Rzewski

Rzewski, another American composer, was born in 1933. His piece "Winnsboro Cotton-mill Blues, begins with a series of repeated bass notes that have a motoric feel. It sounds similar to a machine turing over and over. It has a strong rhythmic drive. As the work progresses so does the range and it moves to a higher register. Yet it always moves back to having a emphasis on the bass. About mid way through there is a very jazzy, improvisatory section, but then it returns back to the churning bass motion.

Adams

John Adams is an American minimalist composer. He wrote China Gates for the piano in 1977. He claims that the steady 8th notes throughout the piece represent "the steady rainfall of time." The form is in three parts, and is close to a palindrome.

Crumb

Crumb's music is influenced by a large array of previous composers. His music, like Debussy, prioritizes the actual sound and sonorities of music. It is almost all foreground and is easy to listen to. He wrote a lot of compositions based on symbols, like Messiaen. In his books of Makrokosmos, he wrote every 4th piece in a symbolic shape. In 1962 he wrote a set of 5 piano pieces. He uses many different techniques in these pieces, such as preparing some of the strings on the piano, strumming on some of the strings, and using a wide arrange of textures and registers on the piano.

Cage

Cage, 1912-1992, was an avant garde composer who studied with Cowell and Schoenberg. He also used many extended techniques, and furthered the development of the prepared piano. He, like other contemporaries of his, also explored music of chance.

Cowell

Henry Cowell, 1897-1965, was an American composer who did used many extended techniques on the piano. He wrote works like Aeolian Harp and the Banshee that required the performer to pluck and strum the strings. His music uses tone clusters, played by the hand or forearm, and relies greatly on overtones.

Berio

Berio is another italian composer, who did a lot of experimentation with electronic music. He wrote a series of Sequenzas for different instruments. Sequenza IV is written for piano. It also has a very thin texture. It uses a wide range and jumps around the keyboard.

Dallapiccola

Dallapiccola, an italian composer who lived from 1904-1975, was a serialist composer who was greatly influenced by the second Viennese school. His Quaderno Musicale di Annalibera is made up of 11 short movements. They almost have very thin textures. They begin in a very contemplative manner and have slow tempi.

Boulez

Boulez is a French composer who also studied with Messiaen. He composed a set of 12 Notations. His music has gone through many phases, based on serialism, new experimentations such as integrating improvisation in his music and giving the performer more freedoms, and electronic music.

Stockhausen

Stockhausen was a student of Messiaen, although he went in a much different musical direction. He explored electronic music and developed many new ways of notations music. His first four Klavierstucke remained very serial. His later ones began to use new techniques however. In no. 6 he made a tempo chart above the staff, no. 10 uses different angles of bars to represent accelerando and ritardando, and no.11 has 200 repetitions of the same chord. He also wrote pieces in an aleatorica style, which is based of chance. One of his works uses 19 bits of music that you play in any order you feel creating a different performance each time.

Messiaen

Messiaen has many very distinct influences in his music. One is his synastheticism. He is able to create many different musical colors based on this. His interest in color went even deeper. He was very interested in stain glass windows, and using the inspiration of their colors for his music. He tried to replicate bird songs in his music and in 1958 wrote a catalogue of birds. He is probably most famous for writing the Quartet for the end of time, written in 1940 in a concentration camp. For keyboard repertoire he is most known for his set of pieces entitled "Give my regards to Jesus." These were written not long after, in 1944. There are 20 small pieces each giving a different view of the birth of Jesus. Some of them are known for there very slow tempos that cause the listener to contemplate the music rather than feel it moving them in a certain direction.

Barber

Barber's Piano Sonata op. 26, composed in 1949, has a very improvisatory feel to it. This is likely due to his influence from jazz. It has a very thick texture with many different idea's emerging through it. He uses a wide range in the register to build intensity but comes back to a more central register when it pulls back.

Copland

Copland's Piano Variations consist of 20 variations. It was written in 1930 and is based off of Bach's c sharp minor fugue, book I. It can be identified by its sparse texture, the use of upward and downward motion on the piano and meter irregularity.

Prokofiev

Prokofiev was known for his nationalistic compositions. His 6th Sonata, along with the 7th and 8th, are known as the war sonatas. His music is very distinct in that it is very dry, has motoric rhythms, and has biting sonorities. He did not try to hide the dissonance of his music but rather was proud of it. His music always has ties to tonal centers though.

