ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CONCERT PIECE FOR THE PIANOFORTE By MARGARET JANE BABCOCK THESIS FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF MUSIC IN MUSIC SCHOOL OF MUSIC UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 1921 ' ■ Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/origindevelopmenOObabc Table of Contents Page 1. Definition of Concert-piece 1 2. Classical Music 1 3* Bach 2-4 4. Romanticism 4 5. Beethoven 4-6 6. Moscheles 6 7. Czerny 7 8. Weber 7-8 9. Field CD 1 CD 10. Schubert 9-11 11. Schumann 11-14 12. Mendelssohn 14vl5 13. Chopin 15-20 14. Heller 20-21 15. Henselt 21 16. Raff 21 17. Brahms 22-24 18. Rational School 24 19. G-rieg 24-25 20. Dvorak 26 21. Liszt 26-27 22. Rubinstein 27 23. Tschaikowski ro CO 24. Saint-Saens 28 25. Dubussy 29 26. MacDowell 29 27. iievin 30 Page 28. Coleridge-Taylor 56 29. Strauss 30 30. Godowsky 31 31. Rachmaninov 31 32. Paderewski 31 33. Summary 32 Bibliography Dictionary of Music and Musicians - Grove Encyclopedia of Music - Moore Dictionary of Music - Stainier and Barrett The Pianoforte and its Music - Krehbiel A Guide to Music - Mason Mezzotints in Modern Music - Euneker Modern Music and Musicians - Philharmonic Society of Boston New Practical Reference library - Dixon Hanson Company Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians - John Champlin, Jr. Famous Composers and Their Works - Paine, Thomas and Klauser History of Music - Pratt Program Music - Niecks Stoke ’s Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians - DeBeekler Encyclopedia Brittanica - R. S. Peale and Company Webster’s New International Dictionary - G.and C. Merrism Company Studies in Modern Music - W. H. Hadlow The Art of Music - Hall The Appreciation of Music - Mason Biographical Dictionary of Musicians - Baker , , i . 1 The Origin and Development of the Concert Piece for the Pianoforte The concert-piece is a solo piece intended for concert performance. "The old classical music was written by men of the high- est rank of their art, men corresponding with the 1 classici' of ancient Home. It is music written in obedience to accepted laws, disclosing the highest degree of perfection on its technical and formal side, but preferring aesthetic beauty to the emotional con- tent, and refusing to sacrifice form to poetic, dramatic, or char- acteristic expression." Classical music was written according to the old cyclic form, as found in the sonata. The sonata consists of three or four movements which are contrasted in tempo and character. The model or design which distinguishes the sonata form from other compositions is found in the first movement. "In the first section the subject matter of the movement, generally consisting of two themes which are contrasted in mood but related in key, is present- ed for identification. In the second section the subject is develop- ed, worked out, illustrated, and exploited. The third section is re- capitulatory; it is made up of a repetition of the first part, with modifications and a close, generally known as the coda." Haydn evolved this form. The sonata or suite was the dominant form in all kinds of instrumental music of the eighteenth century. , , 1 BACH 2 Bach (1685-1750) was one of the first masters of the concert piece* He wrote "The Well Tempored Clavichord" which is composed of forty-eight preludes and fugues. Its melodies are full of the charm of a spontaneous song. Formerly the prelude was a part of the suite. Bach separated it from the suite and gave it a distinct, independent character. In this way he improved the lines of his predecessors. In his "Preludes and Fugues” the forms differ. In his preludes the melody is not easily distinguished hut may he found in his harmonic fugues. This is the case in the preludes of the first part. Numbers One, Two, Three, Six, Eleven, Fifteen and Twenty-one, and Numbers Three of the Second part. Often the pre- lude is in simple song form, as Numbers Nine and Twelve of the first part. Often is is written in imitative style as in Numbers Four, Seven, Fourteen, Seventeen, and Eighteen of the first part. Numbers Eight, Twenty-two, and Twenty-four, Part One, and Pour, Twelve, and Twenty-two, Part Two, which are written in the style of "Passion Arias", are considered the most beautiful. However, in both volumes of Bach, "The Well Tempered Clavichord”, and "Twenty-four Preludes and Bugues", the prelude is part of the fugue or serves as an introduction to the fugue. Bach’s "Inventions in Two and Three Parts”, and "The Well Tempered Clavichord" may be called an etude cycle. An etude proper, if it is only a musical exercise or a characteristic piece, is distinguished from all other musical forms by the fact that it is "invariably evolved from a simple . phrase or motif, it it is of a harmonic or melodious character, upon which the change may be 9 . * . . , ; . - ' . . 3 rung.” "The Well Tempered Clavichord” and "Two and Three Part In- ventions" may he called etudes without being misnamed. These are the forerumaers of Chopin's famous etudes, which are certainly en- titled to the name of "concert-piece”. The minuets In Bach's "Suite" are a part of the suite and are noted for their variety in form and character. A Fantasia may be properly defined as a composition in music in which "the author's fancy roves unrestrained by a set form." Another definition is "Improvised Prelude”. Thus it may be seen that the Fantasia is a breaking away from Classicism and formality. In the works of Bach there are a great number of Fantasias, both as separate works and as a first movement to a suite or conjoined with a fugue. The "Fantasia Chromatic" is conjoined with a fugue, "The Capritccio" was originally a piece in fugal style but not in strict figures, as in Bach's "Pix Partitas". He uses it also as synon- ymous with Fantasia, as in his "Capriocio on the Departure of a Be- loved Brother". In some of Bach's works, as in "The Well Tempered Clavi- chord", the prelude is a part of the suite. But the prelude is treated freely enough to be called a Concert-piece. In some of the works, as in "Little Preludes and Fugues", the prelude is a distinct piece and has an independent character of its own. This, indeed is a Concert-piece. His "Minuets” and "Fantasia" certainly hold a claim to the title "Concert-piece". His works are not what we would call concert-pieces in the modern sense, but simply mark the beginning of the concert-piece. Bach's works stand at the beginning of the con- cert-piece in music just as Chaucer stands at