Claire Huangci (USA)

26.10.2010

7 pm Museum of Japanese Art and Technology MANGGHA

               The Ballade in F major, Op. 38 was a source of rapture for Chopin's contemporary, Robert Schumann. It took its full form during the composer's stay in Majorca. Here Chopin employs totally opposite means of expression where a pastoral, idyllic theme is starkly contrasted with violent outbursts and ferocious emotions.
               The cycle of Mazurkas, op. 24 contains a stylized kujawiak, an oberek and a mazur. The fourth and last Mazurka in B flat minor is a real poetic dance where one can spot various different patterns. The Sonata in B flat minor is a vivid example of how musical form evolved with the emergence of new means of expression which culminated in the works of Mozart and Beethoven. Musicologist have long been discussing their general internal consistency though we definitely all agree on the consistency of the individual parts. The B flat minor Sonata's undoubted merit is being able to insert the content of these breakthroughs into the modified sonata form.
                Before Chopin, piano études were merely didactic pieces devoid of great artistic value. Their principal aim was to help young piano students master a concrete aspect of technical piano skills. In Chopin's work, études started to become lyrical miniatures, where these technical formulas become a means of expression. The Étude in A minor, op. 10 no. 2 is one of the most difficult of all Chopin's études. It helps the pianist develop finger independence (especially fingers 3, 4 and 5) without which he or she would end up suffering from acute pain in the hand. In the Étude in G flat major, op. 10 no. 5 the right hand uses only the black keys of the piano. Both these pieces demand extremely light and precise playing for each sound to be heard perfectly. Similar gracefulness and ease characterize the Waltz in F major, op. 34 no. 3. The work fascinates with its lightness and humour while the pianist shows off the dexterity of his fingers.
               The Polonaise-Fantasie in A flat major, op. 61 takes us to quite a different world. It is one of Chopin's last works and thus very meditative. Finally though, the melancholy gives way to the triumphant coda. With the G minor Ballad, op. 23 Chopin gave birth to a new genre. Although he needed his own form of expression, we see that could not dispense with the achievements of his predecessors. Here he makes use of thematic antithesis and reprisals.