Shastakovich lived during the same period that Prokofiev did but was much less compliant to Stalin. Prokofiev outwardly obeyed Stalin's nationalistic desires of music. Shastakovich was censored by authority and was told his music should be accessible to workers. He wrote a set of 24 Preludes, Op. 34, and another set of 24 Preludes and Fugues Op. 84. The final prelude and fugue in d minor, begins with large chord clusters. The texture becomes much thinner and it ends that way, making a smooth transition into the fugue which is a double fugue and shares the same key of Bach's final fugue.

Ginastera

Ginastera, considered the most famous Latin American composer, had three main periods to his music. The Objective Nationalism period from 1934-1948, the Subjective Nationalism period from 1948-1958, and a period of Neo-Expressionism from 1958-1983. His piano sonata no. 1, op. 22, was composed in 1952, which was his Subjective Nationalistic period. During this period he would include Argentine folk themes in abstract forms. This sonata, made up of four movements, use a very driving rhythm, a lot of chromaticism, and folk melodies and ornamentation. Each movement uses material that is repeated multiple times and developed throughout the movement. The range throughout each movement, and the sonata as a whole is very huge. The third movement, in particular, is much slower and thinner in texture than the other movements, but it builds back up in the fourth movement.

Hindemith

Hindemith was a German composer who lived from 1895 to 1963. During the empowerment of the Nazi's he was termed as writing degenerative music. Eventually, in 1942, he left Germany took on a professorship at Yale. His Suite "1922" is made up of five American dance styles. They are the Marsch, Shimmy, Nachtstuck, Boston, and Ragtime. Marsch begins with a very dissonant introduction and continues with a very rhythmic emphasis. There is a repeated falling chromatic pattern throughout the movement. The second movement that is interjected between the chords. The shimmy has a more free feel to it with the same descending chromatic five note line as in the Marsch. It is much more prominent in this movement though. The Nachtstuck, or Nocturne, is much slower and lyrical. It still remains very dissonant though. The Boston has a very chromatic melody line, with a folk influence. It has an almost improvisatory feel composed of slow, more contemplative melodies which suddenly burst into a stream of notes. The final movement, the ragtime, is like the first one in that it is very rhythmic. It seems to use more syncopation though, and plays around with the rhythms.

Szymanowski

Szymanowski is probably the most famous Polish composer since Chpin. Needless to say, he was inspired by Chopin, was well as Scriabin, Debussy, Strauss, and Stravinsky. His music tends to be very chromatic, remains tied to tonality, uses exoticism, and is very coloristic.

Milhaud

Milhaud was another French composer. His music, unlike many other composers we have studied, was influenced by Jazz. This can be heard in many of the rhythmic elements of Saudades do Brasil. He is also known for his use of polytonality. Saudades do Brasil is a suite of 12 short dances, about 2 minutes each. They are based off of South American rhythms. There are two types of Saudedes, ones that feature a Brazilian dance rhythm in the left hand with a slow, simple melodic right hand in a different key. The other type of Saudedes plays polytonal chords on the down beats in both hands emphasizing the rhythm of the music.

Poulenc

Poulenc was a very versatile French composer, composing chamber music, ballet music, orchestral music, and probably most famous for his art songs. His music is very french sounding in that it has a clear texture, has much lyricism, has a transparent texture and uses harmonies that still sound pleasing. This qualities can all be heard in his piano piece, Napoli, a suite for the piano. It is composed of three movements, a Barcarolle, Nocturne, and Caprice Italien. The Barcarolle has a very clear texture. All the parts are very distinguishable, and the melody remains prominent. It is very short however, and lasts only about one minute. The second movement is much different than the other two movements. It begins with an arpeggiated pattern in the base that repeats through much of the piece. This is very similar to Chopin's nocturnes. It is very lyrical and sounds like melody and accompaniment. The third movement has a fuller sound with more "crunchy" sounding chords. Throughout the large build up however, it remains very lyrical, giving it its French sound.

Stravinsky

Stravinsky's Sonata, like many of his other compositions, uses music from the past. It is similar to Bach's keyboard concerti because of the base line. His first movement is almost entirely pizzacato in the left hand left hand. The second movement begins with a trill. The majority of it is a melody above two note groupings in the bass. The last movement begins almost fugue like. It is similar to Beethoven Op. 54 Sonata last movement.

