imslp86566 pmlp01970 chopin troisetudesfriedheim

8/6/2019 IMSLP86566 PMLP01970 Chopin TroisEtudesFriedheim

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SCHIRMER'S LIBRARYOF MUSICAL CLASSICS

Vol. 33

i d , z c . : t < 6FREDER IC CHOP IN

ETUDESFor the Piano

Revised and Fingered byARTHUR FRIEDHEIM

With a General Prefatory Note byJAMES HUNEKER

and Introductory Remarks byARTHUR FRIEDHEIM

G. SCHIRMER, Inc. NewYorkCopyright. 1916. by G. Schirmer, Inc.


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~ I II :'~,!I t ~ 1, INTRODUCTORYIn every age there have been individual I who only a LilZt could write in luch a manner aboutdilputecl the value of all tradition-if they did a Chopin. All who ever heard Liszt are agreednot roundly deny it. Now, hardly one case in a that he, after his so-called "best years," wal thethousand il better adaptecl to leocl countenance to most objective piano-player that can be imagined,luch views, than the Chopin Edition of C. Mikuli. inasmuch as his entire individuality wal mergedAfter the very rational, quietly objective Preface in that of the composer whom he wal interpretingone would expect a trustworthy, well-informed -hence the convincing effect. Until the very endpide through blest and unblest realml of enchant- (in 1886) h,is intellectual vigor wal astounding;ment; instead of which one usually finds himself and, although towards 1883 his sovereign masteryconfronted, 10 to speak, by a hedge of stubborn, of technique began to abate, there were day.thorny fingerings and Ihapelessly twisted, truncat- when the old magic asserted itself in undiminisheded expression- and tempo-marks, behind which a power, and the burden of age seemed to be thrownnaughty rogue seems to be calling out mockingly off. Now, when one has heard, let me lay, theat the trustful beginner: "Come along, keep on majority of these ttudes played repeatedly bytryingl you'll never get through!" At intervall Liszt; when, moreover, he hal heard in hundred.may be found empty expanses where liberty reignl of lessons and on other occasion. pretty muchuntrammeled, for nothing (aside from the bare everything that Liszt had to set forth concerningframework of notes) it to be seen except a few them; such a person must certainly be endowedwandering, scattered pedal-marks. Should the with a remarkably treacherous memory if, after

metronomic signpost happen to bear a number aU this, he were not well posted. Here the eb-leu than 20 degrees higher or lower than it ought jection will be raised, that a. early a. the 'Mticatobe, one il agreeably surprised. And the crowning two Chopin editions had already emanated fromjoke is, that aU this is supposed to be by the com- Liszt'. entourage, one of which wal bad, and thepole!' himself. Only one who feels impelled to other not good, Now then, the following explana-follow up this "legitimate" apostle of Chopin tion may sound jocular, but is meant quite leriously.measu:-e by measure, i. in a position thoroughly At that time these young men were 10 fully underto appreciate all that has been achieved here on the obsession of the tendency then known a. thethe basil of a Jl&ostintimate misunderstanding of "music of the future," that their minds werethe instrument. However, the piano-playing world hardly accessible to anything else. Later, al theirpaned sentence on it long ago, 10no further word. horizon broadened, they went their own way andare necessary. achieved great things. Another striking exampleNone the less, anyone who rejecta tradition of this state of mind is found in Biilow'. celebratedeetI himself in opposition tothe facts, as il evidenced Beethoven edition, which, despite ita many goodby the history of the artl. Let us beware of taking points, in the main betrays to the initiated howthe shadow for the .ubstance. little he had learned, at the time, from Liazt.With the present edition an attempt has even Matten were different with young Anton Rubin-been made to establish a tradition at second-hand, stein, who might often have been seen at that periodTrue, the man from whom thi. tradition is derived as a guest in Weimar. He had nev~en directly_a. Dot merely by far the most renowned pianiat a pupil of Liszt's; at fint, circumstances were toof the last century, itself most productive of virtuosi blame; but in Weimar he was already a finished(not to mention pioneer composers of the first artist, whereas others of the same age were lunrank), but also enjoyed, while a youth of nearly occupied in scaling the height of Pamalsus. Rubin-the lame age a. Chopin, .uch intimate intellectual stein gave little heed to the music of the future atintercourse with him that in Paris, in the early he went hil way; on the other hand, he greedily\hirties, they were called the Dioscuri. The ttudel absorbed from Liszt everything that suited hi.of Op. 10are dedicated to Liszt, and the two friends temperament. And while he approached Liszt morediacussed every detail most thoroughly before nearly than any of the others, he came nearest tohimIUrrendering the booklet to the printer, as Liszt in his interpretation of Chopin's compositions.frequently related. Thus it is only natural that Even as a boy, I was quite familiar with theaeLiazt should have been the first to introduce twenty-seven ttudes; therefore, when I heard eightChopin's name to the European public on his of them played in Petrograd by Rubinstein onconcert-toun. And twenty yean later he published an evening in 1873, the impression Wat aU thea book which can never be surpassed, bCCo1USCtronger. Naturally, I missed no opportuQity of

