AoS1: Western

Classical Tradition
The Piano Music of Chopin
& Schumann
Romantic Period 1820-1900
Piano music of Chopin
Watch the following performance of a
solo piano piece “Polonaise Op.53”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW0Y3M4EJ4M
As you watch jot down some ideas on your
whiteboards as to the difficulties in this piece (the
technical demands on the
performer). You could also
think about the pitch range,
dynamics, rhythm, chords or anything
else that looks difficult to play
 He travelled to many Towards the end of his life he
His piano music
European cities including became very ill with
reflected the love
London and made Paris tuberculosis (TB),
he had for his
his main home.
homeland – Poland.
He died at home in
Paris on 17th
Most of his piano Focus October 1849
pieces were short
and captured a on
particular mood or Born in 1810 in a
emotion Chopin village near Warsaw,
Poland

In 1838, he went to Majorca in an attempt He used polish Although Chopin

to improve his condition, the locals were folk melodies & did compose music
nervous they would catch the disease and dance rhythms for orchestras he is
Chopin and his lover were forced to live in (mazurka/ best-known for his
an isolated & disused monastery polonaise) piano music
Raindrop Prelude by Chopin
 Key Time Septuplet
Signature Signature Sustained With
expression

Piano Pedal Play Gradually get Decorative

dynamics markings smoothly louder/softer note
Development of the Piano
Development of the Piano
Strings

Soundboard Frame

Hammers

Case
Keys
Sustaining
Soft Pedal Pedal
 SIZE: the piano Developments of the Piano in
changed shape and
got bigger and the Romantic Period
louder. This meant KEYS: the number of
it had a bigger keys (notes) increased
dynamic range to 88 (just over 7
octaves). This gave
STRINGS: the strings composers a larger
inside the piano were pitch range
thicker and longer
and gave a better FRAME: the frame
sound used to be wooden but
is now metal
PEDALS: sustaining
pedal (right pedal) HAMMERS: the
https://
and soft/damper hammers were given a
pedal (left pedal) www.youtube. felt covering instead
became more com/watch?v= of a leather one. This
effective FGXY0ZXF44o gave a better sound
Keywords
Programme Music music based on a poem or painting, or that
tells a story
Virtuoso a person/performance who has
mastered the skills & techniques of their art form to
a very high standard
Damper pedal a pedal on a piano that, when pressed,
softens the tone
Sustaining pedal a pedal on a piano that, when pressed,
sustains all the strings by removing the dampers
from all strings and allowing them to vibrate
freely
Cantabile in a singing style (to be played legato)
Tempo rubato a technique where the player can pull
back/slow down (or speed up) the tempo for
expressive effect
Rachmaninov had big hands!!
To demonstrate the complex music that some
composers wrote in the Romantic period of
musical history, watch the following clip.
Rachmaninov was a Russian composers from the
Romantic period and wrote very difficult pieces
of music for the piano. These pieces often
involved chords with as many as 10 notes in
them!!
Rachmaninov was 6ft 6ins tall and is believed to
have had a hand span of an incredible 13 notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93JiXloIhn4
Robert An ailment in his right hand
stopped Schumann from playing

Schumann and he focused on composition

In 1840 Schumann During a four month

married Clara, who was spell Schumann wrote
a pianist over 150 songs (lieder)

Schumann wrote
Schumann
many pieces for piano
died in 1856
but is also well-known
for writing songs
(lieder) Kinderszenen (Scenes
from Childhood) is one of Schumann spent the final
his most famous years of his life in an asylum
Born in 1810 in collections of pieces suffering from bipolar
Germany written for the piano disorder and hallucinations
Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood):
No.7 Träumerie (Dreaming) The tempo
is rubato –
played freely
to help
express
emotion

What aspects
Using the sustaining of this piece
pedal here allows the Lots of slurs – legato make it
chord to sound whilst the Cantabile melody – sound
other notes are played in a singing style ‘dreamy’?
 Album for the Young The right hand
(top part) is the
No.10 The Merry Peasant accompaniment
and plays staccato
chords

How would
In this piece we can you The melody in the left
hear the melody in the describe the hand (bass part) is
left hand (bass part). texture? marked legato.
Album for the Young
No.12 Saint Nicholas

This piece has lots of Listen to the whole

accents ^ which mean piece.
‘forced’ What form is it in?
Piano music of Chopin & Schumann
Rubato – not in strict time, flexible
tempo to be more emotional
Use of pedal
Wider and more expressive dynamics
More chromatic harmony (chords)
Virtuoso playing – complicated music,
showing off the talent of the performer
Use of ornaments – trills
Wide pitch range – the full range of the
piano keyboard was used
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgyqMhxK-Hs
Typical Features
Having listened and looked at quite a few examples of
Piano Music by Chopin and Schumann, can you now
identify THREE features that are typical of this kind of
music.
1.
2.
3.