Bartok

Bartok, like many composers, had multiple periods to his musical career. His first period, lasting from 1907 to 1917, was strongly influenced by folk music. This can be heard in Allegro Barbaro, which was composed in 1911. He uses scales from both Hungarian and Romanian folk tunes. Hungarian folk music is largely based off of the pentatonic scale, while the Romanian folk tunes are based more off of chromatic scales. This piece begins in a "Tempo Giusto" style, which has a quicker and more biting sound. The middle section might be considered Parlando Rubato because it is slower, with a thinner texture, and chant like melody. Throughout the entire piece, however, the melody remains very similar, filled with a lot of half steps and ornamentation similar to the many folk songs Bartok was so familiar with.

Bartok's second period was from 1918 to 1935. It was at the beginning of this period that he composed Op. 20, in 1920. In this opus was Bartok's improvisations on Hungarian peasant songs. These are, like mentioned before, largely structured on the pentatonic scale. The harmonies are much more dissonant in this work than in Allegro Barbaro, which is characteristic of his second period. The texture is much sparser and he accentuates the biting sound.

Janacek and Dohnanyi

Many composers we have looked at previously have been influenced by folk music. This is also the case for composers Janacek and Dohnanyi. Their folk influence can be heard in both "From and Overgrown Path" and "Ruralia Hungarica." Both are a collection of short movements, maybe similar to a collection of folk songs. Both use dotted rhythms, taken from folk influences. Janacek, specifically, was influenced by speech. He studied the Czeck speech to develop "speech tunes." Janacek is also regarded as a nationalistic composer. Dohnanyi was not, although he did work closely with Bartok who was a nationalistic composer. He wrote his music based off of Hungarian folk music, his music is strongly tied to traditional western art music.

Ives and Griffes

Ives was one of the most influential figures to 20th century music. What is most interesting about him compared to most other composers, is that he composed as a hobby. His main occupation was selling insurance. He was well versed in music however, probably because of the way his father encouraged him to explore music growing up. His father wanted him to have an open mind in music, and to look into bi-tonality and polytonal harmonies. One exercise he would have Charles do was to sing in one key while he would accompany it in another key, maybe only a half step away from the original key. This different way of looking and exploring music is probably what made him such an innovative composer. Probably his most famous work is the piano sonata no. 2. The third movement, Alcotts, begins very lyrical with a clear tonality. The tonality begins to become more ambiguous as it goes along. More chord clusters are heard as the texture builds up. He also throws in the motive from Beethoven's fifth symphony but constantly is changing it and building upon it. The music builds up and becomes more disturbed but always seems to die back down to a more peaceful atmosphere of sound. This is much different from the pieces "Some South-Paw Pitching" which begins with a single chord before breaking out into clusters. It again has a lyrical quality but Ives uses many different textures and articulations back to back, like a staccato left hand phrase, juxtaposed with a slurred, washed sound right after.

Griffes was another influential American composer. His music has been known to be very impressionistic. His 3 Tone Pictures clearly represent that. The first movement is titled "The Lake at Evening." It has a repeated pattern of notes in the left hand that occur under the melody throughout most of the piece. This helps create unity throughout the whole piece, maybe trying to portray the stillness of the lake. The second movement is titled "The Vales of Dreams." It has a lot of embellishments in the melody, with a very free, rubato feeling to it. This creates a very "dream-like" state. The last movement,"The Night Winds," has running arpeggiated patterns up and down to the piano with a melody intertwined. He uses this flourishing motion to depict the winds.

The Second Viennese School

Around 1900 came the rise of the second Viennese School. It is interesting that they considered themselves to be continuing the tradition of the first Viennese School (Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven), yet their music sounds so different. Their music began to explore expressionism, which is the condensation of meaning, uses atonality as a freedom of expectation, and attempts to release subconsciousness.

Schoenberg’s Op. 33a piano piece is largely based off of 12 tone writing. It uses melodic material that sounds like it is interrupted by clusters of chords. It can sound very disjunct, although is easier to understand than Webern's Piano Variations Op. 27, who was a student of Schoenberg. His music can be hard to grasp, although if you study the score you realize it is much more methodical than it sounds. The first movement is composed of palindromes. It in in ABA form, which is again, coming back to traditional forms like the first Viennese School. The second movement was written in repeated binary form, and the third movement is variation form. Alban Berg, another student of Schoenberg’s, could be considered the easiest to follow. It is based on tonality, and uses chromaticism that is similar to Scriabin’s writing. He uses the same developmental and motivic practices that the first Viennese School used. So although the music of these composers may seem very different from the German composers preceding them, they were just developing the styles further.

