One does not readily arrive at counterpoint when thinking of Chopin’s music. Amid the expressiveness and beautiful melodies of his music, technique is somewhere lost and forgotten—a thing holding all the parts together but not directly perceivable. Perhaps it is this very trait that makes Chopin’s music so convincing. Nevertheless, he was a master of the now arcane art though he composed only one piece in a strictly contrapuntal form: the Fugue in A minor. The work is somewhat of an anomaly and itself not entirely representative of Chopin’s typical use of counterpoint. A great admirer of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin likely conceived the Fugue in A minor as an imitative exercise by which to hone his technical skills.
The construction of the two-voiced fugue is rather simple. The subject begins with a stern four-note motif, easily recognizable as all fugue subjects should be, followed by sequential passagework. The answer then follows in typical fashion accompanied by a regular countersubject. Throughout the fugue, motives from either subject or countersubject are rarely absent. True to form, the closing of the fugue is announced by prolonged dominant pedals ornamented in this case by trills. The voices then unite in a final statement of the subject with the upper voice in a quasi-inversion leading to the final cadence.Joseph DuBose
Chopin's piano music remains the most frequently played in history. He is one of the few universal masters, and has never suffered an eclipse. Arthur Rubinstein wrote: "...it is not Romantic music in the Byronic sense. It does not tell stories or paint pictures. It is expressive and personal, but still a pure art."
Almost every note he wrote is in the permanent repertoire, but this first group of short pieces on today's program (written from different periods of his career) is an exception-they have remained little-known. Ren Zhang
Classical Music | Piano Music
Frédéric Chopin
Fugue in a minor Play
Recorded on 09/25/2007, uploaded on 01/23/2009
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
One does not readily arrive at counterpoint when thinking of Chopin’s music. Amid the expressiveness and beautiful melodies of his music, technique is somewhere lost and forgotten—a thing holding all the parts together but not directly perceivable. Perhaps it is this very trait that makes Chopin’s music so convincing. Nevertheless, he was a master of the now arcane art though he composed only one piece in a strictly contrapuntal form: the Fugue in A minor. The work is somewhat of an anomaly and itself not entirely representative of Chopin’s typical use of counterpoint. A great admirer of music by Johann Sebastian Bach, Chopin likely conceived the Fugue in A minor as an imitative exercise by which to hone his technical skills.
The construction of the two-voiced fugue is rather simple. The subject begins with a stern four-note motif, easily recognizable as all fugue subjects should be, followed by sequential passagework. The answer then follows in typical fashion accompanied by a regular countersubject. Throughout the fugue, motives from either subject or countersubject are rarely absent. True to form, the closing of the fugue is announced by prolonged dominant pedals ornamented in this case by trills. The voices then unite in a final statement of the subject with the upper voice in a quasi-inversion leading to the final cadence. Joseph DuBose
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Fuga Frédéric Chopin
Chopin's piano music remains the most frequently played in history. He is one of the few universal masters, and has never suffered an eclipse. Arthur Rubinstein wrote: "...it is not Romantic music in the Byronic sense. It does not tell stories or paint pictures. It is expressive and personal, but still a pure art."
Almost every note he wrote is in the permanent repertoire, but this first group of short pieces on today's program (written from different periods of his career) is an exception-they have remained little-known. Ren Zhang
More music by Frédéric Chopin
Mazurka Op. 33 No. 1 in g-sharp minor
Waltz Op 64 / 2
Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
Prelude in F major, Op. 28, No. 23, Moderato
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66
Impromptu no. 3 in G-flat major, op. 51
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
Fantasy, Op. 49
Etude Op. 10, No. 11
Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44
Performances by same musician(s)
Cantabile
Invitation to the Dance
Largo
Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, Op. 35
Feuille d'Album
Contredanse
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