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hearkening to these revelations, and the yearsnext ensuing afforded not a few. But when, afterthis, I came to Liszt, I soon became aware thatI had now reached the true source of the Rubin-stein revelation-without, of course, in the leastbelittling the value and greatness of the latter.

Now, while Liszt's career as a virtuoso wascomparatively short, and much of his teaching fell,even with his best pupils, on barren ground, asthe above-noted celebrated examples show, Rubin-stein exercised a truly enormous pedagogical in-fluence throughout his forty-year course as aconcert-pianist. More especially during the lasttwenty years of his life, students and teacherseverywhere stormed the concert-halls, no matterwhether they had to pay high for their tickets orwere granted free admission through Rubinstein'smunificence. This influence makes itself felt downto the present day; for the youngest among ourprominent pianists differ, on the whole, but littleone from the other as regards conception. Be itunderstood, that this refers to Chopin exclusively.To a certain extent, therefore, a tradition actuallyexists-is alive; but as no one has hitherto thoughtto set it down on paper in a form as uncorrupt aspossible, it was time that this should be done byone who is justified, by his own past experience,in giving his opinion in the matter.

Concerning the details of the present edition,the following observations are to be made.

First, with regard to the fingering. There isno infallible, universal fingering, because, on accountof variability in the shape of the hand, none suchcan be formulated. But there is such a thing asa normal, average fingering which fits the majorityof cases, and this principle we have adhered to;besides, the easiest fingering has always beenadopted, as will soon be discovered even in thosepassages where, at first glance, it does not seemto be the case; even so, the pieces will generallybe quite difficult enough. But anyone who, forexample, in a stretch can use the third finger tobetter advantage than the fourth, or met versa, orwho can take wide leaps with greater confidenceby employing the thumb, etc., etc., should fallback on his or her own judgment. Contrariwise,the amateur-whose importance must not be un-derestimated, as he is the basic material of ouraudiences-is warned, in his own interest, notsimply to ignore the given fingerings and allowNature to take her course unheeding. Many an

amateur, who is sufficiently musical and also hascommand of a fair technique, finds himself unableto master a piece otherwise seemingly within hispowers, without realizing that his failure is causedby a fingering which, from the first measure, takesno account of what follows.

Similar caution, though in a quite differentsense and with corresponding limitations, is appli-cable with respect to the pedalling. Whoever hasattained to the point of mastering these Etudesboth intellectually and technically will now andagain hold the pedal down a trifle longer, or releaseit sooner, according to strength of finger, vigor oftouch, and so forth; neither will he use the pedalin a room as he does in a large hall. At such astage, one's own judgment and experience are thebest teachers.

The metronomic markings are meant merely asaids, for the avoidance of serious misconceptions.

The matter of prime importance, however, inan edition founded on tradition, is the marks ofinterpretation; and in this regard the presentedition varies in no small degree from all precedingones. To begin with, the long slurs have beenomitted, being replaced wherever necessary bythe reiterated indication "legato"; the slurs, onthe other hand, serve to set off the several periodsand sections one from the other; that is, theyapply to the phrasing. Furthermore, the obsoletesign s f is mostly dropped, because it tempts to aninvoluntary overexertion of force, and is replacedby the more modern >. Besides, all those ar-bitrary dynamic marks are omitted which are notfound in the old editions. Instead, for the sakeof precision and distinctness, various new markingshave been inserted. For instance, Liszt oftenused to observe, "In order to produce an intensi-fication, one should first diminish in force"; never-theless, this elementary principle has never, in allthe literature of the pianoforte, been carried outstrictly enough-not even by him who spoke thesewords. And so, even if this edition itself cannotbe wholly absolved of arbitrary traits, may theshade of Chopin approve my course in considerationof the purpose. For it has been my honest endeavorthroughout, putting aside every personal suggestionfrom within or from without, to reproduce asnearly as might be a faithful image in notes ofwhat I heard, three and four decades ago, in Petro-grad, Weimar, and Rome.

