Chopin as composer and pianist : stylistic sources

Abstract

Although he was, and is, regarded as one of the foremost virtuosos of the romantic tradition, Chopin considered himself to be apart from that tradition. In his own time, reviews and other reports of his playing and compositions never fail to mention the uniqueness of his style as pianist and composer. However popular he remains, almost 150 years after his death, it is difficult, if not impossible to grasp the extent of his uniqueness, and its precise nature. This thesis sets out to identify significant influences upon the formation of Chopin's style as pianist and composer, and to demonstrate ways in which these are manifested in his work: The writer seeks to confirm Chopin's own assessment of his position as being set apart from the mainstream tradition in his composition, his teaching, and his playing. First, details of Chopin's musical education are examined: in particular the fact that it was primarily directed towards a career in opera composition. The significance of this education is demonstrated in several aspects of his subsequent career as a pianist composer. First and foremost, the very fact that he was not trained (in the usual sense) as a pianist - that he was never subjected to the repetition of conventional pianistic formulae in the form of scales and exercices - must account to some extent for the very different patterns and textures that he was able to discover on the keyboard. The training he did receive appears to have been very rigorous, and perhaps somewhat conservative. Evident in the compositions is a firm grasp of the principles of counterpoint - a feature of his early training with Eisner. His high regard for the work of J.S. Bach is also apparent in the compositions, and it is suggested that Chopin in many ways adopted an eighteenth century attitude towards the composition of particular genres. This reliance on an older tradition is demonstrated also in Chopin's career as pianist and teacher, both in specific technical details and in his attitudes towards performance. The influence of opera is readily apparent in Chopin's compositions, and in accounts of his playing and teaching. This thesis suggests that this influence is more far-reaching: that Chopin's style as pianist and composer is essentially vocal in its conception, and that this was in marked contrast to other composers of the time, whose aim was to emulate the larger palette of the orchestra. The distinctiveness of Chopin's style has often been attributed largely to his Polish origins. This influence is also examined here, though in less detail. It is the writer's contention that this influence has, in general, overshadowed appreciation of the extent to which Chopin's style is based upon eighteenth century techniques and attitudes.