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161
CHAPTERfi39 Dancing at the Keyboard: Chopin
and Romantic Piano Music
2. age 21: moved to Paris, artistic center in 1830s
3. tumultuous affair with novelist Aurore Dudevant
(George Sand)
4. works central to piano repertoire
a. originated modern piano style
b. ornamented melodies: trills, grace notes, runs
c. widely spaced chords in bass line
d. expressive depths, “poet” of the piano
5. died of tuberculosis, age 39
6. output: concertos, ballads, sonatas, preludes,
études, mazurkas, polonaises, scherzos, waltzes,
impromptus, nocturnes, chamber music, and songs
C. A Polonaise by Chopin
1. polonaise: derived from traditional Polish dance
a. insistent, triple- meter rhythm
b. three- part form, resembles minuet- and- trio
2. rubato (“robbed time”): rhythmic liberties
D. LG 30: Chopin: Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40,
No.1 (Military) (1838)
1. quick triple meter
2. A- B- A′, internal repeats
3. A section: bold, rhythmic chords
4. B section: expansive melody
5. unrelenting polonaise rhythm, fortissimo climax
6. return of opening regal march
7. high level of technical virtuosity required
OVERVIEW
The Romantic era piano and its repertory are introduced in
this chapter. The new technological developments of the
instrument and the short lyric piano piece are the main
subjects of this chapter, with Chopin’s polonaises as a focal
point.
OUTLINE
I. The Nineteenth- Century Piano
A. Piano: central to Western musical tradition
1. most expressive, technologically versatile instru-
ment available
a. wide variety of dynamic and resonant effects
b. polyphonic and homophonic textures
2. attractive to amateurs and professionals: home
and concert hall
3. staple of refined education
B. Rise of the virtuoso pianist
1. developing concert industry
2. performer not always the composer
C. Technical improvements: led to modern concert
grand
1. metal frame, increased string tension
2. improved mechanical action, extended range
3. factory production: reduced cost
4. fixture in middle- and upper- class homes
II. The Short Lyric Piano Piece (Character Piece)
A. Compact form: instrumental equivalent to song
1. inexhaustible ingenuity, expression, technical
resources
2. fanciful titles: Prelude, Intermezzo, Impromptu,
Nocturne
3. dance- inspired: Polish mazurka, polonaise;
Viennese waltz, scherzo
4. descriptive titles: “Wild Hunt,” “ Little Bell,”
“Forest Murmurs”
5. composers: Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, Felix Men-
delssohn, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, Robert
and Clara Schumann, Brahms
B. Frédéric François Chopin (1810 –1849)
1. born in Warsaw, Poland; composer, pianist
162 | Chapterfi39
folk dance inspired the general character of the piece,
Chopin adapted the folk material according to his own
musical imagination. Even though the folk dance is styl-
ized, can we still consider Chopin’s Polonaise an exam-
ple of folk music? If not, speaking generally, on what
grounds is the authenticity of folk music mea sured?
Open this discussion to other types of “folk music”
(American folk songs, blues, etc.). What par ameters do
we place on musical expression in our attempt to regis-
ter a “folk” authenticity?
2. Consider the following quote by George Bernard Shaw
from the textbook (p.236):
“The pianoforte is the most impor tant of all musical
instruments; its invention was to music what the inven-
tion of printing was to poetry.”
Explain in your own words what Shaw is suggesting
here. Why do you think Shaw characterizes the piano in
these terms? Does the piano still have this much impor-
tance today? If not, what is the function of the piano in
today’s world? What musical instrument do you think is
today’s equivalent of the “pianoforte”?
TEACHING CHALLENGES
When you are introducing the technological improvements
in the nineteenth- century piano, students will get a much bet-
ter sense of the issues if they can observe an instrument
firsthand. This is a great opportunity to ask your school’s
piano technician or tuner to demonstrate the inner mechan-
ics of the piano for your class, or have class members briey
sit in on a tuning or repair job.
SUPPLEMENTAL REPERTORY
SUPPLEMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Parakilas, James, ed. Piano Roles: Three Hundred Years of Life
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. To understand the technological improvements made to
the piano during the nineteenth century, culminating in
the modern grand piano
2. To understand the popularity of the short lyric piano
piece during the nineteenth century as exemplified by the
compositional output of Chopin
3. To understand Chopin’s polonaises as representative
examples of the nineteenth- century short lyric piano piece
LECTURE SUGGESTIONS
1. Compare the design, action, and sound of a fortepiano of
Mozart and Haydn’s day with the new Pleyel or Broad-
wood pianos of the early to mid- nineteenth century.
Explain and illustrate the new expressive capabilities of
the nineteenth- century piano (damper pedal, triple- string
choirs, extended range, cast- iron frame, felt hammer cov-
erings replacing leather, and later the sostenuto pedal).
For background on the evolution of the instrument, with
many useful diagrams and illustrations, see Edwin Mar-
shall Good, Giraffes, Black Dragons, and Other Pianos:
A Technological History from Cristofori to the Modern
Concert Grand (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press,
1982). For audio excerpts of a range of reconstructed
nineteenth- century pianos, the fortepianist Vivian
Sofronitsky maintains a YouTube channel dedicated to
the instruments built by her husband, Paul McNulty, one
of today’s most prominent builders of fortepianos: www
. youtube . com / channel / UCdzwC0lHiFhQ lPKEbBhRdkg.
2 . Compare the compositional outputs of Mozart and Cho-
pin. Emphasize the variety of genres of both instrumen-
tal and vocal music of Mozart and the more focused
lude to Part 5 (pp.222–23).
3. Play or show the class an example of a folk polonaise, then
compare it with Chopin’s Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40,
Dancing at the Keyboard: Chopin and Romantic Piano Music | 163
piece. The Polonaise in A Major offers even more interpre-
tive opportunity in its “Military” subtitle.
taris employs enough rubato in the A section that there is
a ten second difference between when he reaches the trio
section and when Horo witz reaches the trio section. Most
Given the nature of the Romantic character piece to
explore the piano’s “potential for expression” (236) and the
prescription for rubato in Chopin’s music, the Katsaris per-
for mance is more effective. If, as our book asserts, the
short lyric piano piece was the instrumental equivalent to
the song, individual phrases are impor tant. While Horo witz
relies on dynamic contrast and overarching formal ideas to
lend expression to the polonaise, Katsaris seems to be
more sensitive to the work’s potential for lyricism and
subtlety.
— The student has answered, in an or ga nized way, the two
— The student provides full details in terms of title, com-
poser, and performers.
YOUR TURN TO EXPLORE
standpoint, and this performer’s interpretation is
quite athletic, with a tempo typically faster than usual
interpretations. Moreover, the fast tempo remains the
pianist speeds up the tempo, which provides an effective
race- to- the- finish ending— one that is more dramatic
than the Mouza version. While the slower tempo choice
makes this interpretation less exciting than the first
example, it is more nuanced in the treatment of the musi-
cal material.
“ANOTHER HEARING” SAMPLE
MINI- ESSAY & RUBRIC
The two dif fer ent per for mances of Chopin’s Military
polonaise such as this, the performer is asked to consider the
dual nature of the work as both dance and short lyric piano
164 | Chapterfi39
— The student engages in thinking about the context of the
genre (character piece) and refers to specific knowledge
— The student references specific places in the piece by refer-
ring to the form, whenever pos si ble (see boldface text).