New York, 1916. ARTHURFRIEDHEIM

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TO gTUDB No. 2SIn thia 2tude we are once more confronted with Lint played it, he utually weIlt back from thea poem-a Night V.. ion. Broodingl, it taka ita 11th meuure before the end to the correapoadiqcoune in lullen lI',lts,lafllnS, in wrath repreued place in the '2nel mealure from the bepnning, andand lofty disdain, scarce cheered by a ray o f ligbt repeated tbia entire part, briaaing out the contoan-then suddenly fada reaipec:lly away. When ltill more lharpl, anel inciaively.

TO gTUDB No. 26Another 2tude whicb is a poem----now of anessentially different content. Here reign deeprepose and blessed peace. The shadoWi lwiftlylitting by Ihould be conceived only .. painless,transfigured memoria of IOrroWi long since van-quiahed; for these tona are bome to us out of aworld where all Itrife aalel and aU differencee arebealed. In ita inmOit Ipirit thil piece ranb highabove No. 19; for the latter, with aU ita beauty,

still wholly "of this world." Thus we now findit harder to obtain an adequate elect. Beware,

first o f all, o f over-hastening the tempo m thellighteetj observe a Itrict It,IIIO, with and witboatpedal, alwa,. treat the incidental contraltineparts with quietly expressive effect, and take thelingle Iand the pi. f immediately followin...heavy, IUltained accents.Liazt wal very fond o f playin. th. 2tude.Indeed, it wu the last piece that hia friencla heardhim play, and Done theo present CaD ever forpt it.It. thia imprenioa wIa ida the abon obMrYadoalseek to COD,",.

TO aruos No. 27Had Chopio chosen the title "Troil Po&ia" harder than appean at fint light. AI to mood, tbilinttead of "Trois ttudes," many a thoughtful piece bold. nearly a middle coune between thepianilt would have been peculiarly grateful to pessimism of No. 2S and the transfiguratiOD o fhim just io thil case; but such a thing wal rep~ant No. 26. Here everything is 10 lOulfully-thought-

to him. However, thia is, in any event, ao Etude, fully .. rene, lowing onward easily and gracefully.Yiewed from a purely technical ltandpoint, siaee Although vacillating in tempo between Mazurkamerely a thoroughly correct execution, with precise and Ilow Waltz, an actual dance-rhythm muatobservance of the marb of interpretation, is far never be brought to the fore; that is not wanted here.

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THE ETUDESTHE lttudeaofCbopin are notonly the foundationof hi a technical syatem-a sYltem new topianilm when they appeared-but they also compriselOme of hi a mOlt imaginative and enchantingcreations, judged exclusively from the musical pointof view. Therefore it behoovea us to make aIOmewhat extended inveatigation of their origins,though for obvious reasons not a comparativecritical eatimate of various editions. I .. y "forobvious reasons" because this present edition ildefinitive and, while adhering to the purity of theoriginal Chopin ten, avoids the numerous errol'l ofpreceding editions. Suffice it to .. y that the fil'ltcomplete edition o f the Chopin worb was Gebethner Wolff's, of Warsaw; Karuowlki givea the date ofpublication as 1846. Since then, the deluge:Telieflen,Klindworth, Scholtz. Mikuli. Kahnt,Schu-berth. Steingrlber-- Mertke-Schleainger (editedby Theodor Kullak). Reinecke. Xaver Scharwenb.von Bulow. D,, Hugo Riemann-the lttudea anda few of the Preludes-and Hermann Scholls.Fontana, WoUf. Gutmann, Mikuli. Tellefsen, Ma-thias. pupils of Chopin, copied from the originalmanuscripts, and yet they cannot agree. not only asto phrasing and various "",pi, but even as to theintegrity of the ten. ~e errol'l of certain editionsare notorious, nor have modem editions mendedmatten. By univenal assent Mikuli's edition hasbeen pronounced the least defective; yet it leaveamuch to be deaired. In following the 1ttudea IIhall avoid too many comparisons, for in that casethe student would not be able to see the forestbecause of the treetI; above all. no mention ofmetronome marb, .. the action of the modempianoforte greatly diBen from the Pleyel of Chopin'sdays; the "",pi then would be old-fashioned now.Nd~ric Chopin. aged twenty, wrote in Warsawon October 20. 1829, to his friend, TitUi Woy-ciechowski: "I have compoled a Study in my OWllmanner"; and in November 14th the same year:"I have written80me Studies; in your Pl'fJ8eDceIshould play them well." ThUi quite modestlydid the Polish composer announce an event thati proved to be of supreme importance to the piano-playing world. Niecki thinb the. Studies werepublished in the Summer o f 1833. July or Aupat,and were numbered opUll0. Another.et of Studies,OpUi 25. did not find a publisher till 1837, thouaha DUmberof them were compoled at the same time ..the previous work. A Poliah musician who via i teclthe Preach capital in 1834 heard Chopin play the

