Program notes by Eric Bromberger

Scherzo No. 4 in E Major, Opus 54
Frédéric CHOPIN
Born February 22, 1810, Zelazowska Wola, Poland
Died October 17, 1849, Paris

Though the term had been used earlier, it was Haydn who conceived of the scherzo in its modern sense. In 1781, he called the third movement of some of his string quartets a “scherzo.” What had been the old minuet-and-trio movement now became a scherzo (and trio), and Haydn’s choice of that name indicated that he wanted more speed and liveliness. Beethoven took this evolution one step further: his scherzos, usually built on very short rhythmic units, explode with violent energy and with enough comic touches to remind us that scherzo is the Italian word for joke.

In his four scherzos, Chopin does not copy the forms of Haydn or Beethoven, but adapts the general shape of the classical-period scherzo for his own purposes. He keeps the quick tempo, the 3/4 meter, and (usually) the ABA form of the earlier scherzo, but makes no attempt at humor–the emphasis in this music is on brilliant, exciting music for the piano. The general form of the Chopin scherzo is an opening section based on contrasted themes, followed by a middle section (Chopin does not call this a trio) in a different key and character; the scherzo concludes with the return of the opening material, now slightly abridged.

Chopin’s Scherzo in E Major, his final work in this form, was composed in 1842 and is suffused with a spirit more relaxed than one generally associates with the scherzo–it is full of sunny, almost rhapsodic music. It is also his longest, and the entire scherzo is to some extent unified around its first five notes, which will reappear throughout in a variety of guises. Particularly striking is the central episode in C-sharp minor, in which a flowing melody moves along easily over a rocking accompaniment. The return of the opening material is extended, and the final pages are brilliant.

Two Nocturnes, Opus 62
No. 1 in B Major
No. 2 in E Major

Chopin composed the two nocturnes of his Opus 62 in 1845-46: they were the last nocturnes he published during his lifetime. While the Nocturne in B Major shows the delicacy one expects from this form, this particular example is quite restrained. Chopin marks the opening both dolce and legato, and the music proceeds with unusual gentleness. The middle section brings little contrast–Chopin marks it simply sostenuto, and it is just as restrained as the opening. Only the quietly-surging syncopations in the left hand ruffle the calm surface of this music. The most distinctive part of this nocturne comes at the return of the opening theme, for now Chopin buries it beneath a continuous (and very difficult) trill in the pianist’s right hand. Gradually this trill vanishes, and the Nocturne in B Major makes its way to the understated close.

The Nocturne in E Major is particularly lovely and has proven popular with performers and audiences alike. Chopin marks the opening both Lento and sostenuto, and here a supple right-hand melody arches freely over steady accompaniment. The nocturne is in the expected ternary form, though Chopin offers a second theme in the opening section–it presses steadily forward over steady sixteenth-notes in the left hand. The central episode is marked Agitato, though one feels that is an indication more of tempo than character–the music moves firmly along sharply-defined rhythms rather than growing truly agitated. Chopin reprises both opening themes, now slightly varied, and the nocturne fades into silence on a very brief (three-measure) coda.

Three Mazurkas, Opus 59
No. 1 in A Minor
No. 2 in A-flat Major
No. 3 in F-sharp Minor

The mazurka was originally an old country dance from the village of Mazovia near Warsaw (its residents were referred to as Mazurs), and as a boy in Poland Chopin heard and saw it danced. That dance was in triple time, with the accent sometimes (but not always!) on the second or third beat; in its original form the mazurka was danced by groups of couples who would separate and return, and it was sometimes accompanied by a bagpipe. Chopin fell in love with this rough country dance, and his approximately sixty mazurkas span his career: he wrote the first at 14, the last in the year of his death. What most appealed to Chopin was the raw, wild quality of this music, and in his own mazurkas he transformed that rough dance into the vehicle for some of his most sophisticated music.

Chopin composed the three mazurkas of his Opus 59 during the summer of 1845, which he spent with George Sand at her summer home in Nohant. Already the domestic tensions that would tear apart that household (and his relationship with Sand) were making themselves felt, yet there is no trace of any of this in these three mazurkas. No. 1 in A Minor moves easily along its Moderato tempo, with the spare main theme in the right hand; Chopin moves to A major for the more stately second subject, and this becomes more animated. At the return comes one of those points that dismayed early critics: Chopin brings the opening theme back in the “wrong” key of G-sharp major and only gradually makes his way back to the home key and a quiet close. No. 2 in A-flat Major is somewhat more lively–the marking is Allegretto, though Chopin specifies that he wants the performance to be dolce. The steady 3/4 of the left-hand accompaniment might almost make this seem like a waltz, were it not for the freedom and vitality of the right-hand melodies. No. 3 in F-sharp Minor is the most famous and striking of the set. The opening right-hand melody is energized by its constant triplets, and this simple beginning grows more complex as it proceeds: the clear textures of the opening vanish in the F-sharp major central episode, as does the steady left-hand accompaniment, and Chopin creates music of unusual contrapuntal complexity. The opening material returns, and all seems set for a straightforward close when Chopin springs one final surprise: he goes back to F-sharp major and rounds off this mazurka with an extended and quiet coda in this “wrong” key.

