Chopin and Schumann Rhythm and Phrasing Thomas Mastroianni
Frederick Chopin ( ) 1810 Born near Warsaw 1830 Vienna then Paris Kalkbrenner Composer and piano teacher, few public performances
Robert Schumann (1810 –1856) Music and Literature August – publisher & novelist Jean Paul “Music is the moonlight in the gloomy night of life” ETA Hoffmann Friedrick Wieck 1830 – Paganini (hand injury) 1844 Counterpoint
Schumann Abegg Variations Accent placement reveals phrasing
Papillons # 4 Phrase arch reveals phrase rhythm sf
Papillons # 7 Weak to Strong Measures
Sonata # 2 Opening bars determine phrasing
Thematic Placement Reveals Bar Structure (Supplies a Focal Point)
Accents and cadential chords give balast to phrase
Phrase rhythm based on flow of 8 th notes, harmonic arrival and crescendos into 3 and 1
Harmonic closure, cadenzas and crescendos place phrase weight at the end of phrases.
Rest to begin, harmonic tension to end = forward motion Chopin…. Nocturne op 27/
Accents and unexpected harmony create weight Chopin Nocturne, Opus 15 #2
Density of texture, Crescendos
Harmonic sequence (to IV, to I) Tension and repose in melody