the beginning of li- brary works. Bach was the father of the concert-piece just as . ■ , . ' , . • Chaucer was the father of English literature. BEETHOVEN Beethoven was an intermediary. He was the last of the Classicists and the first of the Romanticists. The Romanticists were the students or adherents of the individualistic school. The Romantic writers in poetry and prose were those whose subject matter was drawn from imaginative literature of the middle ages, the fan- tastical story of chivalry, an adventure which first made their appearance in the Romance language. "Romanticism is a quality in musical composition which strives to give expression to other ideals than mere sensuous beauty, and seeks them irrespective of the restrictions and limit- ations of form and conventions of law; the quality which puts con- tents or matter over manner.” The striving cannot be restricted to the composers of any particular time or place. Beethoven was the forerunner of it and influenced the new school. Romanticism in music as well as in literature is a protest against classicism, a protest against the influence of the Greek and Roman ideals on the ideals and music of Western Europe. Romanticism makes expression in- dividual, as special, and as vivid as possible. It seeks the parti- cular rather than the general, using the lyric style. "It tends to neglect the wider development of thought in which classicism es- pecially rejoices, and is somewhat indifferent to proportion, bal- ance, and comprehensive arrangement. It takes great interest in the sensuous charm of its material and spares no effort to refine and diversify the sensuous effects at its disposal". . ' t - ■ 5 Beethoven was the first composer who was influenced by the new school. He composed a number of Fantasias. The "G-Minor Fantasia” Opus 27, is distinctly a Fantasia and differs from Bach's Fantasia in that Bach's was a part of the suite while Beethoven’s stands alone. Beethoven wrote "Thirty-three Variations on a Waltz by Diabelle", Opus 120. The variation style is old; "it suggests reflection, technical skill, and formalism; yet Beethoven made it a perfect vehicle for soulful poetizing". In the old conception of this form, the one which left the theme after all its embellishments and was essentially what it had been at the beginning, may be said to reach its culmination under Bach. Beethoven breathed new life into it and lifted it to a height which no composer has been able to reach since except Brahms. "His purpose in the variations is to exhibit the ferasie in its po- tential poetic phrases, to give an exposition to the various moods which its penetrative mind and exhuberant fancy saw latent within. It is as if one having a beautiful diamond should successively pre- sent each of its facets to view so that the changes in refraction might reveal all of the gem's wealth of beauty in the light best )) calculated to make that beauty evident. H The origin of the Waltz is wrapped in obscurity. The modern dance made its appearance about 1780. The music of the waltz originally consisted of two sections, each having eight measures in three-four or three-eight time. A good example of the primitive waltz may be found in Beethoven's "Deutsche Tanze". In Beethoven's works the waltz is found for the first time as a separate, independ- ent work. The March was a form originally associated with military , 6 movements and afterwards was imported into the music of the stage, orchestra, chamber, and oratorios. Beethoven was the first compos- er to give the march its modern form, to separate it from the stage and to let it stand alone. He used the march form in his "The Three Marches for Two Performers", Opus 45, and in the Funeral March of his "Sonata*, Opus 26. Beethoven’s "Two Preludes thru Twelve Keys" are written in the improvisatory style. The "Under" was a national dance popular in Austria, Bohemia, and Bavaria. Beethoven wrote a real Lfindleri The little waltz known as "le Desir" (usually attributed to Beethoven, though really composed by ^chubert) is a Lfinder. Bach and Beethoven did not really add much to the form of the present concert piece, but simply stood as the forerunners of it. Their efforts were a breaking away from the old formality and classicism and starting a different type of music called the concert- piece. MOSCHELES Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870) was a successor of Beethoven. He made a pianoforte score of Beethoven’s "Fidelio” and wrote "Variations to a Theme of Harmonious Blacksmith", "Hommage A Handel" for two pianofortes, "Varationen iiber den Alexandermarsch" , Opus 32, and "Twenty-four Etudes", Opus 20. The public of today has scarce- ly ever heard any of his music in the concert-room. Nevertheless his works still possess vitality. He did not add anything more than Bach or Beethoven to the concert piece but nevertheless deserves to be mentioned as one of the old fathers of it. 7 CZERNY A most efficient exponent of the so-called "Vienna °chool" was Carl Czerny (1791-1857). He wrote "Variations and Fantasias" which were a mere hollow glitter. He followed the fashion of the salon composers of today, "giving titled to some of its pieces, it is easy to see, with an eye to the sales-counter ." His compositions like "Conflagration of Marvazell", and "Runs of Weimar Neustadt" were aimed at "arousing interest through specific pride of the Vien- nese". His fame rests on his pedagogical works. He contributed little to the concert-piece. WEBER Carl von Weber (1786-1826) stood in the shadow of Beethoven on the border line of Romanticism. His fame lies chiefly in "Polacea", in a-flat, and "The Invitation to the Dance", a waltz rondo. "The people saw the new spirit of Romanticism clearly and more eonvincing in the original form of the composition than in the arrangements of it, which the virtuosi have made to lend technical brilliancy to their playing". He composed "Eighteen Waltzes", "Twelve All emftndes" (numbers eleven and twelve being for four hands), "Six Variations on a theme Bianchi’s Vinqua", "Sorina Vienqua", ,,C! even Variations on a Gypsy Air" in C, "Moments Capriccioso in B- flat”, "Grand Polonaise", "Aufforderung zura Tange", and "Rondo Brilliant" in D-flat. He wrote ten sets of "Variations". He did not attempt as Bach in the "Goldberg Variations" or Beethoven in the "Eroica" Variations and those on "Diabelle's Waltz", to enlarge the bounds 8 of Variations but he clung to the simple, old-fashioned form. Each variation has its own distinctive and refined