The Polish Piano Master

Chopin is perhaps the greatest favorite for the pianist to perform. There is something about the lyrical melodies, the virtuosic flutters of sound, the deep bass chords, the artistic and emotional rubato, or the way that the notes fit so well under the human hand that seduces the pianist in Chopin's music. His 24 preludes are one of his more famous works. Chopin was a big fan of Bach, and these are a tribute to him. They are preludes to nothing. Nothing whatsoever follows each prelude except another prelude. Most likely these were not meant to be performed all together at once, although they certainly do work out nicely that way. Unlike Bach, who organized his prelude in fugues beginning in C Major and then moving chromatically up the piano, Chopin pairs each major key prelude with its relative minor. All of these pieces are relatively short. The longest is the Db Major prelude often nicknamed "Raindrop" which is approximately six minutes in length. These preludes span a wide range of sound and pianist features. Some are slow, lyrical, and deep, while others are very flashy and technical. Some have large full sounding chords, and others are made up of flutters of sound. One thing for the pianist to consider is always how much time to take in between preludes. Some, such as the first one in C Major, connect very well with their parallel minor prelude, while others do not do this nearly as smoothly. These are wonderful pieces and I always love to hear them performed all together in concert. Chopin's Mazurkas are also amazing pieces of music literature. Performances of these mazurkas are extremely varied because of the genre of this music. His etudes are also outstanding pieces of music. Perhaps what is most amazing about these pieces is how concert-worthy they are. Many etudes can sound like technical exercises which, in essence, they are. But, Chopin manages to take the listener away from just the technical aspect of these pieces and transform them into musical, lyrical, and dramatic works of art.