Composers of Spain

From the late 1800’s to early 1900’s there were three central composers in Spain: Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, and Manuel de Falla. All three of these composers have certain similar elements that make their music very “Spanish” sounding, although all three wrote very different works. Some of the most prominent influences that are in their music are Moorish influence, which was from Northern Africa. This is what attributes to the gypsy like sound in the music. The Flamenco, which were songs and dances of Andalusia, also have a strong influence on their music. All three of these composers also studied under the same teacher, Felipe Pedrell, which could also account for many of their similarities.

Albeniz’s music tends to have a lot of heavy clusters and clashy chords. His music is full of accidentals. His music has four main elements: dance rhythms, cante hondo (songs with themes about love, sorrow, and death), exotic scales, and guitar idoms. These qualities can be heard in Triana. It begins with a staccato pattern that is repeated through out the rest of the piece, giving it a dance like quality. The melody is like the cante hondo, full of emotion, and composed of exotic scales. There are guitar like passages mixed in to give it the sound of strumming.

In Granados piece, La Maja Y el Ruisenor, there is much less drive to the music and a more lyrical presence. It is similar to a nocturne. He uses a lot of ornamentation in the music, although it is much more straight forward than Albenez’s music. The ornamentation and melody sounds very “spanish” with the moorish, gypsy-like, sound. The end of the piece, is much different from the rest, and is almost like an afterthought. It is supposed to sound like the nightengale, and is full of trills and flourishes of notes.

Falla’s work, Fantasia Baetica, begins much different from the other two pieces. It starts out with a very driving rhythm, and a pattern that sounds like hard strumming on a guitar. The middle of the work dies down, with more melodic material that is composed of the Moorish styles. There is a single line with a continued strumming in the accompaniment. This does not last long however, and the music picks pack up, with the glissando along with key board and many exotic scales.

Ravel

Ravel also had many stylistic qualities similar to Debussy. One thing that differentiated his writing from Debussy was his constant stream of fast notes. One can hear this in Jeux d’eau, and Tombeau de Couperin. His writing uses very interesting harmony and has a very blended sound. This is one characteristic that makes his music very impressionistic. It feels like there is a lot of freedom in the music, yet he wrote very precisely. He did not like rubato in his music. and built it in through the writing for the performer. He relied on a stream of notes to create a sense of freedom for the listener.

Debussy

One of the most notable composers to venture away from the Germanic style of writing is Claude Debussy. He would not go for “normal” ideas of the time. A lot of his music is influenced by eastern styles as well. At this time globalization was becoming a bigger idea and people could travel much easier. In 1889 he experienced the Javanese Gamelan at the International Exposition. He then transferred the sounds he heard from the gamelan ensemble into his own piano works. The music for this ensemble is largely based on the pentatonic scale. Debussy also used the pentatonic scale, and the whole tone scale, in much of his compositions. These different components can be heard in many of his pieces, such as Images, L’isle joyeuse, and his collection of Preludes.

Another interesting thing that Debussy did, which could be considered to have been abnormal, was the style that he wrote his etudes. For example, les cinq doigts begins with a simple Hanon like exercise, with other notes added in to interupt it. He turns a tedious execise into a humerous etude.

Scriabin and Rachmaninov

Many Russian composers, such as the mighty five, became successful by creating a new, nationalistic style of music. Some, however, received recognition by staying true to the already established western style. The most famous composers to do this were Rachmaninov and Scriabin.

Rachmaninov’s Prelude in Op. 32 no. 10 is a prime example of western style writing. He uses a melody based off of motives. One trait specific to Rachmaninov is that he uses such small ranges in the melody and uses a lot of stepwise motion. He uses this technique to develop this lyrical prelude. Another piece that is a good example of this is Prelude Op. 23 no. 4. It begins with a very small range, often going back and forth between only a second interval. As the piece continues, however, the range expands, intensifying the music. Both of these preludes also use a continuous arpeggiated pattern as a “background,” which was another stylistic quality to Rachmaninov’s music. The arpeggiations always follow the normal harmonic progressions used in western music though, and create very straight forward phrasing.