character. His varia- tions on "Vien Qua Dorina Billa ”, Opus 7, on a "Peine au Sortir de l'enfance", Opus 28, and on "SchBne Minka" , Opus 40, are among the finest of their kind. His talent shows most clearly whenever he had a poetic idea to interpret musically, and no where is this shown more con- spicuously than in his two "Polonaises” in E-flat and E, and above al! in his "Invitation a la Valse" known all over the world. The "Hondo Brilliant", Opus, 62, and the "Moments Capriccioso" , Opus 12, though not unattractive, hardly come up to the other three piece. Weber added a step in the development of the Waltz. The composition of the "Aufforderung zum Tanz" marks an "adoption of the waltz form into the sphere of absolute music and prepared the way for the stream of the pianoforte waltz not intended as dance accompan- iment". As can be seen, the concert-piece is slowly developing step by step. Although Weber did not add much to the form of the concert — piece, he deserved to be mentioned in connection with its develop- ment • FIELD John Field (1782-1837) was a precursor of Chopin in his cultivation of the Nocturne. His compositions in the simple and compact form numbered eighteen, although not more than twelve of theip deserve the title. They are popular not only for intrinsic charm, freshness, and simplicity, but also on account of being the prede- cessors of Chopin' s"Nocturnes" which undoubtedly owe their form 9 but not their "characteristic melancholy" to those of Field. "He was the first who introduced a genre in song and sentiment which absolutely eliminated , free from the shackels, and free from the slack of imposed form". His celebrated Rondos are written in a spirit of child-like gaiety. He opened the way for all achievements which followed under the style of "Pongs Without Words", "Impromptus, and Ballads.” To him may be traced the source of all those pieces designed to give voice in tones to particular sensations and feelings. The "Nocturnes in A, E-flat, C-minor, A-flat, and B-flat” are the very essence of all "idylls and eclogues". He also wrote a "Polonaise on Rondeau", "Airs Varies”, "Variations on a Russian Air”, for four hands, a "Grand Waits”, "Fantasie sur le Montif la Polonaise en forme de Rondo", but his fame chiefly lies in his nocturnes. He prepared the way for Schubert and Pchumann in their cultivations of the Concert- piece. He was merely a "wayshower" to the famous composers who com- posed real concert-pieces. SCHUBERT With Franz Schubert (1797-1828) the concert-piece really takes its true form. He is unique in melody, rhythm, and modulation He is most original in the short pieces for the pianoforte. His pianoforte "Fantasy" in C is a variation on melodies. His "Impromptu’ in B-flat has an "adonic meter which flows smoothly and is still great". He wrote two sets of "Impromptus", the "Momens Musicals" (a set of short pieces), a "Fantasia" in C, Opus 15, and many "Marches", "Polonaises", and "Rondos". He wrote some charming 10 Waltzes. His greatest achievement according to Dr. Eie was his "Moments Musicals", ^ome of his pieces are song-like and all have a speaking expressiveness and pronounced character. "His love of nature is reflected in his pieces as shown in his "Moments Musicals". ^chubert wrote for the instrument in a new way, "calling not only for new and elaborate advances of technique, but a deeper underlying potency of expression, through interlacing parts, skill- fully arranged, harmonies, the inner voices of chords and through new demands as to the variety of tone quality, contrasts of color, and th< enrichment of the whole through pedal effects". Liszt described ^chubert as the most poetic of musicians. a chubert’s music is the most lovable of all music. In his Impromptus lies the germ of Mendelssohn’s ’ TC! ongs Without Words". His Waltzes influenced the Viennese school of dance-composers, ^chubert uses the March-form to a great extent in many of his pieces for four-hands, among them being two in six-eight time. The Polonaise is a stately dance of Polish origin. ^chubert wrote a "Polonaise" for four-hands. The Impromptu is a term used for pianoforte compositions "which have the character of ex- tempore performances". Schubert uses the term "Impromptu" for the first time. His two sets of pieces known as "Impromptus" Opus 90, Number One to Four and Opus 42, Number One to Four, are mostly varia- tions and were the first Impromptus written. These variations were indeed concert-pieces. His impromptu in 0, Opus 90, is a'^ong With- out Words". We find the ^lavic trait in his pianoforte pieces which he was the first to introduce prominently into music. The quaint alterations of the major and minor were in thiw period. He embodied 11 the assimilated national melodies and rhythmic peculiarities, thus being the forerunner of Liszt and Brahms who made Hungarian melodies an integral part of European concert' music . Schubert was the first to show the way. With him the concert-piece takes a definite form and has a dignified, stately character. SCHUMANN Robert Schumann (1810-1856) is the "Prince of German sentimentalities". His music is narrative and tells the stories of his life. The "Fantasia" in C-minor has a "daring flight and a hid- den undertone for him who listens secretly". Schumann wrote some "Etudes" in the form of Variations. He wrote a "Fantasie" in C for which his inspiration came from his love for Clara Wieck. His music is full of wealth, depth, and peotry. His melodies are most original, full of odd leaps, and strongly marked rhythms. His harmonies are often harsh; "the effects of color are produced by the pedal, by crossing the hands, and by striking a chord and releasing the keys one after another". He wrote the "Papillons", the "Carnival", "Pie Davids- bundler", "Fantasiestdcke" , "Fantasie", Opus 17, "Novelleten" , "Nachstflcke" , "Scenes of Childhood", Opus 15, "Bunte Blotter," and "Forest Scenes", Opus 82. As can be seen, he uses distinctive names for his titles such as "Butterflies", "Carnival", "Flower Pieces", and "Arabesque". "Mottoes and poetic quotations are used, and names are spelled out in the letters in the notes of the theme, as for in- stance in the "Northern Dance", which begins with the name of Gade, a Danish composer, " G- A- D- E-". His form is highly individual. ; , . t 12 the themes being little developed but following each other like the scattered thoughts of an active but untrained mind”. "What he did", says Richard Aldrich, "is to develop an expressive power of the pianoforte all