Frédéric Chopin – a bicentenary focus - Page 7

A guide to the composer, his works and the essential recordings

Frédéric Chopin (photo: Tully Potter)

Four Scherzi (1832-42)

It was Haydn who developed the stately ¾ minuet into the scherzo (which means, literally, “joke” in Italian); Beethoven’s scherzos are more bustling, humorous affairs; to Mendelssohn, the scherzo was synonymous with a light-hearted caprice. Chopin saw the scherzo as “breathings of stifled rage and of suppressed anger” according to Liszt. The opening pages of No 1 in B minor demonstrate just that, though its middle section could hardly offer a greater contrast. No 2 in B flat minor is the best known (at one time nicknamed The Governess’s Scherzo, even if the music must have been way above the capabilities of most governesses). No 3 in C sharp minor has a central section that might remind you of a hymn played on the organ. No 4 in E is glittering. Intense and passionate. 

Recommended recording

Pogorelich (DG) Buy CD from Amazon

Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, “Funeral March” (1939)

One of the priceless gems of music, this is known as the Funeral March Sonata because of its celebrated and sombre third movement, played at every state funeral (usually by a military band). It’s followed by a brief final movement in which the whirling right hand plays in unison with the left to create the impression (according to Anton Rubinstein) of “night winds sweeping over churchyard graves”. There is something doom-laden and threatening about the opening two movements as well (just listen to the opening bars of the Sonata and the anxiety behind the first theme). Strangely, though, the last thing you ever feel after listening to the work is depressed. Just the opposite in fact.

Recommended recordings

Argerich (DG) Download from Passionato Buy CD from Amazon

Trpceski (EMI) Buy CD from Amazon Download from Amazon 

Piano Sonata No 3 in B minor (1844)

A flawed masterpiece compared with No 2 (the earlier Sonata No 1 in C minor is far inferior to both and rarely played). The first movement is overflowing with ideas, though the scherzo (which follows) is succinct and graceful; the nocturne-like slow movement is one of weakest but has the effect of building anticipation for the gloriously jubilant finale (a fast rondo) that brings the work to a thrilling conclusion. This is one of the most difficult of all Chopin movements to play and is certainly one of the most effective.

Recommended recordings

Argerich (EMI) Download from Passionato

Kissin (RCA) Download or buy from Amazon

Waltzes

Johann Strauss I was at the peak of his popularity when Chopin arrived in Vienna in 1829. Though Chopin thought those composed by the Strauss family quite vulgar – “I have acquired nothing particularly Viennese,” he wrote, “and I still cannot play waltzes” – he was nevertheless inspired by the form. His efforts are Parisian more than Viennese, “never mant to be danced by ordinary mundane creatures of flesh and blood,” as one commentator put it. Listen out for the Grande valse brillante in E flat, Op 18, the one in A minor, Op 34 No 2 (said to be Chopin’s favourite), the A flat Waltz Op 42 (arguably the best and certainly the most difficult to play) and of course the Minute Waltz. Impossible to play in 60 seconds, even if you rush the more lyrical middle section (which would be criminal). On average it takes about 90 seconds – the shortest (hence the French description “minute”) and most popular of Chopin’s waltzes.

Recommended recordings

Rubinstein (RCA) Download from Amazon Buy CD from Amazon

Lipatti (EMI) Download from Passionato Buy CD from Amazon