Chopin: Shy Genius
Frederic Chopin, an eighteenth century composer, is remembered as one of the greatest of the romantic composers because of his style. He was a musical genius at an early age and he listened to what he felt about music rather than what the world tried to tell him about music. This might have been difficult but it made him stand out as a composer and, more importantly, it made his music stand out. Because he catered to no particular audience, his work appeals to many. The piano inspired Chopin and he took it upon himself to explore its diverse capabilities. The result is a distinct style that still speaks to diverse groups of listeners even now.
Chopin was a rugged individual. Alan Walker notes that Chopin was mostly self-taught and it is his relationship with the piano that was incredible. He was playing at the age of six and by the time he was 20, he was "fully formed" as a pianist. Walker maintains that Chopin's Twelve Etudes were "mostly composed to give himself new problems to solve" (Walker 21). He explored its "sonorities, translating into its idiomatic language gestures culled from symphonic and operatic literature as well as from popular and folkloristic materials" (Samson). Chopin was different from his contemporaries with his "complete lack of interest in technique as an end in itself" (20) and the "fashionable" (Samson) sources of inspiration in the nineteenth century "held little...
Les Preludes and Hamlet represent the pianist's symphonic poem. (Gmoser 72) Liszt also left his mark on operatic paraphrases for solo piano. Compared to the other composers, who were writing flashy introductions, Liszt's paraphrases and fantasies on operas were a "bolt of lightening against the flicker of a candle. He threw themes together in a contrapuntal melange; he changed harmonies; he exploited to the utmost every technical resource of his
Liszt conducted his own work possible, and whenever possible and he made no exception of this concert. The popularity of the two pieces was already well established; the score to Les Preludes had been published earlier in the same year as this, though it is likely that the pieces had not been heard in St. Gallen before as this is the first recorded visit of Liszt to the town
European music: Baroque vs. Romantic and Classical music Any non-contemporary orchestral music is often called 'classical' in a colloquial fashion. However, there are many varieties of music between the eras of the 15th century and our own besides what is technically associated with the classical period. Perhaps the most notable movement which laid the foundation for our own contemporary era of music is that of the Baroque period. Rather than naturalness,
Whether the particular piece was rough and rapid or soft and romantic, McDonald seemed to simply flow along with the music, letting it guide him as he guided it out of the piano and to our ears in with a full, natural and inspiring sound. I was also impressed by McDonald's ease with the crowd. Though there were no other musicians or anyone else onstage with him, he was perfectly
"O Sylvan Wye! thou wanderer thro' the woods, / How often has my spirit turned to thee!" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) Now, the poet wishes to "transfer" the healing powers of nature that he himself has experienced to his sister. By stating."..Nature never did betray / the heart that loved her" (http://www.uoregon.edu/~rbear/ballads.html) Wordsworth assures his sister that she will also find peace in the middle of nature if she believes in the
" (Fabrikant, 2006) Through having transposed Bach's originally melody to the lower and middle layers "Busoni achieves a vertical layering of melodies from different genres..." (Fabrikant, 2006) The top melodic layer is supplied by Busoni through creation of "his own or using imitation techniques. These melodies have a broken line and are organized in short motifs usually derived from the inner voices of Bach's score." This is utilized by Busoni in
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