his own. He is a true Roman- ticist. He is the foremost representative of idealized program music, proclaiming not things, but the mood and essence of things, applying titles which do not wait for fancy, but lift it into a buoyant atmosphere, removing all fetters of the soul and mind, point- ing out the way in all directions except those which lead to the realm of the ignoble and the ugly." He was the ideal representative of Romanticism. "He turned the fantastics and whimsicalities of E. A. Hoffmann and Jean Paul Frederick into instrumental song and wove the partly colored threads into polyphony and called them "Fantasiestuck" (Opus 111). His surpressed feeling, mystery, and suggestion of the day, dreams and reveries fill his earnest, thoughtful works." The most familiar example is the beautiful pianoforte piece "Traumerie" (dreaming). Schumann was a "new phenomenon in German music". He uses the concise dance or song -form, making up this longer compositions from a number of these smaller forms, and "sets ithem together as a mosaic, instead of at once casting his thought into a larger mold". His Opus 22 consists of a set of small piano- forte pieces in dance-form under the name of "Papillons". "The term dance does not mean the dances of the "Davidsbundler” but indicates the form of the piece which is used with scarcely less freedom than in the March in the finale of the "Carnaval". He invents a piece cpiite independently and afterwards gives it a particular meaning by a superscription. "His object is to give the piece an individual , ■A. ■ - . ' 13 character and to make it intelligible of itself". Among the compositions of small form there are the Variations. Schumann used the variation-form "not only freely and fancifully but with a wealth of taste and feeling", as for example in his "Impromptus", and "Andante", and "Variations" for two pianos. Opus 46. His "Fantasia", Opus 17, has no conciseness of form. He breaks every restriction that limits this form, especially in the first movement, where he almost loses himself with endless freedom. The old masters had given the Fantasia a definite outline but Schumann did not adhere to it. His "Humoreeke" is considered one of his most characteristic works. "Intermezzo" is a term used for "short movement serving as a connecting link between the larger divisions of a sonata or suite’.’ Schumann, however, used the term in a different sense. He used the term to denote an independent piece of small dimensions. He uses this form in his Opus 4. His music contains "sportive fanci fulness". His "Papillons" is often described as a young carnival". His "Carnaval" he describes as a higher kind of "Papillons". He called it a masked ball. It is composed of twenty-one pieces, each having a superscription. The pieces showing his imagination are "Davidsbtlndler" , "Fantasies tficke " , "Fantasie", "Kreisleriana" , and "Va velletten" . His "Davidsbtindler" shows his feeling for Clara Wieck. His "Fantasies tficke" , is composed of eight pieces. "Des Abends", having twilight dreaminess, "Warum" , full of questioning, "Grillens", containing a humorous character, "Traumenswivrin" , of a dreamy nature, and "Endevom Trede", having a joyful character. C chumann’s works have the structure of our modern concert-piece and he is one of the greatest masters of it. He completed the work that 14 Schubert began. He added thoughtfulness and the song-form to the concert-piece • MENDELSOHN Mendelssohn (1809-1841) is not a revolutionist but a reformer of good taste. He added "little more than a form and an idiom". The form degenerated into a formula by himself. Mendelssohn "Songs Without Words" created a remarkable form for his lyric piano pieces and chose for them an entirely new and expressive name. Neither the "Nocturnes" of Field or Chopin, nor the "Bagatellen" of Beethovetuor the "Moments Musicals" of Schubert can be compared to the ,f<3 ongs Without Words". Within the approved forms and principles of Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven he found free air and scope for what there was in him. His themes are poetic, sentimental, and picture all moods. The "Songs Without Words" are most genuine and most in- dividual inspirations. There is hardly a characteristic trait of his style that is not found in these little miniature. In them we have the whole of Mendelssohn. He had an exquisite sense of form and balance. He was more inclined than Schumann to cling to the classical patterns of style and unimpassionate classical spirit. With him began a new classical development. "He called attention to j symmetry", technical finish and outward grace." There is an absence of the abnormal and morbid in his works. His style suggests the blending of the classical and romantic features. He added little to the formal resources of music. He used the patterns and methods already known. But the old styles be- . . , . 15 came fresh and invigorated under his treatment as in the Caprices for the pianoforte, Mendelssohn has left several "Barcarolles” which a are "pieces of music written in imitation or recollection of the songs of the Barcarioli as they row their gondolas". He left several of them in his "songs Without Words", as the "Venitianisehes I Gondollied" in G minor and Opus 30, Number ^ix, and Opus 62, Number Hive. The Barcaroles first makes its appearance in Mendelssohn's and Chopins works. The best known pieces of the "songs Without Words" are the "Spinning song", "Hunting Song", "Spring Song", and the "Gondolier's Song". His works of aesthetic content are "songs With- out Words", "Yenitian Gondolier's song", and "Variations Serieuses"; those having technical significance are "Capriccio" in P sharp minor "Rondo Capriccioso" , "°cherzo" in E minor, "Pantasie" in Pminor, "Etude" in P major, and "Scherzo Cepprico", which is the most valua- | ble and individually characteristic of all of his pianoforte music. Por four-hands he wrote an "Allegro Brilliant" and a "Duo Concertante which are variations on a march in "Preciosa”. Mendelssohn develop- ed farther than Schumann in the concert-piece in creating a definite song-form. Mendelssohn is one of the greatest master’s of the con- cert-piece . CHOPIN Frederick Chopin (1810-1849) was a Classicist in one sense but a Romanticist in another. "He had architectural structure forced by the adoption of dance tunes, but he was free with form. Mendelssohn and Chopin had a common love for architectural symmetry". »r> ■ v ' . . . 