age of eight, he had played his first concert. [4] By the age of fifteen, Warsaw esteemed him its finest pianist.

It was his exceptional technique, combined with the very way he played that enthralled people. Creativity, perfection of detail, and perhaps more significantly: a unique, exquisite touch, lent a distinctive life to the music he performed. Elizavieta Cheriemietieff said of him, ‘He has discovered how to give the piano a soul. Every sound goes straight to the heart. Listening to him, one feels suspended somewhere between heaven and earth.’ [5]

This musical brilliance laid the foundation for his other most famous quality, that which generated his status as an iconic turning point: his pioneering genius in composing, which consequently revolutionised the art of piano-playing. He pushed the boundaries of the music of his day, technically, creatively and aesthetically. [6] Janis, an authority on Chopin, stated, ‘Chopin’s music came out of nowhere … there is nothing that preceded it. He was truly unique. With Beethoven, you can hear it came out of Mozart. Not with Chopin.’ [7] All his works involve the piano, accompanied or not. [8] Without Chopin, piano music would not be the piano music we know today. [9]

He was a man of many firsts.

Chopin’s singular viewpoint on the relationship between the hands and piano was inherent to the way that he, and consequently other artists, approached playing the piano. Unlike his contemporaries, he did not believe that the fingers were equal. To him each was distinctive and contributed uniquely to the sound; he believed that music should be written to cater for these differences, and this showed in his works’ unconventional fingering. [10] For example, he considered the thumb the most powerful, the fourth finger the weakest, and C major to be the hardest scale due to the fact that the long fingers fall naturally on the black keys. [11]

His contribution to the realm of piano technique was so large that his preludes (Op. 28) and etudes (Op. 10 and 25) are standard pieces. 8, [12] His etudes showcase the complex and radical ways he’d discovered to use the hands. 9

Another celebrated characteristic of his music was that of chromaticism; his seemingly blasé disregard for the more standard diatonicism revolutionised music by transforming its previous ‘stiffness’ and ‘straightness’ into something much more fluid and exciting, with combinations of notes creating harmonies that had hitherto never been collectively pooled together before. [13] He expanded the range of possibilities for the left hand. He was deemed an explorer of the piano, an uncoverer of its hidden possibilities. [14]

He was one of the first composers to fully appreciate and use the pedal and the beauty of legato and rubato; all now widely used tools. [15] His works were thus among the first to really accentuate the power of delicacy and nuance. [16]

Chopin did not only develop his own sound, however, but also significantly helped to advance the development of other pre-existing music forms. [17] He enhanced the Viennese waltz, matured the Irish-rooted nocturne, and transformed the Bach-based prelude genre. [10, 14] He was the first to compose ballades and scherzos as individual compositions, and was the creator of the instrumental ballade. [18]

His Polish nationality was a famously integral part of him; it was he who introduced the Polish polonaise and mazurka dance forms to the European stage. [19]He integrated his patriotic and political feelings into his music, thereby making him the first composer to instil nationalism into his works. This has since influenced other composers to do the same, such as Grieg and Smetana. [18]

His influence on other composers has lasted even through the two centuries since his death, with Debussy, Brahms, Liszt and Schumann; the latter two even writing pieces inspired by, dedicated to, and in one instance even named, after him, as just a few of his large body of enthusiastic admirers. [20]

Chopin’s style was influenced by classical giants such as Mozart and Bach, the individualism and expressiveness of the Romantic Period (with which he is associated), and by his Polish music, to which the melancholy and fun playfulness of his music is often attributed. [21] Paganini’s genius, Hummel’s romanticism, Spohr’s chromaticism, Field’s nocturnes and Weber’s enigma helped shape the way he composed. 13, 16, [22] His passionate love for singing was also manifested in his art; his music was often said to make a piano sing. Italian operas, such as those by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini were said to be inspirations. [23] In addition, he wrote popular music for those he depended upon for a living, such as his Parisian patrons. [24]

Chopin’s music did not seem to be greatly affected by his biography; indeed, some of his sunniest pieces were written out of his dark times. [24] In his brief, health-problem-riddled life he did not produce a large body of work. The little that he did publish, however, was considered brilliant and influential, and many of them could be recognised simply upon hearing due to their fame. These include the ‘Minute Waltz’, the ‘Revolutionary Etude’, and the third movement of his sonata ‘The Funeral March’, now a musical symbol of sorrow. [23]

The fact that so many of his pieces are used and beloved today, and that his name is a household one, is testament to his great talent. He transformed the way that composers and pianists view their instrument, and revolutionised the very language of music, the evidence of which can be seen in the works of many subsequent musical artists. Frederic Chopin was, it is universally agreed, a prominent turning point in the history of Western music.