IStudiea contained in opus 25. The C minorStudy, opus 10, No. 12, commonly knOWll .. the., Revolutionary," was bom at Stuttgart, September,1831."while under the excitement caused by the newof the taking of WaraawbytheRuui&Dl, on Septem-ber 8th, 1831." Theae dates are given 80as to dispelthe suspicion that Liszt had influenced Chopin inthe production of these masterpieces. In herexhaultive biography of Liazt, Lina Ramann de-clares that NOI. 9 and 12 of opus 10, and Noe. 11and 12 of opus 25, reveal the influence of the Hun-garian virtuoso. But figures prove the fallacy 01her assertion. The influence was in the otherdirection ... Liazt's three Concert Studies Ihow-not to mention other of his compositions. WhenChopin arrived at Paris his style was formed, he wasthe creator of a new piano technique. The Studies,known .. Troil Nouvelles lttudea, which appearedin 1840 in the Moecheles and F~tia Method o fMethods. were afterward separately published. Wedo not know their date o f composition. The manu-script was given to the Princeu M. Czartoryska bythe composer's sister after his death. The ChopinStudies are poems fit for Pam&llUl, yet they alsoserve a very useful purpoae in pedagogy. Thepoetry and passion of the Ballades and Scheniwind throughout these technical problems like aflaming skein. Both aspects, the material andIpiritual, should not be overlooked.In the first Study of the first book, OpUi 10, dedi-cated to Liazt, Chopin at a leap reached new land.Extended chorda had been sparingly used by Hum-mel and Clementi, but to take a dispersed harmonyand transform it into an epical Study, to raise thechord of the tenth to heroic stature-only Chopincould have accomplished such a miracle. Thisfil'lt Study in C Major is veritably heroic. Theirregular black ascending and deacending ltaireueaof notes give the neophyte giddineu. Like themarvellOUI architectural dreams of Piraneai, the.diuy acclivities and dfllCeDta of Chopin exercUea hypnotic charm on eye .. well .. ear. Here in allita nakedneu is the new technique; new in the ....of figure, pattena, web, new in a harmonic way.The old order w.. horrified at the modulatoryharshneu, the youapr' generation fucinated andal80 a tl'ile m,htened. A man who could thuaexplode a mine that ....ned the 8t&n must bereckoned with. The nub of modern piano music isin this study, the molt formally reckleu ever pemaedby Chopin. Von BUlow riPtfull7 inv.... ed"DR