Scriabin, on the other hand, drifted farther and farther away from the usual use of harmonies over time. Although he didn’t follow the direction of the Might Five, he did drift away from the common western style composition that he began from. He had four musical periods during his life, beginning with a very Chopin influenced first period. By the time he reached his last period (op. 60 onward) he was composing music that some considered to be atonal. The etudes nos. 10-12 from opus , were composed in his “Chopin” period. They have more straightforward harmonies, a motivic melody, and arppegiated accompaniments. His later works start to move away into a more individual style he creates. Sonata no. 5 was written in his third period, and has more unity than his later sonatas. It is more of a transitional piece, still having ties to the style and form of sonatas preceding it, yet drifting away from it and leading to the future sonatas which would have no harmonic contrast. In his last period he had separated his style completely from the typical western style. In his 5 preludes of Op. 74 he uses very obscure harmonies and unclear phrasing and direction.

Russian Composers

Before the 1860’s Russia did not have much influence on the western musical world. It was in that decade that the St. Petersburg conservatory opened, and the “Mighty Five” began to emerge. They consisted of composers: Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Qui, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Borodin. These five composers wanted to create a new style of music that could represent an emerging Russian style. They tried to diverge from the “norm” by doing away with typical developmental procedures, sonata form, and standard harmonic function. Instead they attempted to parallel their music with language. By doing this they could create music specific to their own culture that was very nationalistic. This connection can be seen in many specific pieces of these composers.

Language had a large influence on Mussorgsky’s “Pictures from an Exhibition.” He does so by the rhythmic and melodic shapes he uses, a technique referred to as intonatsiia. This can be heard specifically in the third piece from “Pictures from an Exhibition.” The third one, titled “Dispute d'enfants apres jeux” (Dispute between Children at Play) has a two note sequence that requires. This sounds like children coaxing one another and saying "nah nah nah nah ". Another example of speech can be heard in “La grande nouvelle” (The Market at Limoges.) Mussorgsky uses music in this one to represent a group of women quarreling at the market. He is able to make this vision clear by writing music that sounds like speech, and furthermore, arguing. Balakirev also uses language as an influence in his music, which gives it it’s Russianistic quality. His most famous piece for the piano is Islamey, known for its technically demanding writing. This piece was written after he traveled to Caucasus, a region in Eurasia. Part of the region is in Russia, giving the influence a nationalistic style. He used the influence of Russian folk songs and language to create Islamey.

When discussing the "Mighty Five" it is also important to note Tchaikovsky, who was active around this time. His music contains a nationalistic quality, in that it has a modally influenced melody and harmony, as well as an introspective character. He did not try to follow the styles of the Might Five however. Tchaikovsky was seen as too "academic" for the Might Five. Yet his music is probably the most famous of all to this day, and is one of the first composers to be thought of regarding Russia.

Franck, Faure, and Grieg

Up until the late 1800's German composers dominated the musical world. It was around the mid 1800's that composers Cesar Franck (1822-1890), Gabriel Faure (1845-1924), and Edvard Grieg (1842-1907) were actively composing. This was a very interesting time in the compositional world. Many changes were being made as far as what techniques composers were following. Some were fighting to maintain the way of the past, such as Brahms and Schumann, while others, as Liszt, were causing radical changes in composition and the liberties that were acceptbale to take.

Franck was born in Belgium, close to the border of France. An important property to his music was the use of cyclical form. This can be heard in his Prelude Choral and Fugue, when the theme from the prelude returns in the fugue. His music followed a harmonic structure that was similar to Liszt and Wagner's style. His students claim that he would always tell them to modulate, showing how highly he valued modulatory material in his music. Some of this might to attributed to the fact that he was a very skilled organist.

Faure was probably the most famous french composer of his time. He, like Franck, was also an active organist. The most striking quality of his musical style is probably his harmonic language. His music will always move to unexpected places, yet always makes sense afterwards. The genre he is most known for is the art song. This ability to create such effective melodies can be heard in his 6th nocturne. If you were to take out the melody in this nocturne the harmony would not make much sense. This is because of his harmonic complexity and surprising arrivals. He uses the melody to create a work that makes sense to the listener.

Grieg was a norwegian composer. His music is much different from both Franck and Faure. His harmonies seem much simpler. His music encorporates folk tunes and styles. He is a very nationalistic composer and focuses on nature for many of his works. He wrote many smaller works for the piano, especially lyric pieces. He, liek Faure, was very good at writing melodies. Grieg kept them much more simple however. His melodies were often much more repetative, and didn't rely on such obscure harmonic progressions.