Études, Opus 10
No. 5 in G-flat Major
No. 6 in E-flat Minor
No. 7 in C Major
No. 8 in F Major
No. 9 in F Minor
No. 10 in A-flat Major
No. 11 in E-flat Major
No. 12 in C Minor

While still a teenager in Warsaw, Chopin heard Niccolò Paganini perform his Caprices for Solo Violin and was impressed (like so many other musicians of that era) with what the Italian composer had achieved in this music. Here were extraordinarily complex works for the violin that presented specific technical problems yet managed to be exciting and engaging music at the same time. Chopin resolved to write something similar for the piano, and over the next few years–a difficult time for the composer–he did just that.

Chopin left Poland–never to return (it was then being swallowed up by Russia)–in 1830 and settled the following year in Paris. Even before leaving Warsaw, Chopin had begun work on a series of étudesfor the piano, and he completed the set of twelve in Paris in 1832. These twelve short pieces were not composed in the order in which they now appear–Chopin went back and carefully revised them and arranged them in a new order before publishing them in 1833. He dedicated them to the other phenomenally-talented pianist of the era, Franz Liszt. Chopin was only 23 at that time; Liszt was 22.

On this recital Mr. Tan plays the final eight études of Opus 10.

These études have become one of the supreme tests of a pianist’s skill, particularly of the new virtuoso style developing in the early nineteenth century. Theydemand a pianist with huge hands as well as a nearly-perfect technique: many of the chords stretch so far that they are beyond the reach of pianists with small hands. It should be noted, however, that not all of theetudes are fast and brilliant: No. 6 in E-flat Minor is a quiet Andante that tests a pianist’s ability to sustain a singing line through unexpected keys. But it is the brilliant writing–the cascading runs of No. 8 in F Major or the dancing triplets of No. 10 in A-flat Major (one of the most difficult pieces ever written)–that first capture a listener’s imagination. Many of these études have become famous on their own, particularly No. 5 in G-flat Major, known as the “Black Key” because it is played only on those keys, and No. 12 in C Minor, nicknamed the “Revolutionary” and said to be an expression of Chopin’s furious reaction when he learned that Warsaw had fallen to the Russians.

Rondo in E-flat Major, Opus 16

Chopin was never interested in the role of the “star” performer like Paganini and Liszt, who performed to tumultuous applause before huge crowds in vast halls. In fact, after he made Paris his home, Chopin rarely performed in public, choosing instead to make his few appearances as a pianist in private homes before small, invited audiences. This does not mean, however, that Chopin was immune to the appeal of virtuoso music, and during his first years in Paris he did compose several works driven by a conscious virtuosity.

The Rondo in E-flat Major, composed in 1832, is one of these pieces. Not much is known about the occasion for which this music was intended, and it has remained one of the composer’s less-known works. The New Grove Dictionary describes it as a work of “showy virtuosity,” and in his 1949 study of Chopin’s music Herbert Weinstock noted that it was at that point “not performed at all.” Half a century later, that assessment may seem extreme–the Rondo has been performed and recorded many times–but Weinstock is right that this music remains generally unfamiliar to audiences.

It falls into two parts. It opens with a substantial introduction, set in C minor and marked Andante. This begins in a somber, subdued manner but soon turns virtuosic, with long runs and extended passages written in octaves. The music proceeds without pause into the Rondo proper, marked Allegro vivace and now in E-flat major. This section is very fast and very difficult, a sort of music one does not expect from Chopin, and along the way its busy progress is broken by several subordinate themes. But the rondo theme returns continually, and at the end it drives the music to a grand climax and an emphatic conclusion on ringing octave E-flats.

Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Opus 47

Chopin himself was the first to use the term “ballade” to refer to a piano composition, appropriating the name from the literary ballad: he appears to have been most taken with the lyric and dramatic possibilities of the term, for his four ballades fuse melodic writing with intensely dramatic–almost explosive–gestures. After Chopin’s death, Liszt, Grieg, Faure, and Brahms would compose works for solo piano that they too called ballades.

Formally, Chopin’s ballades most closely resemble the sonata-form movement (an opening idea contrasted with a second theme-group, and the two ideas developed and recapitulated), but the ballades are not strictly in sonata-form, nor was Chopin trying to write sonata-form movements. His ballades are quite free in form, and their thematic development and harmonic progression are sometimes wildly original. All four ballades employ a six-beat meter (either 6/4 or 6/8), and the flowing quality of such a meter is particularly well-suited to the sweeping drama of this music. All four demand a pianist of the greatest skill.

Because of the literary association and the dramatic character of the music, many have been quick to search for extra-musical inspiration for the ballades, believing that such music must represent the attempt to capture actual events in sound. Some have heard the Polish struggle for independence in this music, others the depiction of medieval heroism. Chopin himself discouraged this kind of speculation and asked the listener to take the music on its own terms rather than as a representation of something else.

