Chopin or Beethoven? (personal preferance)

[Peter]

Originally posted by King Stephen:
If one listens to Johann Hummel's piano concertos you really have to wonder how much of an influence he had on Chopin.

Yes and composers such as Field, Spohr and Weber. The only two great composers who meant anything to Chopin were Bach and Mozart - he was not fond of Beethoven or Schubert.

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'Man know thyself'

[Amalie]

Originally posted by Shane:
Amalie,

lol, i was only kidding!!! glad u like chopin too. and, surely a 5th year student cant be called a boy?!

Shane

Ah yes, student days - some of the best days of my life. I am also from Bonnie Scotland.

Tell me Shane, how true is it that GODOWSKY was unsatisfied with the original 27 CHOPIN Etudes; he felt that they unfairly favoured the right hand over the left, and began to rewrite Chopin's Etudes, many of them for the left hand alone, or "switching"
right and left hand material. Then he started writing them again, using Chopin's masterpieces as a vehicle to push piano technique further than even before?





[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited January 11, 2004).]

[Shane]

Originally posted by Amalie:

Ah yes, student days - some of the best days of my life. I am also from Bonnie Scotland.

Tell me Shane, how true is it that GODOWSKY was unsatisfied with the original 27 CHOPIN Etudes; he felt that they unfairly favoured the right hand over the left, and began to rewrite Chopin's Etudes, many of them for the left hand alone, or "switching"
right and left hand material. Then he started writing them again, using Chopin's masterpieces as a vehicle to push piano technique further than even before?



[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited January 11, 2004).]

Amalie,

even tho i am a great fan of chopin, iam after all only 16. i hav not a clue to tell the truth. in fact i hav nver heard of that story?! tho i wud say that any1 who hav the guts to critisize chopin's works r complte nuts!!!!!!!!

Shane

[Peter]

Originally posted by Amalie:

Ah yes, student days - some of the best days of my life. I am also from Bonnie Scotland.

Tell me Shane, how true is it that GODOWSKY was unsatisfied with the original 27 CHOPIN Etudes; he felt that they unfairly favoured the right hand over the left, and began to rewrite Chopin's Etudes, many of them for the left hand alone, or "switching"
right and left hand material. Then he started writing them again, using Chopin's masterpieces as a vehicle to push piano technique further than even before?



[This message has been edited by Amalie (edited January 11, 2004).]

Yes he wrote 53 studies based on 26 of Chopin's etudes. They are probably amongst the most impossibly difficult things ever written for piano! Several are for the left hand alone including the 'Revolutionary etude' - he combined the two Gb etudes ('Black key' and 'butterfly' under the title 'Badinage').

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'Man know thyself'

[urtextmeister]

I have heard some of these Godowsky reworkings of the etudes over the years and I haven't cared for them. They sounded muddy and dense with notes. I much prefer Chopin's clarity. Of course, I haven't heard them lately. Maybe I would feel differently.

I studied with a great Polish pianist for about 12 years and I played a lot of Chopin. I understood that this was one of the truly great composers. I fell in love with a lot of this music. A lot of great memories learning this rep and listening to performances. The preludes fascinated me. I played the b minor sonata when I was about 18 and really got into it. At one point, I thought the g minor ballade was the greatest thing ever written.
I can remember one lesson when someone close to my teacher had died and he felt compelled to sit down and play Chopin nocturnes for me. I just sat there and listened. It was a very powerful moment.

I know there has been some debate in this forum about classical versus romantic, but whatever the era, you'll have to admit that Chopin wrote some of the most hauntingly beautiful music...

[Shane]

Originally posted by urtextmeister:
I have heard some of these Godowsky reworkings of the etudes over the years and I haven't cared for them. They sounded muddy and dense with notes. I much prefer Chopin's clarity. Of course, I haven't heard them lately. Maybe I would feel differently.

I studied with a great Polish pianist for about 12 years and I played a lot of Chopin. I understood that this was one of the truly great composers. I fell in love with a lot of this music. A lot of great memories learning this rep and listening to performances. The preludes fascinated me. I played the b minor sonata when I was about 18 and really got into it. At one point, I thought the g minor ballade was the greatest thing ever written.
I can remember one lesson when someone close to my teacher had died and he felt compelled to sit down and play Chopin nocturnes for me. I just sat there and listened. It was a very powerful moment.

I know there has been some debate in this forum about classical versus romantic, but whatever the era, you'll have to admit that Chopin wrote some of the most hauntingly beautiful music...

Another fan of chopin!!!!! hav to say i absolutely agree that any1 who tries to critisiz chopin's music is being too smart for their own good! chopin's stuff r magical and i love it. the gm ballade has ben my favourite for som time and i still rate it as 1 of my all time favourites. its a rite pest to play tho!

Shane

[kenneth]

What is the point of compereing Chopin with Beethoven. Chopin didnt like Beethovens music.(he said this to Liszt and Mendelssohn). They do not speak the same musical language. They use the piano differently. I would say that you will like the things that is close to your heart. You will compere the things that they composed, whit your own musical meaning. So the key is to find pices that you yourself could relate to. After all, a genius says the things that always have been i the back of your mind. But you could never express them.

[King Stephen]

Comparing Chopin and Beethoven is like comparing apples and oranges. Outside of the three or four pieces Chopin composed for piano and orchestra all of his music was mainly for piano. We all know what Beethoven did so I won't go into details. I don't know how many of you like olives, well I hate them but does that make olives bad, no , it is just my taste that is different. As far As Chopin goes I really don't go to big for his music. I can take it or leave it. This is what makes the classics so great, one can like one thing and discard another. If we polled all of the people in the chat room I am most certain that we would come up with many of us creating different top 10 composers. So, because some don't like this composer or that one is no reason to believe he or she does not love classical music. I am also sure that there are some, if the truth be told, who also like jazz, country western, rock (ugh)etc.
Steve