Brahms

Just as Liszt got inspiration from other composers, so did Brahms. What they each did with that inspiration differed dramatically however. Liszt looked foward used the influence from past composers to create his own style. Brahms on the otherhand stuck more to tradition. He looked more to history and adapted it more to the style of the time, while keeping it as true to tradition as possible. This can be seen in his third piano sonata. He remains true to the typical form, creating a clear exposition, development, and recap in the first movement. The exposition is also repeated, which was common of classical sonatas. Brahms gave the sonata a cyclical quality so that the five movement work would fit together as an entire piece. There are many similarities in the second and fourth movement. He also uses D flat major as the key of the development of the first movement, the andante movement, the trio, and the second espidoe in the rondo. This helps tie the piece together as a whole, which was something Beethoven especially began to develop in his sonatas. Brahms stayed true to tradition, espcially with the form of the sonata, but he did make changes for the times. First of all the sonata was composed in 5 movements, which was uncommon. Brahms was known for his large chord passages, sometimes even melodic chordal passages. This is, in fact, how he begins the sonata.

The third sonata was composed when Brahms was only 20 years old. So it was very early in his life of composing. At that time he usually composed pieces in forms that were common to the past, such as sonatas and variations. Later on in life, however, he gravitated more toward character pieces. Op. 117 consists of three intermezzi. In these pieces Brahms does not try to create a virtuosic sound that was popular for the time. He remains loyal to the practices of the composers before him like Mendelssohn and Schumann by sticking to a simple form. Where he does vary, however, is in his choice of harmonies and counterpoint. In the large picture Brahms has stuck to the past. It had worked before, so why change it? Instead of changing the musical styles of the past he just adds elements that were being developed at the time. He was able to create the perfect balancing of knowing how much to change to what had already existed. This ability is what has made his music so timeless.

Liszt and his inspiration

Liszt is arguably the most well known performer for the piano. He could create sounds that had never been heard before that time. Aside from performing though, he was one of the greatest composers to have lived. One thing I find particularly interesting about him is where his inspiration for many of his compositions came from. He like many composers before him, created music based on other instruments or art forms rather than imagining only the piano.

One of his most famous genre of pieces is his etudes. La Campanella is very popular, known for its large leaps and other technical difficulties like trills with weaker fingers. This piece was written based off of Paganini’s second violin concerto. In 1831 Liszt saw Paganini perform in concert, and from that point on was inspired to be the “Paganini” for the piano. Thus he modeled pieces, like La Campanella, off of him and his violin playing.

Another major genre that Liszt explored was the Hungarian Rhapsody. He wrote 19 of them in total. He modeled them after the verbunkos, which is the gypsy dance containing two parts, a slower part called the lassu, and a faster part called the friss. These two complementary sections can be heard in one of his most famous rhapsodies, number 2, in c sharp minor. The Hungarian Rhapsody is very flashy, which is probably why it was so appealing to Liszt. Like the pieces inspired by Paganini, Liszt took another musical form that he admired and made it possible to emulate on the piano.

Liszt was also largely influenced by song and opera. He is known for his many transcriptions for the piano. Just a couple of his most famous ones are Auf dem wasser zu singen, a song written by Schubert, and Reminiscences of Don Juan, based off of themes from Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In many cases his transcriptions of songs for the piano became more popular than the original work itself. This shows how effective his compositions were, and his talent for taking a song and making it work for the piano. The influence of song and opera on his music can be seen in a more subtle way in otehr compositions, such as the sonata in b minor, that has influences from Faust.

Its ironic that Liszt had such an ability to take music written for other instruments, songs, or even dances, and create a work that was suitable for the piano based off of that, yet the vast majority of his compositions were only for piano. He took sounds that were not intended for the piano and learned how to make them on the instrument anyway. This is why he is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time.