Chopin wrote the Ballade in A-flat Major in 1840-41 and performed the work in public in 1842. The least overtly dramatic of the four ballades, this one nevertheless contains music of extraordinary beauty. The opening theme–a quiet, rising figure–also contains the falling half-step that gives shape to the lilting second subject.

Four Mazurkas, Opus 33
No. 1 in G-sharp Minor
No. 2 in D Major
No. 3 in C Major
No. 4 in B Minor

Chopin composed the four mazurkas of his Opus 33 in 1837-38. As he often did in a set of pieces, Chopin here placed the most substantial work at the end. The first three mazurkas in the set are rather brief. No. 1 in G-sharp Minor is marked Mesto (sad)–a flowing opening idea gives way to a middle section marked appassionato that passes by almost instantly before Chopin closes with a reprise of the opening. No. 2 in D Major repeats its opening phrase obsessively before giving way to a substantial central episode in two parts. The ending is impressive: Chopin accelerates in the coda, and the right hand suddenly flashes upward across two octaves to the concluding D. No. 3 in C Major, again very brief, is marked Semplice (simple). The concluding No. 4 in B Minor is an extended–and very interesting–piece of music. It is not in the standard three-part form, but instead alternates its main ideas and even introduces a new theme as it proceeds. The opening is somewhat waltz-like, but the dramatic second episode is powerful–Chopin marks it Risoluto (resolute). The music moves between these sections, and the very gentle third theme sneaks in along the way. After all this energy, this mazurka trails off into sudden silence.

Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-flat Major, Opus 61

Written in 1845-6, the Polonaise-Fantaisie is one of Chopin’s final works–and one of his most brilliant. A polonaise is a national Polish dance in triple time, characterized by unusual rhythmic stresses; the fact that it is usually at a moderate rather than a fast tempo gives the polonaise a more stately character than most dance forms. Many composers have written polonaises, but the fourteen of Chopin remain the most famous, and some feel that this distinctly Polish form allowed Chopin an ideal channel for his own strong nationalist feelings during his exile in Paris.

The polonaise is usually in three parts: a first subject, a contrasting middle section, and a return of the opening material. The Polonaise-Fantaisie keeps this general pattern but with some differences: Chopin writes with unusual harmonic freedom and incorporates both themes into the brilliant conclusion–doubtless he felt that he had reshaped the basic form so far that it was necessary to append the “Fantaisie” to the title.

The Allegro maestoso introduction is long and rather free, while the first theme group–in A-flat major–is remarkable for the drama and virtuosity of the writing. This makes the quiet middle section, in the unexpected key of B major and marked Poco più lento, all the more effective: a chordal melody of disarming simplicity is developed at length before the gradual return of the opening material. The final pages are dazzling–Chopin combines both themes and at one point even makes one of the accompanying figures function thematically as the Polonaise-Fantaisie winds down to its powerful final chord.

Piano Sonata No. 3 in B Minor, Opus 58

Chopin wrote the Piano Sonata in B Minor, his last large-scale composition for piano, during the summer of 1844, when he was 34. He composed the sonata at Nohant, the summer estate in central France he shared with the novelist George Sand. That summer represented a last moment of stasis in the composer’s life–over the next several years his relationship with Sand would deteriorate, and his health, long ravaged by tuberculosis, would begin to fail irretrievably. Dedicated to Madame la Comtesse Emilie de Perthuis, a friend and pupil, the Sonata in B Minor was published in 1845. Chopin himself never performed it in public.

Chopin’s sonatas have come in for a hard time from some critics, and this criticism intensifies to the degree that they depart from the formal pattern of the classical piano sonata. But it is far better to take these sonatas on their own terms and recognize that Chopin–like Beethoven before him–was willing to adapt classical forms for his own expressive purposes. The Sonata in B Minor is a big work–its four movements stretch out to nearly half an hour. The opening Allegro maestoso does indeed have a majestic beginning with the first theme plunging downward out of the silence, followed moments later by the gorgeous second subject in D major, marked sostenuto. The movement treats both these ideas but dispenses with a complete recapitulation and closes with a restatement of the second theme. The brief Molto vivace is a scherzo, yet here that form is without the violence it sometimes takes on in Beethoven. This scherzo has a distinctly light touch, with the music flickering and flashing across the keyboard (the right-hand part is particularly demanding). A quiet legato middle section offers a moment of repose before the returning of the opening rush.

Chopin launches the lengthy Largo with sharply-dotted rhythms, over which the main theme–itself dotted and marked cantabile–rises quietly and gracefully. This movement is also in ternary form, with a flowing middle section in E major. The finale–Presto, non tanto–leaps to life with a powerful eight-bar introduction built of octaves before the main theme, correctly marked Agitato, launches this rondo in B minor. Of unsurpassed difficulty, this final movement–one of the greatest in the Chopin sonatas–brings the work to a brilliant close.