16 "They had the same attitude toward program music, and a devotion to beauty”. He wrote fifty-six "Mazurkas”, twenty-seven "Etudes”, nineteen "Nocturnes", fifteen "Waltzes", thirteen "Polonaises", four "Rondos", four "Ballades", one "Barcarolli" , one "Funeral March’ four "Scherzos", three "Impromptus", three sets of "Variations", three "Eccossaises" , two "Fantasias", one "Tarantelle" , one "Ber- ceuse", one "Concert Allegro", and one"Bolero". His Etudes devel- oped the technique of pianoforte playing and also breathed poetry and passion. His twenty-five Preludes alone would give Chopin a claim to everlasting fame. All shades of feeling are divined; all depths and altitudes are explored. The Ballade is an invention of Chopin. The fourth "Ballade in F minor is a masterpiece in pianoforte literature as Mona Lisa is a masterpiece in painting. His "Ballades" are written in triple time and are moody and passionate. The "Polonaise" of Chopin is developed to the highest degree. Chopin was one of the few composers who embodied the romance of his land and the people of Poland. The Waltzes are salon music of aristocratic kind. Ehlert calls them "dances of the soul and not of the body". He used the damper pedal freely to get wonderful rich and clear effects. He found by making dissonances he could enrich the colos’, as for example his "^cherzo". Opus 38. "It has been said of Chopin that he always seemed to be listening to the wind blowing over the strings of an Aeolian Harp, and that he constantly en- deavored to prolong similar effects in music by means of a prolonged and almost never ending domination of minor-seventh chord, character- istic of that instrument. Th6re is some ground for reasoning in thi? assertion as will be seen on reference to his "Berceuse", Opus 57, . 17 and the "Nocturne” , Opus 62, Number One. Near the close of both compositions the passages are in each case in the nature of a pedal point. In one instance he closed a "Prelude", Opus 25, Number twenty-three, with an unresolved dominant seventh chord, leaving the hearer in the expectation of something yet to come. Chopin’s "Nocturnes" are dreamy, contemplative, and even elegiac. It is interesting to compare the nocturnes of Chopin with those of Field, for instance. Field's Number Five in E-flat with Chopin's Opus 25, Number two. Both the first and second subjects of each bear a striking resemblance to those of the other composers. Chopin reversed the principle of Wagner whose melodies became motifs. Chopin's motifs became complete melodies, his progressions and cad- ences motifs. "Even the last two chords of final progressions he loved to include within the limits of a melody in song form". His inhErmonic voices are often melodies, such as the composer of today would send forth as an independent creation. In short, he subjects every note of his composition to the "laws of poetic meter". As a consequence, it lives and moves to the despair of the impersonal pianist of today. "All his works display a rare £ift of poetic fancy and beauteous melody, and they abound in passages of great difficulty but are never harsh or strained. He glorified the Polish national music in his Polonaises and Mazurkas. His music is original in inspiration, elaborate in ornamentation, and yet never becomes formless. He had perfect unity and balance as Mendelssohn. His form is closer to the modern form. His forms are song-like in essence. "In the courtly grace & impetuous vigor of his "Polonaises”, the coquettish witchery of his "Mazurkas and Waltzes", the tender beauty of his "Ballades", "Nocturnes" and 18 "Impromptus", the kaleidoscopic brilliancy of his "Studies”, "Pre- ludes " and "^cherzos", Chopin accomplished the apotheosis of the national music and the national spirit of his beloved Poland; and inasmuch as his music not only represents the strong, national char- acter instincts, but is also a record of the changing emotions of his sensitive nature, anyone who can appreciate Chopin's works will easily disprove to themselves the charge of want of variety. "Music was revelation to Chopin and he avoided the commonplace". "His "Nocturnes" are envoys." He often treated the principal melodies in the style of the "Italian Aria". "Beneath the wealth of embellishments or hidden in the modulatory passages the original song may be discovered if the interpretation is to possess grace or meaning. He was even accustomed to build upon the close, new, and melodic passages forceful and dignified, but on analysis resolving it into a forceful cadence". In sequence of modulatory chords, Chopin loved to transform beautiful themes by breaking up their melodic structure into rhythmic and melodic motifs. His "Berceuse" has unvarying uniformity. In his"Ballades" he delights in a form of expression pe- culiar to himself. The music appeals to the imagination as a narra- tive poem. The "Third Ballade" in A-flat is the most perfect piece because it is well balanced and carefully designed. The "°econd Ballade" in F is not fantastic. In one sense he gradually deteriorated in form. He knew where his weakness lay, for toast of his works are short, dance pieces in two or three part forms. He idealizes them and introduces "tempo rubato" which makes his music very interesting. He uses for this purpose the Polonaise, a stately dance . 19 of Poland, and the more lively Mazurkas which he knows how to make tender, sad, and gay in turn. He wrote many graceful "Waltzes" and other dances, such as a "Tarantelle" a "Bolero", and a "Krakowiak" . His deeper emotions he expresses in his "Nocturnes", "Preludes", "Impromptus" and "Ballades". Chopin treated the Mazurkas in a new and characteristic manner. "He extended its original form, eliminat- ed all vulgarity, and introduced all sorts of Polish airs, thus re- taining little more than the intensely national character of the dance tune." Chopin’s "Polonaise" is developed to the highest develop- ment possible for a mere dance. He invigorated the dry form of the old Polonaise into a new spirit, altering it as he did the Mazurka and the Waltz. He changed it from a mere dance into a "glowing tone picture of Poland; her departed glory, her many wrongs, and her hopes for regeneration." Karasowski ("Chopin? Volume two) divides the Polonaises into two classes. The first which includes those in A Opus 40, Number One, F-sharp minor, Opus 44, and A-flat, Opus 53, is characterized by strong, martial rhythm and may be taken to "re- present the feudal court of Poland in the days of its splendor". The second class inluding the Polonaises in C-sharp minor. E-flat minor, Opus 