Chopin's Second Sonata

Chopin’s second Sonata is the most well known out of the three piano sonatas. This is probably attributed to the famous third movement, or Funeral March. I think the most interesting movement in the sonata is the fourth movement. It directly follows the sorrowful, very melodious funeral march. It is such a quick outburst of notes though that it is hard to figure out how it fits into the sonata. It only lasts about a minute and a half. It is definitely not a lyrical movement, as the previous ones. The movement contains no rests or even a chord until the final bar. The fourth movement is almost as though it is an afterthought to the funeral march. Many people find the sonata hard to interpret because each movement seems so disconnected from one another. I think that is what makes this piece so amazing though. It is like life itself. Sometimes there seems though there is no connection at all. Instead of trying to make piece that is easy to understand, he writes with his feelings and his raw emotions can be heard in the music.

Barcarolle

When I listened to the Barcarolle I had a hard time understanding what Chopin’s intentions were in composing this piece. Then I realized I didn’t really know what a Barcarolle was in the first place. A Barcarolle is a folk song sung by Venetian gondoliers. It is supposed to have a rhythm that portrays a gondolier’s stroke, usually characterized by a 6/8 meter. This image of a Venetian Gondolier is very romantic, which is typical of Chopin. He begins the piece with a typical Chopin style left hand that is a continuous arpeggiated pattern. This is a very effective way of representing the water and the paddeling of the gondolier. The melody begins and has a very swaying melody with dotted rhythms. I think this piece is one of Chopin’s greatest works since it really showcases what he was best at. He can take an image, such as the Barcarolle, and somehow create a piece of music that represents it perfectly.

Chopin's Mazurkas

When you think of a Mazurka written for the piano, you probably immediately think Chopin. He was the one that made the Mazurka so famous. The Mazurkas are very interesting in that they do not seem to be very technically demanding. They are difficult in a much more subtle way. The biggest struggle in the Mazurkas is just figuring out the timing. The Mazurkas are based off of a dance, which has three main forms. They are the mazur, oberek, and kujawiak. It is important to think of them as a dance in order to figure out how to place the notes. The music needs to have a strong sense of pulse, yet remain free like a dancer. The Mazurkas are ideal pieces for pianists to practice when working on their sense of rubato and timing because they are so short and simplistic. The timing can be the focus of the piece. And there are so many (Chopin wrote 60!) that one can get plenty of practice in that skill just by studying these Mazurkas.

Chopin's Preludes

Chopin’s set of 24 Preludes are some of the most well known works for the piano. Yet, they are quite odd in how they were constructed. They were inspired by Bach’s Preludes and Fugues. Usually a prelude is meant to introduce something (like a Fugue in Bach’s case), yet Chopin wrote them each as solo pieces. He also never specifies how they were meant to be performed. Whether they are to be played as a set as one large work, or are each an individual piece with no relation to one another. They have been performed both ways are the topic is up for debate. Personally I think it is worth playing them as a set because Chopin has connected them so that they flow well into the next piece. In some cases he would begin a prelude with the same note, or chord tones, from the previous prelude. The range of emotion that Chopin uses in his preludes is also one of the most striking elements to them. I think that he constructed them in a way that was supposed to lead you from one emotion into another and that you lose this emotional path Chopin has created when you perform them alone.

Mendelssohn vs. Clara

It is interesting to compare the lives of Felix Mendelssohn and Clara Schumann since they had such different life styles. One grew up in a wealthy family without having to worry about making enough money to survive. The other had to raise seven children while caring for her husband. They both had specific circumstances that would overcome their successfulness as musicians, yet their hardships were on complete different sides of the spectrum.
Mendelssohn lived from 1809 to 1847 into a wealthy family. As a child his talent was comparable to Mozart. He, on the other hand, never got better. This was probably attributed to the fact that he didn’t have to work as hard for his money. He was used to getting what he wanted and never fully dedicated himself to music. His high point as a musician was probably when he was as young as 15, and composed an octet. Mendelssohn was also a jew, which would also hinder his success in the field of music.
Clara Schumann, on the other hand, had much different circumstances. She was making quite a name for herself before she married Robert Schumann. She was a well-known performer and was also composing. Once she was married though, she became the primary bread barer. Because of this she was unable to continue much composing. Clara also had the duty of raising seven children and taking care of Robert, who needed a lot of support. She succeeded him by 42 years when he died in 1854. After this she had to raise the family entirely on her own. This responsibility obviously would hinder her musical achievement. Another obvious set back that she had to deal with was the fact that she was a woman.
Both Mendelssohn and Clara had completely different issues that would hold them back from being the musicians they could have been. This makes me wonder what they could have been if they had lived more similar lives to that of other composers. What is Mendelssohn had had a similar upbringing to that of Mozart? Would he have accomplished more than Mozart even did? Or what if Clara had the same opportunities that her husband Robert, a man, had had? Would she have outdone him?

