Sketch for a portrait of Kalkbrenner and Chopin
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Date
2010
Authors
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Publisher
Katedra Muzykologii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PTPN, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM
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Abstract
In this article, the author sketches a portrait of Kalkbrenner and Chopin
against the background of musical practice during the 1830s. On the basis of sources,
including Chopin’s correspondence and the opinions of his contemporaries and of
Chopin scholars, an attempt is made to distinguish characteristic features of the two
composers in their mutual relations. Their contacts are outlined, as well as their artistic
activities, with particular emphasis on Chopin’s first concert in Paris and the role of
pianistic virtuosity linked with the style brillant. Attention is drawn to the properties
of the Pleyel piano which Kalkbrenner and Chopin both preferred and to the differing
playing aesthetics and artistic images of the two composer-virtuosos. Chosen for the
purposes of stylistic comparison are their methods of piano playing, with the accent
on the schematic nature of Kalkbrenner’s “finger technique”, whilst most crucial for
Chopin was to bring out the beautiful quality of the sound. In the closing remarks, it is
stated that the two musicians, in their pianistic, compositional and pedagogic activities,
represented the distinct antithesis of one another and two different schools.
Prominent in the portrait of Kalkbrenner are distinct connections with the convention
of the style brillant, whilst the portrait of Chopin, who broke through those conventions,
is marked by features more profound and individualised.
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Keywords
Kalkbrenner Friedrich, Chopin Fryderyk, Piano, Virtuosity, Style brillant, variations, piano concerto, piano playing method
Citation
Interdisciplinary Studies in Musicology 9, 2010, pp 83-99.
Seria
ISBN
978-83-232-2148-7
ISSN
1734-2406