36, C minor. Opus 40, Number Two, D minor, B-flat major, and F minor. Opus 71 is easily distinguished by a "dreamy melancholy >* and is a picture of Poland in her adversity. "The "Fantasia Polonais in A-flat, Opus 61, is different incharacter and is said to be re- presentative of the national struggles ending with a song of triumph. The Rondo was a piece of music "having a principal subject to which a return is always made after an introduction of other matter, so as to give a symmetrical or rounded form to the whole". . f t. * 20 Chopin, whose construction was not a strong point, often omitted the central section or third subject, together with a repetition of the first subject, which accompanies it; "that is to say, that the composer having produced all of his material in the first part of the piece repeats the whole unchanged except that those portions that were in the dominant were given to the tonic". Chopin's "Hondo \ Brilliant" in E-flat and "Adieu a Yarsovie" show this construction. Many people think the "Fantasia" Opus 49, the "Polonaise" in F-sharp minor, "the Scherzo" in B minor, and the "Prelude" in D minor are Chopin at his best. The concert-piece reached its height under Chopin. His Nocturnes, Ballades, Polonaises, and Preludes exemplify the concert -piece in its highest form under the Romantic writers. The works of Schubert, Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Chopin show the true form of the concert-piece. No other composers have done so much to give the concert-piece its true form as these. The composers of today do not produce as much pianoforte music as these. No others have as much originality and power in their works. The composers of today treat the concert-piece in a different way. From now on the concert-piece takes a different form and in many instances becomes a salon piece. HELLER Stephen Heller (1815-1888) wrote "Fantasias", "Ballads”, numerous "Etudes", "Preludes", "Caprices" and"Lances” , besides a "set of delightful effusions which are called Flower, Fruit, and Thorn Pieces". "His "Waltzes” are reflective and introspective, not to be danced but at least to be felt and brooded over." His music ' • ■ 21 is a proclamation of all the moods. While his compositions are not now regarded so highly, they are filled with original feelings and beautiful melodies. His form of the concert-piece did not equal those of the four great composers. With him the concert-piece begins to take a new form which is almost degenerate in its essence. HENSELT Adolph Henselt (1814-1885) wrote in a brilliant style and nobility, suggestive of Chopin. He wrote "Twelve Etudes de Concert", Opus 2, "Twelve Etudes de ^alon", Opus 5, a "Spring ^ong”, a "Cradle Song", "La Gondola". He is poetic even in his "Etudes". His "Twelve Etudes" deserve a rank near Chopins'. His Etude, "If I were a Bird", is played for the concert room of today. He is not as great as Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Schumann and save the one mention- ed, his works are seldom heard in the concert room. RAFF Joachim Raff (1822-1882) wrote a "Seranade", "Etudes", "Impromptu Waltz", "Impromptu Brilliant", "Fantasie Dramatique” , "Romance Etude", "Nocturne”, a "Romance", "Capriccio" in F minor, a "Fantasia" for two pianofortes, two "Rhapsodies Elegiaques", "Valse Melaniolique" , "Tarantella", "Albumstuck" , a "Caprice", two "Etudes Melodiques", and a "Capriccio". His "Etudes" are the best known of his works. His Etude, "La Fileuse", has won a place in the con- cert-room of today. Raff ranks with Heller and Henselt. They were not great composers and did not add anything more to the concert- piece and were chiefly noted for their Etudes. ■ 22 BRAHMS Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) represented the combined element of classicism and Romanticism. He improved the structures polyphonically. He wrote one "Ballad” , Opus 10, five sets of "Varia- tions", a number of short pieces call eel "Rhapsodies", a "Caprice" in B minor and an "Intermezzo” in A- flat. Opus 76. His piano "Variations" were the greatest of his time and among the greatest of all times. His "Variations" are somewhat differ ent from those which are commonly so named. His prototype is Bach's "Aria with Thirty Variations”. His "Variations” flow naturally. "Only a real genius can take a thought and draw it forth upon a sin- gle theme and contrast as though it were a symphony". His "Variation!! on a Theme by ^chumanft, Opus 9, are impressive and show his true friendship for Schumann. His early "Variations" were sweet and mys- terious as the ?tC! wan Song" and "Variations of Love", by Schumann. The "Original Theme and Variations", Opus 20, Humber One, have an "epic breadth and much fervor, half churchly and half rhythmic." The "Variations on a Hungarian Theme", Opus 21, Humber Two, pictures Magyar life. "It recites sad songs, blazing passionate dances of love, gaiety of wine, czardas, marches, troops of dancing maidens, and wedding processions; till he finally has a heaven of symphony above, and the whole company ends with a Hungarian theme in the form of a hymn". The "Paganini Variations" are twenty-eight variation- studies. Brahms is sometimes called the last great classic composer. He adheres to the classic structure; he is objective. "In his "Variations" he so absorbs the entire contents of each musical epoch that he produces the characteristics of each composer by turn." If K _ s' . - , ■ • i'i 23 he writes on a theme by Haydn, he becomes Haydn in style. "He achiev- ed the last supreme endeavor of our modern music; the longing to make music reveal not only feeling but thought." His "Intermezzo" in E minor tells of Brahms love for the waltz form as treated by Strauss. He was fond of conflicting rhythms and themes like the folk songs or national dance tunes. He wrote "Sixteen Waltzes" Opus 39 for four hands. He wrote an odd and strik- ing "Scherzo" for the pianoforte. It had wonderful vigor. "The Rhapsody is a string of melodies arranged with a view to effective performance in public, but without a regular de- pendence of one part on another." Brahms adopted the term "Rhapsody" and added more weight to its significance. His "Original Rhapsodien" Opus 79, in B minor and G minor are abrupt pieces in simple style yet solidly put together. In his "Rhapsodie" Opus 119, there is more of a rhapsodical quality than is found in any other of Brahm’s Rhapso- dies. A half of his Rhapsodies will outlive Liszt. He wrote four Ballads, one in six-eight time and two in six-eight or six-four