Schumann: Fantasy

Throughout Schumann’s music he makes very obvious references to people and influences he has had in his life, more so than many other composers do. To understand his music it is important to understand his life, and the relationships he had. The most influential person on Schumann’s music was undoubtedly Clara Wieck. She was the daughter of his first piano teacher. Schumann was in contact with Clara a lot since he had lived in the same household with her as he studied with her father. In 1835 Schumann came to the realization that he was in love with Clara. When her father discovered this he forced Clara and Robert to be separated. The next few years to come would be some of Robert’s most successful years of composing music. During this time he wrote arguably one of the most moving works he ever wrote, the Fantasy in C. It was written in 1838 when he was separated from Clara. This would explain where the intense emotion from this piece came from. It uses a repeated descending 5-note pattern that references to Clara. He even writes that there is a secret song in the second movement, which again, is intended for Clara. In order to capture the correct character of this piece it is important to realize what was happening in Schumann’s life at the time and the longing and desire he was feeling.

Schumann: Symphonic Etude's

Schumann’s Symphonic etudes are very fascinating for the fact that they are etudes. He also had referred to them as “Etudes in the Form of Variations.” This is more accurate in describing this collection since it is based off of the theme from Ernest Von Fricken’s flute theme and variations. I find the set of pieces particularly interesting since they are etudes, yet they do not contain many musical elements that a standard etude has. There are no long scale passages or arpeggiated patterns. In many etudes, like those of Chopin or Liszt, there is a clear aspect to piano technique that is being focused on. These pieces are not as clear in what the study is actually about. This forms a work that is much more diverse, with an abundance of different characters that Schumann is so good at creating.

Papillons vs. Carnaval

Papillons and Carnaval are two of Schumann’s most widely known pieces. This could be because of their similar structure, which are composed of many small pieces strung together to create a larger work. Each small piece exemplifies a different emotion which may be why they are enjoyed so much by both audiences and performers. At least this is what I find so fascinating in these two pieces. Schumann was very in tune with his different emotions, so much that he had analyzed his different personalities to the point of giving them specific names. The most famous are Eusebius, who was the more reserved side, and Florestan, the more outgoing and daring side. I think it is this self-awareness that Schumann had that helped him to create such successful music. He was able to create these different personalities that he was mindful of, giving the music a wide range of emotion. Both Papillons and Carnaval illustrate his amazing ability of capturing his feelings and pouring them into his compositions. There is one major difference between the two, however. Papillons was composed based of the literal work of someone else, where as Carnaval was composed from Schumann’s own personal experiences.

Papillons, composed before Carnaval in 1832, was based off of Jean-Paul Richter’s novel Flegejahre. It is based off a scene at a masked ball. Each small piece is a scene from the ball, such as a boot carrying itself in the third piece, a couple gazing at each other from a distance in the fifth piece, or Walt (a character from the novel) gently touching his love, Wina. Unlike in Carnaval, Schumann did not make up these characters and instead based them off someone else’s imagination. This is not a surprise since Schumann had such a passionate interest in literature. His father was an editor, publisher, author, and librarian, which could have sparked his interest. Later on in life Schumann became an editor for Die Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik. He constantly was fusing his love for writing and literature with music.

Carnaval, on the other hand, was not based on one literary work and was instead written based on specific people in his life. Because of this one could claim that is it a more imaginable composition. Furthermore it is more connected to Schumann’s own life. This piece was also written later than Papillons, in 1834, when he was a more mature composer. Carnaval is based on the four notes: A, E flat, C, and B, which mean ASCH in German. Asch was the town where his fiance Ernestine von Fricken was born. He then personalizes the piece even more by separating it into smaller pieces that represent people that were important in his life such as Chopin, Clara, Eusebius, Florestan, Paganini etc. Schumann composed his own story taking the listener on a journey through Carnaval, an annual celebrattion in Germany. The Carnaval, however, is composed of people from his own life.

I think the fact that Carnaval is composed from Schumann’s own experiences and perceptions of people in his life makes it a much more impressive work. Although it does quote things from other sources, it is not based off of someone else’s creation as Papillons is. By familiarizing yourself with this work you are able to learn a lot about Schumann, his life, and his personal feelings.