Frederic Chopin Essays -- Musicians

Chopin pioneered the idea of creating a true artistic form from technical exercises, making his etudes historically important. Each etude has its own musical story to tell even though they adhere to a basic principle as a means to train and refine the performer’s technique. They are not simply dry and repetitive exercises like etudes prior to Chopin. There’s emotion behind his etudes that transcends from technicality and mere note playing to a true virtuosic artistry that is executed with delicate finery. This new development of technical exercises is a feature of a persistent musical aspect in Romantic period repertoire. Not only were these exercises used to improve the performer, they influenced other composers and became substantial material. The Revolutionary Etude is a great example of this technique, for in this work of art, one kind find complete aesthetic materials centered on real historical events. Frederic Chopin was a child prodigy. He was a virtuoso pianist and a talented Polish composer. He was born the year 1810 and died 1849. He spent his early years in Warsaw where he received his music education. His compositions reached a mature stage in Warsaw before he left in 1830. Chopin mostly composed for solo piano, however he wrote two piano concertos, a few chamber pieces, and a couple of Polish texts that he set to music. Chopin made many major innovations to the piano sonata, mazurka, waltz, nocturne, polonaise, etude, impromptu, scherzo, and prelude, all of which are important pieces of work that highlight Chopin as a virtuosic composer. Frederic Chopin composed three sets of solo studies specifically for the piano. Overall these sets consisted of twenty seven total compositions known as etudes. Within these... ...ldinger, Jean-Jacques, ed. Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: As Seen by His Pupils Cambridge University Press, 1989. Israel Studies in Musicology Vol. IV (Volume 4). publication place: Jerusalem: Israel Musicological Society 1987. Kornel Michałowski and Jim Samson. "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2186/subscriber/article/grove/music/ 51099(accessed April 12, 2012) Yun, Fred. Analysis of Etudes Op. 10 and Op 25. Our Chopin.http://www.ourchopin.com/ analysis/etude.html (accessed May 3, 2012) Huneker, James. 2007. Chopin: The Man and His Music. publication place: Echo Library. Alan, Walker. 1973. The Chopin companion: profiles of the man and the musician. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, Inc. Jonson, George Charles Ashton. 2010. A Handbook to Chopin's Works. publication place: Nabu Press.