time. His "Ballad" in D minor has a narrative quality; he puts it in common-time instead of triple measure, thus giving it more dignity and stateliness. The term "Capriccio" is applied to many of the short pieces among Brahm's important works. His Opus 76 and 116 consist of a Gaprica and Intermezzi. The term"Caprica" is applied to the rapid movements but "Intermezzi? is applied to the slower movements. Brahms used the term as Schumann for pieces of smaller dimension as in his Opus 76, 117, 118, and 119. He never writes salon music. Brahms is indeed an artist of the beautiful and no where is this better exemplified than in his ' ■ ' 24 piano works. "Though he lived in various musical centers, he rarely- appeared in concert, devoting himself to composition, the result being a rather conventional, though at times brilliant style of com- position. He became an idol of the anti-Wagnerian school. Brahms was the lest of the Romantic School. With him ends the development of the concert-piece treated in the Romantic way. He added the form of Rhapsodies and perfected the variation form; this is his contri- bution to the concert-piece. The concert-piece was developed in an entirely different way under the new National School. The characteristics of the new school are found in its name. National School. The composers of this school have certain national qualities in their work. This is not a golden age for the concert-piece, and in many cases it becomes a drawing-room, salon piece. The pianoforte of today has gained a hundred times in richness and power of tone. With it, the music has gained in national spirit. GRIEG Edvard Grieg (1845-1907) is one of the foremost composers of the new school. His music depicts alternate sadness and boister- ous humor, natural to the people oppressed by the climatic rigors of the Scandinavian peninsula. Among his compositions for the piano- forte are "Humoresken” , "Romanzenund Balladen" , "Lyrische stuckchin", "Romanzen", ’’Walzereapricin" , a ’’Peer Gynt °uite". Number one for the pianoforte, a ’’Romance and Variations’’, and ’’Wedding Day at i Trolhaugen" . The strange and haunting harmonies of ’’Asa's Death’’ have almost giagical power. In ’’Anitra's Dance" there is an oriental • 10 ' * ■ 25 characteristic which is very attractive. He implanted upon the melodies of Norway the impress of his own genius, as shown in Opus 17, "Northern Dances and Polk Tunes". "He has melodic freshness and real ability to engraft a really individual style upon the materials offered by his countrymen'!! dances and songs". While original and spontaneous, his music is em- bued with old Horse melodies and folk songs. There is a certain ro- bustness, ruggedness, and abruptness in the harmonic changes; "the strong contrast, produced by marked emphasis, combined with syncopa- tion, the constant recurring effects of light and shade through pro- per attention to dynamics are very marked. He used the old ecclesiastical modes in which the leading tone, characteristic of our modern scale is lacking. He used in its place a minor seventh instead of a major seventh. He frequently used the harmonic and melodic progressions based upon the tones of the natural minor scale. In his "Berceuse” Opus 38 number one, "the binary and tenary rhythms conbine and there are strong harmonic con- trasts of sudden occurence." Grieg's music carries the fragrance of his native pine woods into the concert-room. Certain harmonic progressions are used almost too often, In the structure of the melodies there is a cer- tain sequence of descending notes, consisting of the tonic, leading tone, and dominant. His chief characteristic is his local color. As can be seen, the concert-piece is taking a new form. It is filled with the national spirit. Grieg was one of the first masters of the new school and his music is embued with Nationalism. The concert- piece is now a national concert-piece. 26 DVORAK Anton Dvorak (1841-1901) wrote a "Polka”, "Scottish Dances", two "Furiants", a "Humorske", a "Waltz". The Furiant, a piece of fiery character, was introduced into music by Dvorak. He belongs to the National Bohemian School of Musicians. His music is full of national characteristics. He has a wealth of melodic in- ventions. There is a certain unexpectedness in his music. He added more of the National spirit to the concert-piece. LI^ZT Franz Liszt (1811-1886) wrote "Nocturnes", "Etudes", "Hungarian Rhapsodies", "Consolations", "Harmonies”, "Poetiques et Religieuses" , "Annees de Pelerinage", "Legends”, and "Transcriptions on Schubert’s Song”. He introduced on the pianoforte orchestral ef- fects. The method of getting these effects was by transcription by Liszt for the pianoforte. Liszt's "Transcription of the Ninth Symphony of Beethoven" may be regarded as a masterpiece in this line. His "Soirees de Vienne", although built on a borrowed theme, is an artistic creation. His Etude "Au Bord D’ une Soul", is very beau- tiful. Liszt used the term "Rhapsodie" in its original form, as in his fifteen "Rhapsodies Hongroises", "Remineseenes d’ Espagne", "Les Folies d' Espagne” and "La Jota Aragonese" which he later called "Rhapsodie Espagnale". His Rhapsodies show a reconstruction and civilization of a national music of the highest artistic type. "Schumann was the soul of Germany, Chopin the soul of Po- land, and Liszt, the soul of Magyar". The concert-piece is now a vigorous National piece. It varies in spirit, according to the 27 nationality of the composer. Liszt treats it with the Hungarian National spirit along with his own individual style and thus makes a National, vigorous concert-piece. He writes more good concert- pieces than any of the composers that follow him. RUBENS TEIN Anton Gregor Ruhenstein (1830-1894) wrote a ’’Nocturne”, in G-flat, an "Impromptu”, "Twelve Etudes", "Melody in F", a Polon- aise", three "Caprices", "Album of St. Petersburg", "Fantasia" for two pianos, "Album of National Dances”, and "Soirees Musicales". He is popularly known for his "Melody in F", "Romance", Opus 26, Number One, and Opus 44, Number One, "Barcarolle", Opus 30, and "Impromptu”, Opus 44. His piano works may be divided into three classes; first, the drawing-room pieces which are often trivial and insipid; second, pieces showing the influence of Chopin and Mendelssohn; third, his own compositions, pure and simple. The influence of Chopin is shown in his "Mazurka" Opus 5 and "Melancolie" , Opus 51. Mendel- ssohn's influence is shown in the "Romance", Opus 26, number one, and in his weaker pieces. Schubert's influence is shown in "Valse Allemond", and Weber's in "Freischutz Waltz”, number five. There is a lack of outline and form in his music. His works contain but little national spirit and are very simple in structure. They marked the beginning of the change in the charact- er of the concert-piece. Fome of his works were superior drawing- room pieces. From now on the character of the concert-piece changes to that of the salon, drawing-room piece. 