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the pervading disposition to play the octave his mood. There must be apsychical programme tobasses arpeggiated; in fact these basses are the argu- this Study. some record of a youthful disillusion.ment of the play; they should be granitic. ponder- but its expression is kept well within continentable. powerful. This Study suggests that its com- lines. The Sarmatian composer has not yet un-poser wished to begin the exposition of his technical learned the value of reserve. We emerge into asystem with a skeletonized statement. It is the clearer. a more bracing atmosphere in the C majortree stripped of its bark. the flower of its leaves. Study. No.7. It is a genuine toccata. with momentsyet austere as is the result there are compensating of tender twilight. withal serving a distinct technicaldignity. unswerving logic. With this Study he purpose-the study of double-notes changing on oneunlocked. not his heart. but the kingdom of tech- key-and is as sane as the Toccata by Schumann.nique.Itmightforvarietyssakebeplayedinunison. Here is a brave. an undaunted Chopin. a gayVon Bulow writes that as the second Study in A cavalier with the sunshine shimmering about him.minor is chromatically related to the Moscheles There are times when this Study seems like light:Etude, opus 70. No.3. that piece could be used to peeping through the trees in a mysterious forest.pave the way for the more musical composition With the delicato there are Puck-like rustlings,of the Pole. In different degrees of tempi. dyna- and all the while the pianist is exercising wristsmics and rhythmic accent it should be practised, and fingers with a technical exercise. Were everomitting the thumb and first finger. The entire Beauty and Duty mated so in double-harness?composition, with its murmuring, meandering, Pegasus pulling a rain-charged cloud over aridchromatic character, is a forerunner to the whisper- land. For study purposes the playing of the entireing, weaving, moonlit effects in some of the later composition with wrist stroke is advisable; it wi l lStudies. In the third Study we get the intimate secure clear articulation, staccato and finger-Chopin. Its key is E major and it is among the memory. also compass more quickly the elusive,finest flowering of his garden; it is simpler, less flitting character of the piece.morbid, sultry and languorous than the much How the F major Study, No.8, makes the pianopraised Study in C sharp minor, opus 25, No.7. sound. What a rich. brilliant sweep it achieves.Niecks thinks that this Study "may be counted It elbows the treble to its last euphonious point,among Chopin's loveliest compositions. glitters and crests itself, only to fall away as if theit combines classical chasteness of contour with the sea weremelodic and could shatter and tumble intofragrance of romanticism." Chopin told his faithful tuneful foam. The emotional content is not re-pupil, Gutmann, 'that "he had never in his life markable, the composition is for the salon or con-written another such melody," and once when cert hall. At its close one catches the overtones ofhearing it played he raised his arms and cried out: bustling plaudits and the clapping of gloved palms."0ma patrie!" Ductility, an aristocratic ease, a delicate touch andHow well Chopin knew the value of contrast in fluent technique will carry off this Study with goodsentiment and tonality may be observed in the effect. Technically it is useful-one must speaknext Study. No.4. A classic is this piece. which. of the usefulness of Chopin even in these imprisoneddespite its dark key-color. C sharp minor, as a foil irridescent bubbles. A slower tempo than the old~o the preceding one in E, bubbles with life and marking is not amiss, as the Herz and Czemy idealfairly spurts flame. It recalls the story of the Polish of velocity vanished with the shallow dipof the keyspeasantry who are happiest when they sing in the in Chopin's days-which had much to do with theminor mode. The technics of this composition do swiftness and lightness of his playing. The nobler.not lie beneath the surface; they are very much in more sonorous tone of the latter-day concertthe way of clumsy fingers and heavy wrists. We grand demands greater breadth of style, lesswonder why this Study does not figure more fre- speedy passage-work. There can be no doubt uquently in piano recitals. It is a healthy technical to the wiadomof a broader treatment of this charm-test, it is brilliant, and the coda is dramatic. Ten ing display piece. The F minor Study, No.9, is thebars before the return of the theme there is a stifl first one of his. tone studies in which the mood isdigital hedge to jump. The so-called "Black more petulant than tempestuous. This melodyKey" Study No. 5 is familiar and a favorite. ismorbid, almost irritatingly so, and yet not withoutIt is full of Polish elegance. Von Bulow rather a certain accent of grandeur. There is a persistencydisdainfully speaks of it as a Salon :Etude. Itis of repetition that foreshadows the Chopin of thecertainly graceful, delicately witty, a trifle naughty, later, sadder years. The figure in the left hand isarch, roguish, and delightfully invented. Tech- the first in which a prominent part is given thatnically it requires velvet-tipped fingers and a supple member. Not as noble and sonorous a figureas thewrist. A dark, doleful nocturne is the Study No.6, one in the Cminor Study, it may be viewed as ain E flat minor. Its melody is full of stifled sorrow. distinct forerunner to the bass of the D minorThe figure is ingenious and subordinated to the Prelude. opus 28, No. 24. The stretch in the Ftheme. In the E major section the music broadens minor Study is the technical object. It iIatherto dramatic vigor. Chopin wu not quite tbe Ilaveof awkward for cloae-knit fiDiera.

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The next Study in A ft.at,No. 10, is one of themost charming in the series. There is more depthin it than in the G flat and F major Studies, and itseilectiveness on the virtuoso side is unquestionable.A savor of the salon is in its perfumed measures,but there are grace, spontaneity and happiness.Chopin must have been as happy as his sensitivenature permitted him when he conceived thisvivacious caprice. A musical Corot, if such acomparison be allowed. is the Study No. 11. Itanovel design, delicate arabesques-as if the guitarhad been dowered with a soul-and the richnessand originality of its harmonic scheme, give uspause to ask if Chopin's technical invention is notalmost boundless. The harmonization, with thedispersed position of the underlying harmonies, isfar more wonderful; but nowadays the chord of thetenth and more remote intervals seem no longerdaring; modern composition has devilled the musicalalphabet into the caverns of the grotesque; never-theless, there are harmonies on the last page of thisStudy that still excite wonder. The fifteenth barfrom the end is one that Richard Wagner must haveadmired, and from that bar to the close everygroup is masterly. Remember, this Study is anocturne. Itshould not be taken at too speedy aumpo. The color-scheme is celestial, the ending asigh, not unmixed with happiness. Chopin hadhis moments of content. The dizzy appoggiaturaleaps in the last few bars set the seal of perfectionupon this unique composition. Few pianista pro-duce the aerial effect, the. swaying of the tone-tendrils abounding in ihe composition. Yet thisexquisite flight into the blue, this nocturne whichshould be played before sundown, excited the as-tonishment of MendelllOhn, the perplexity andwrath of Moscheles, and the contempt of Rellatab,

editor of the "Iris," who wrote in that journal in1834 about the Studies opus 10: "Those who havedistorted fingers may put them right by practisingthese Studies; but those who have not, should notplay them, at least, not without a surgeon at hand."