[1] Maxwell Bilechi, St John Fisher College, “Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin.” Polish Heritage Society of Rochester; 3 May 2011, available from http://www.polishheritagerochester.org/docs/history-chopin.htm; accessed 3, 4 May 2011.

[2] A virtuoso refers to a highly skilled musical performer. Can also be an experimenter or investigator in the arts or sciences.

[3] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin.” 8notes.com; 2000-2011. Available from http://www.8notes.com/biographies/chopin.asp; accessed 3, 4 May 2011.

[4] Andrew Druckenbrod. “Frederic Chopin still a key composer 200 years after birth.”Deseret News; 7 March 2010. Available from http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700014330/Frederic-Chopin-still-a-key-composer-200-years-after-birth.html; 3, 4 May 2011.

[5] Peter Gutmann. “Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes.” Classical Notes; Gutmann, Peter, 1999-2011. Available from http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics3/chopinwaltzes.html; accessed 3, 4 May 2011.

[6] Gutmann. “Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes,” Classical Notes.

[7] Druckenbrod. “Frederic Chopin still a key composer 200 years after birth,” Deseret News.

[8] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin,” 8notes.com.

[9] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin Biography.” Piano Paradise; Piano Paradise, 2005. Available from http://www.pianoparadise.com/chopin.html; accessed 3, 4 May 2011.

[10] Bilechi, “Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin.” Polish Heritage Society of Rochester.

[11] James Huneker, The Man and His Music. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1966, pp. 52, 53, 73, 122, 197.

[12] A prelude is a brief piece of music, commonly either played as an introduction to another piece of music or by itself.

An etude is a short piece of music that is usually dedicated to the expression and improvement of a technique.

[13] Chromaticism refers to the use of notes from the chromatic scale; notes outside of the diatonic scale, within the composition.

Diatonicism refers to only using notes from the seven tones of a standard scale; excludes chromatic notes.

[14] Huneker, The Man and His Music, pp. 52, 53, 73, 122, 197.

[15] Gutmann, “Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes,” Classical Notes; Druckenbrod, “Frederic Chopin still a key composer 200 years after birth,”Deseret News.

Legato refers to the technique of playing music smoothly and flowingly. Rubato describes a rhythmic freedom; in this case, where the left hand keeps time and the right hand embodies the rhythmic freedom.

[16] Gutmann. “Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes,” Classical Notes.

A waltz is a dance in triple time, and a nocturne is a dreamy, romantic piece of music meant to illustrate the night musically.

[17] (Author not shown) “Frederick Chopin (1810-1849).” Timeless Tunes; Jorge Aguilar, 2003. Available from http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/spring03/aguilar/Chopin.htm; accessed 3, 4 May 2011.

[18] Bilechi, “Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,” Polish Heritage Society of Rochester.

A(n instrumental) ballade is a short, expressive piece of music usually composed for piano. A scherzo is a lively and playful piece of music, usually a movement within a sonata or symphony.

[19] A polonaise is a Polish dance, or music based on its march-like rhythm. It is in triple time. The mazurka is another Polish dance also in triple time.

[20] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin,” 8notes.com; (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin Biography,” Piano Paradise.

[21] Bilechi, “Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,” Polish Heritage Society of Rochester; Druckenbrod, “Frederic Chopin still a key composer 200 years after birth,”Deseret News.

[22] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin Biography,” Piano Paradise.

[23] (Author not shown) “Frederic Chopin,” 8notes.com.

A sonata is a musical composition typically comprised of three to four movements, usually written for one or more solo instruments, one of which is usually a piano.

[24] Gutmann, “Frederic Chopin’s Waltzes,” Classical Notes.