Frdric Chopin

(1810-1849)
Life and Training
Chopin was born in Poland, and developed astonishing talents at an early age in piano playing
and improvisation/composition (there was little distinction for him between the two). These
were encouraged through his study of Bach and the Viennese Classics with the violinist
Wojciech Zwyny, and of harmony and composition with Jozef Elsner at the Warsaw
Conservatory. He gave his first public concert in 1818, and had a composition published when
he was 15. Soon after this he began a series of concert tours, for which he wrote and performed
some of his more conspicuously virtuosic pieces for piano and orchestra, such as the two
concertos and Krakowiak. He left Warsaw in 1830, and, after a brief period in Vienna, settled in
Paris.
The musical fashion in Paris in the 1830s was virtuosity and spectacle, with pianistic displays
from the likes of Liszt, Thalberg and Herz being immensely popular. Chopin grew dissatisfied
with the expectations placed upon performers by audiences interested only in technical
exhibition, and virtually renounced his concert career. Instead, he spent his time playing in the
salons of wealthy aristocrats, and giving piano lessons, and his compositional style became
more intimate, while remaining technically demanding.
In 1836 he met George Sand (this was the pen-name of a novelist who had left her husband, a
wealthy Baron) and they lived together from 1838 to 1847, including a stay at Majorca, where
poor weather exacerbated Chopins fragile constitution. His health frequently troubled him
throughout his life, and he died of tuberculosis at the age of 39.
Musical Style
Chopin composed at the piano, and in many cases his pieces would have been conceived as
improvisations, and only written down later. All of Chopins compositions involve the piano; he
wrote no purely symphonic music. A large proportion of his compositions are small-scale
works such as Mazurkas or Preludes. He was a friend of the Italian opera composer Bellini,
whose flowing melodies he admired and often emulated in his own pieces. He explored new
ways of more fully realising the potential of the piano, in particular making use of the sustaining
pedal and the wider range (over six octaves) available on 19th Century instruments. His
melodies demand a smooth, cantabile tone, and his harmonies are rich and colourful, often
exploring unusual key relationships.
Contemporaries
French:
Other:

Hector Berlioz, Charles Alkan, Charles Gounod

Felix Mendelssohn, Vincenzo Bellini, Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann

Compositions
For piano and orchestra: Two concertos, Krakowiak,
Variations on la ci darem
Chamber music:

Songs, Piano Trio, Cello Sonata

Piano solo:

Ballades
Impromptus
Mazurkas

Nocturnes
Polonaises
Preludes

Scherzos
Sonatas
Waltzes

Copyright 2013 by R. A. Hamilton. These notes may not be photocopied. www.rosshamilton.com.au

Prepared for Alan Shiau. Order: 1506011655

Fantaisie-Impromptu Op. 66
(Frdric Chopin)
The titles Fantaisie and Impromptu each indicate a piece in a free formal structure with an
improvisatory nature, where the composer is able to follow flights of fancy. Another work by
Chopin with a composite title is the Polonaise-Fantaisie.
The Fantaisie-Impromptu was composed in 1835 and was published posthumously. It is in
ternary form, in C# minor.
A

b.1-4

Introduction. All in C sharp minor.

5-12
Semiquaver theme. Two 4-bar phrases; the first ending with an imperfect cadence
in C# minor and the second with a perfect cadence in G# minor (dominant).
13-24 Crotchet theme, E major (relative major), returning to C# minor around b.20.
25-37 Semiquaver theme. The first phrase returns as before, but the second phrase is now
extended, remaining in C# minor.
37-40 Closing theme. All in C# minor, ending with a perfect cadence in b.40-41
(with tierce de Picardie, notated enharmonically as D flat).
B 41-42 Interlude. Slower, less agitated, Db major (tonic major, Db = C#).
43-58 New lyrical theme, Db major. Two 8-bar phrases; the first ending with a perfect
cadence in Ab major (dominant), the second with a perfect cadence in Db major.
59-62 Ab major, ending with a perfect cadence.
63-70 A repeat of b.51-58.
71-82 A repeat of b.59-70.
A 83-118 As before, but without the tierce de Picardie at the final cadence.
Coda
From b.119. Begins with an off-beat theme in C# minor with tonic pedal.
In b.129, the Section B theme returns in the bass, C# major (tonic major).
Ornaments used include mordents, turns, trills and acciaccaturas.
The romantic characteristics of this piece include:
strong, passionate character, expressing deeply personal emotions.
virtuosic technique, using wide range of the keyboard.
lyrical melodies, often rhythmically independent of the accompaniment.
rich harmonies employing chromaticism.
simple ABA structure with little thematic development.

Copyright 2013 by R. A. Hamilton. These notes may not be photocopied. www.rosshamilton.com.au

Prepared for Alan Shiau. Order: 1506011655