Wehave now arrived at the last Study in opus 10,the magnificent one in C minor, No. 12. In it theyoung Polish eagle begins to face the sun, begins tomount on wind-weaving pinions. Four pagessufficefor a background uponwhich the composer hasflung with overwhelming fury the darkest, the mostdemoniacal expressions of his nature. Here noveiled surmise, no smothered rage, but all sweepsalong in tornadic passion. Karasowski's story maybe true or not regarding the genesis of the work; buttrue or not, it is one of the greatest dramaticoutbursts in the literature of the piano. Powerfulin design, pride, force and speed, it never relaxesits grim grip from the first shrill dissonance to theoverwhelming chordal close. The end rings out likethe crack of creation. It is elemental. Karasowskiwrites: "Grief, anxiety, despair over the fate ofhis relations and his dearly beloved father filledthe measures of his sufferings." (The fall ofWarsaw into the hands of the RU88ians, alludedto above.) "Under the influence of this mood hewrote the C minor :Etude, called the Revolutionary.Out of the mad and tempestuous storm of passagesfor the left hand the melody arises aloft. nowpassionate and anon proudly majestic, until thrillsof awe stream over the listener, and the image iaevoked of Zeus hurling thunderbolts at the world."The Study is full of pathos; it compasses the sublime,and yet in its most torrential momenta the composernever loses his intellectual equipoise. Ithas butone rival in the Chopin Studies-No. 12, opus 26 -in the same key.II

Twelve Studies, opus 25, are dedicated to the a sleeping child." Schumann wrote this about theCountess d'Agoult, the mother of Liszt's children. study in F minor, opus 25. No.2, which whispersThe set opens with the familiar study in A flat, 80 not of baleful deeds in a dream. as does the lastfamiliar that I shall not make much ado about it movement of the B flat minor Sonata, but is indeedexcept to say that it isdelicious. but played often and "the songof a sleeping child." No comparison can bebadly. For Schumann it was an .tEolian harp prettier, for there is a sweet, delicate drone that"poesessed of all the musical scales." All that 8Ometimesissuesfromchildishlipspossessingacharmmodem editing has accomplished for it is to hunt for ears attuned to poetry. This must have beenup fresh accentuations, 80 that the piece is become the Study that Chopin played for Henrietta Voigt atalmost a study in falae accents. Chopin, as Leipsic. September 12, 1836. She said: "The over-Schumann has pointed out, did not permit everyone excitement of his fantastic manner is imparted toof the small notes to be distinctly heard. "It was the keen-eared. It made me hold my breath.rather an undulation of the A ft.at major chord, Wonderful is the ease with which his velvet fingershere and there thrown aloft. by the pedal." The glide, I might say fly, over the keys. He hastwenty-fourth bar is 80 Lisztian that Liszt must enraptured me-in a way which hitherto had beenhave benefitted by ita harmonies. unknown to me. What delighted me w.. the

"And then he played the second in the book, in childlike, natural manner which he showed in hi aI i ' minor, one in which hi. individuality display. demeanor and in hia playing." Von BUlowbelievesi taeU ina manner never to be forgotten. Bow that the interpretation of the magical music shouldcharming, how dreamy it w .. f Soft .. the lOngof be without sentimentality, almost without . a e l i . . ,r v ,