28 TPCHAIXOWSKI Peter Tschaikowski (1840-1893) was one of the greatest Russian composers. His works for the pianoforte, however, show little inspiration or even ingenuity. "The world would not he much poorer for the loss of all that he has written for the piano". His repetition and development of an idea is too thin to hear such elab- oration. His writing for the piano is that of a composer for an orchestra. He thinks orchestrally. His "Valse Caprice" in A-flat Opus 4, is very brilliant and his "Waltz Romance" is very beautiful and much played. He wrote a "Valse Caprice" in D, "Romance" in F minor, a "Valse Scherzo" in A, "Capriccio" in G-flat , "The Months", Opus 37, and "Perpetuum Mobile" for the left hand. In the "Varia- tions in F" the chief interest lies in the thematic development. His works disclose patriotism in both the theme and development and they have a light, fanciful character which is exceedingly attract- ive. He uses the minor keys very persistently. In the richness of his emotions may be traced the cause of his imperfections. As can be seen, his pieces also tend toward the ?al on-music. His pieces have a light, trivial character. His contribution to the concert- piece is to make it become a light, fanciful piece. SAINT-SAEHS Oamille ^aint -^aens (1835 - ) has written a "Caprice on Russian Avis", a "Mazurka”, "Gavotte", "Polonaise”, "Souvenir d' Italie", "Les CSloches du 8oir", "Caprice Arabe" for two pianos, and a "Theme Varie". He shows local coloring in his piano pieces but as a whole they are not characteristic of him. His , . - * . ■ ■ . . 29 greatest works are those for the orchestra* His influence was to tend to make the concert-piece a drawing-room piece. DEBUSSY Claude Debussy (1862-1918) wrote "Reflections in the Water" , and "Images”. "There is a refinement and depth of ex- pression in the handling of unexpected harmonic and melodic iddas". He uses a six tone scale, augmented tread, and divides the octave into three equal parts. He uses refined dissonances in his pieces. His greatest works as those of ^aint-^aens are those for the or- chestra. Pianoforte compositions are no longer produced as abund- antly as in the time of Schumann. Debussy did not write many works for the piano. His music takes the force of the salon-piece; the concert-piece is now a drawing-room piece. MCDOWELL Edward MacDowell (1861-1907) was one of the greatest American composers. He wrote "Woodland Sketches”, "Fireside Tales", "^ea Pieces”, and "Hew England Idylls". He is a Romanticist. He uses poetic suggestion in the titles of his program music, he tries to portray the moods of things. He is partial to subjects that suggest woods. In his "Woodland Sketches" he uses the melodies of the Red Men of Horth America. He is essentially a student of the National school. His works are salon-pieces. . w 1 9 • ■ • . . 30 NEVIN Ethelbert Nevin (1862-1901) cultivated the sentimental Q alon style successfully and tastefully. Pome of his works are "Water Scenes", Opus 13, of which "Narcissus" is the best known, and "In Tuscany”, a suite. His feeling for melody is sometimes over sentimental but expressive of the gentler moods. He shows a finish of workmanship. His contribution is to make the concert-piece a real drawing-room piece. G OLER I DGE -TAYLOR Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) wrote "Negro Melodies Transcribed for the Piano". In these he calls into service the songs of Africa and West Indies with the songs that came into America during the slavery period. In handling melodies he has preserved a distinctive trait of individuality at the same time giving them an art form fully embued with their National spirit. He does in his music the same thing that MacDowell does in his songs of the American Indian. Although not a great composer, he deserves to be mentioned as the foremost Negro composer. His pieces tend to Nationalism but yet contain a strain of sentimentalism, character- istic of the °alon piece. PTRAUPP Richard Ptrauss (1864- ) wrote "Ptimmungsbilder" . His melodies fairly stand out in their very boldness and simplicity and are polyphonic and rhythmic. He is more refined than Debussy. •- « ' L ’ 31 His greatest works are those for the orchestra, GODOW^KY Leopold Godowsky (1870- ) is the greatest modern Polish musician, Some of his compositions for pianoforte are "Polonaisse" in C, "Minuet” in F, "Toccata", Opus 31, and "Triakonte- eon" which is composed of a group of small Polish pieces and very marked with Polish rhythms. He is best known as a virtuso. His pianoforte compositions are not great, although they hold a title to the title of the modern concert-piece • RACHMANINOV Sergei Rachmaninov (1873- ) is a famous Russian composer. He wrote a "Prelude" in C sharp minor, "Variation on a Theme of Chopin", and "Six Moments Musicaux". His "Prelude"in C sharp minor is very popular. He was one of the foremost Russian composers of the National schools. His pieces have the true form of the modern concert piece. He is best known, however, as a virtuoso. PADEREWSKI Ignaz Jan Paderewski (1860- ) is a famous Polish pianist. His compositions have a distinctive character of their own. Among his compositions for the pianoforte are "Fantasia", "Polonaise" Opus 14, "Chants du Voyageur", and "Album du Mai". He also did not write much for the pianoforte but was a great virtuoso. . jl. 32 The concert-piece began with Bach and Beethoven, reached its culmination in the Romantic School under Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Chopin, and became a salon piece under °trauss, Debussy and Nevin. What form the concert-piece will now take remains to be seen. This is a materialistic age. Most of the great musicians are now dead. The present composers are sensation seekers. The modern music is experimental. There are two masters to follow: ^trauss and Debussy. Strauss is the positive and Debussy the negative force. °trauss is greatest in what he does and Debussy in what he avoids. The question is now, what master will be followed’ In this answer will be found the future of the concert-piece.