Chopins Etudes in Relation to the Early 19th Century Etudes
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Authors
Guo, Xiaojun
Issue Date
2023
Type
Dissertation
Language
Keywords
19th Century Etudes , Chopin Etudes , Romantic Aesthetic , Virtuosic
Alternative Title
Abstract
Chopin’s etudes occupy a unique place in piano literature. His etudes are more than technical studies, and exemplify artistry, aesthetics, and virtuosity. Many scholars have discussed Chopin’s etudes in their books, articles, and dissertations, with topics such as pedagogical analysis, comparisons between Chopin and later composers, and the comparisons of different teaching editions. However, little work has thoroughly examined Chopin’s etudes in relation to the etudes from early 19th century, showing Chopin’s inheritance of music from the past and his development of the Romantic virtuosity and Romantic aesthetic. In this document, I argue that when compared with the etudes from the early 19th century, Chopin inherited from the past and integrated the Romantic aesthetic with his etudes, revealing the arising demands for pursuing virtuosity of piano music through performance and pedagogical purpose. Moreover, the virtuosity of Chopin’s etudes is meshed with Romantic aesthetic in terms of musical contexts and compositional devices, demonstrating the narrative and depictive features as well as reminiscent of the past of his etudes. This document is based on researching and personal experience of playing Chopin’s etudes.First, I will provide some definitions of the etude, the development of piano etudes, and a brief literature review of Chopin’s etudes. Then, I will talk about Clementi, Cramer, Hummel, and Czerny’s etudes and their contributions of etudes regarding virtuosity and musical aesthetic in piano literature. After that, I will introduce Chopin’s etudes briefly as well as his connection to Romantic virtuosity and Romantic aesthetic. Finally, I will provide the musical contexts with some pedagogical analysis of Chopin’s etudes Op. 10 No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 5, No. 12, and Op. 25 No. 1, No. 5, No. 6, No. 9, No. 10, which show Chopin’s development of Romantic virtuosity and musical aesthetic. I will also provide some musical examples from Chopin’s predecessors that shared common ideas with Chopin’s etudes and evaluate their similarities and differences in terms of the technical strategies, the musical aesthetic manners, and the compositional devices.