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--clearly, delicately and dreamily executed. An piano literature there is no more remarkableideal pianiuimo, an accentless quality, and com- example of the merging 01 matter and manner.pletely without passion or rubato." There is little Themeans justifies the end, and the means employeddoubt that this was the way Chopin played it. by the composer in this instance are beautiful;Liszt is an authority on the subject and Georges beautiful is the word that best describes the archi-Mathias corroborates him. It should be played in tectonics of this study. With the Schumann Toc-that Chopin whisper of which Mendelssohn said eata, the G sharp minor study stands at the portals"that lor him nothing more enchanting existed." of the delectable land of Double-Notes. BothThis Study contains much beauty, and every bar compositions have a common ancestry in therules over a little harmonic kingdom. It is solovely Czerny Toccata. After reading through all thethat not even the Brahms distortion in double-notes double-note studies for the instrument it is in thecan dull its magnetic crooning. At times its design is nature of a miracle to come upon Chopin's trans-sodelicate that it recalls the faint, fantastic traceries figuration of such a barren and mechanical exercise.made by lrost on glass. As a Study in mixed His study is first music. then a technical problem.rhythms it is valuable. Rubinstein and Annette Here is not the place to discuss the differentEaaipowaended it with echo-likeeffects on the four fingerings. Each virtuoso has his predilection.C's, the pedal floating the tone. Schumann thinks What fingering Chopin preferred is aside lrom thethe third study in F major less novel in character, mark, for the action of his piano was easy comparedalthough uhere the master showed his admirable with ours. Von BUlowcalls the seventh study inbravura powers." It is a spirited caprice with C sharp minor a nocturne, a duo for 'cello and flute.lour different voices, il one pulls apart the brightly Its dialogue is intimate in feeling. For the con-eqlored petals of the thematic flower, and thus temporaries of Chopin it was one of his greatestreveals the chemistry 01 its delicate growth. UThe efforts. In it are traces of life-weariness. It isthird voice is the chief one, and after it the first, both morbid and elegiac. There is nostalgia in itsbecause they determine the melodic and harmonic measures, the nostalgia 01 a sick soul. The D flatcontents," writes Kullak. The profile of the Study, No.8, has been described as the mostmelody is in the eighth-notes. They givethe mean- useful exercise in the whole range of :Etude litera-ing to the decorative pattem. And what charm, ture. It is an admirable study in double-sixths andbuoyancy and sweetness there are in this caprice. is euphonious, even in the passage of consecutiveIt has the elusive, tantalizing charm of a humming- fifths that formerly set theorists at odds. Thebird in flight. The human element is almost nimble study that follows. in the key of G flat,eliminated. Weare in the open. The sun blazes in No.9, usually bears the title of UThe Butterfly."the blue. Even when the tone deepens, when the It is graceful rather than deep and is a primeshadows grow cooler and darker in the B major favorite as an encore piece. Ithas been comparedsection, there is little hint 01 sadness. The har- to a Charles Mayer composition, but the boot is onmonic shifts are subtle, admirable, the ever- the other leg. Asiatic in its wildness is the B minorchanging devices of the figuration. The fourth study, No. 10. Its monophonic character recallsstudy in A minor is a rather sombre, nervous com- the Chorus of Dervishes in Beethoven's URuins ofposition, whichbesides being an :Etudealsoindicates Athens." Niecks finds it "a real pandemonium."a slightly pathologic condition. With its breath- This :Etude is technically an important one. Thecatching syncopations and narrow emotional range opening, portentous and sour, becomes a drivingit has its moments 01 interest if not actual power. whirlwind 01 tone. There is lushness in the octaveStephen Heller said that this study reminded him of melody; the tune may be a little overripe, but it isthe first bar 01 the Kyrie-rather the Requiem sweet, sensuous music and about it hovers the hush~ternam of Mozart's Requiem. If not taken at a 01 a rich evening in early autumn. The close israpid pacethe cantilen4 isheard tobetter advantage. dramatic.

It is safe to say that the fifth study in E minor The canvas of the A minor study, the "Winteris less often heard in the concert room than any 01 Wind," No. 11, is Chopin's largest-thus lar--inits companions. Yet it is a sonorous piano piece, this opus 25. Not even in the two Concertos isrich in embroideries and decorative effect in the there the resistless overflow of this :Etude, whichmiddle section. Perhaps the rather perverse, has been justly compared to . the screaming 01capricious and not too amiable character of the wintry blasts. The theme is never relaxed andopening page has made pianists wary of playing its fluctuating harmonic surprises are many. Theit in recital. The middle part, with its melody lor end is notable for the fact that scales appear:the thumb and arpeggios, recalls Thalberg. It was Chopin seldom uses scale-figures in his StudiesLouis Ehlert who wrote 01 the Study in G sharp (and trills sparingly). From Hummel to Herz andminor, No.6, "Chopin not only versifies an Thalberg the keyboard had glittered with spangledexercisein thirds; he transforms it into such a work scales. Chopin must have been sick 01 them, asof art that in studying it one could sooner laney sick as he was of the left-hand melody with ar-himself on Parnassus than at a lesson.t, And in all peggiated figures in the right a la Thalberg. In the[ vi ]


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first C sharp minor Study, opus 10, there is a runfor the left hand in the coda. In the seventh Study,similar key, opus 25, there are more. The secondStudy, in A minor, opus 10, is a chromatic scalestudy; but there are no other specimens in thisform till the mighty run at the conclusion of theA minor Study, opus 25, No. 11. Of course, thisdoesn't apply to the A flat Polonaise, opus 53, orother compositions. The Study in question demandspower and endurance. Also pauion and nolittle poetry. It is true storm-music, and thetheme in the bau moves throughout in processional

In 1840, "Trois nouvelles ttudes" by FredericChopin appeared in the "Methode des Methodespour Iepiano par I. Moscheles et F. J. Fetis." Oddcompany for the Polish composer. "Internalevidence seems to show," says Niecks, "that theseweakest of the master's Studies-which, however,are by no means uninteresting and certainly verycharacteristic-may be regarded, more than opus25, as the outcome of a gleaning." But the lasttwo decades have contributed much to the artisticstature of these three supplementary Studies(which are sometimes erroneously described asposthumous, though published nine years beforethe composer's death). They have something of theconcision of the Preludes. The first is admirable.In F minor, the theme in triplet quarters, broad,sonorous, pauionate, is unequally pitted againsteighth-notes in the bau. A rhythmic problem,this, and not difficult to solve. It is the emotionalcontent that attracts. Deeper than the F minorStudy in opus 25 is this one, and though the doorsnever swing wide open we may divine the tragiciuues concealed. Beautiful in a different way isthe A flat Study that follows; again the problem isa rhythmic one, and again the composer demon-strates his seemingly exhaustless invention, and hispower in evoking a single .mood, envisaging itslovely contours and letting it melt ..way as if dream-magic. Replete with gentle sprightliness andlingering sweetness is thia Study. Chopin, likeWagner, possesses a hypnotic mastery over hisauditors. Don't bother your head over the"triplicity in biplicity" of KulIak, or thepedantry ofvon BUlow-whOM brain wu iurely compart-

splendor. The prime technical difficulty is themanagement of the thumb, but the didactic sideneed not concern us here. As for the last Studyin opus 25, the C minor, No. 12, I may only addthat it is something more than an "exercise in un-broken chord passages for both hands," as has beensaid. It is grandiose, and there is a primeval, nakedsimplicity in its tumultuous measures that revealsthe puissant soul of Chopin. And it is eloquent.It is rugged. An epic of the piano, it is far removedfrom the musical dandyism of the drawing-room.Chopin here is Chopin the Conqueror.

IIImentized like an apothecary's shelves. Too manyeditors spoil the music. In all the editions save onethat I have seen, the third Study in D flat begins onA flat, like the popular waltz in D flat. The ex-ception is Klindworth, who starts with B flat, thenote above. This Study is flooded with sunnygood-humor and arouses the most cheering thoughts.Its technical aim is a simultaneous performance oflegato and 8taccato. The result is like an idealizedWaltz in allegretto movement, the incarnation ofjoy tempered by aristocratic reserve. Chopin neverromps, but he jests wittily and always with taste.This Study fitly closes his remarkable labors in theform, and it is as if he had signed it-"F. Chopinet ego in Arcadll."Our admiration for the Studies is tinged withwonder at such a prodigal display of thematic andtechnical invention. Their variety is great, theESthetic side is never neglected for the mechanical.and in the most poetic of them stuff may be foundfor delicate as well as heroic fingers. These Studiesare exemplary essays in style and emotion. Inthem all Chopin is mirrored. When most of hispiano music has gone the way of things fashionedby mortal hands, these Studies will still endure;will stand for the nineteenth century, &8 Beethovencrystallized the eighteenth. Bach the seventeenthcenturies, in the music of the pianoforte. Chopinis a classic.

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Thematic Index

!l. 90.II.

Lento rna non troppo. ()p.lO. :-;~:l./'-Itlo. ~>

~ J i w .Alleg;._o con fuoeo.

94.

Allegro con fuoco. Op.2Z. S~In.~96.

BO.

9a_~~~~~~F

M I D . ~M~fi1~~~~~I O U

tao.

Allegro molto agitato. Op.IO, N?9. Allegro.,.. II __ Op.23, ! \ O i l 6.-cresc,

18. ----0 G . sotto uoce.(P JMin.,~.~~~~~~~~ .~.~ .


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118~T ro is E tud es

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118 ~T ro is E tud esRevised and fingered by (Composees pour la ~Iethorle de lIoschelcs ct Fetis)

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F. CHOPIN

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