Liberace He Was Not

Frail, delicate, short lived, and passionate, Chopin stands as the herald of the Romantic era in piano music, leaving in his wake starry eyed lovers and nary a dry eye. I myself succumbed to melancholy while reading this chapter, and am relying heavily on the therapeutic powers of chocolate, as I complete this post.

Though Chopin never published a piano method, or taught any enduring star performers, and gave relatively few public performances, the legacy of his philosophy on music and performance lives on. I found it particularly interesting that he was not especially fond of playing public performances, and instead preferred to give small concerts for friends. While certainly some are well suited for performing for hundreds, I don't think this is the talent of every pianist, and there is something to be said for the value of an intimate performance given to only a few. Some of the most beautiful performances I have heard have been for only small audiences, and there is a charm in that which I think should not be devalued.

In addition to his fondness for more intimate settings, Chopin also used technique only to further the music and achieve his goals in expression. While this means that we should labor especially hard over the poetical aspects of his music, it also means that the music can assist the technique. If Chopin didn't write a run just to show off, why should we labor to play a run just to show off, when it may become more beautiful, and somewhat easier, when played more musically?

I found it interesting that so much was said of Chopin's physical flexibility, and it makes me consider even more the aspect of physicality involved in playing the piano. Would it make us better pianists if we took ballet, yoga, or pilates, and worked to improve our flexibility? Besides merely making us healthier, I think that more flexibility would help relaxation in playing, and by consequence improve technique, not to mention decreasing risk of stress related injury.

So much more could be said and suggested about Chopin's life and technique, including the observation that perhaps studying organ would help us to gain a style of fingering similar to Chopin's, but if I eat any more chocolate, I will have to spend precious practice hours working out instead. But then again, perhaps an hour of exercise and stretching would improve my playing of Chopin. In any event, it would probably increase my chances of living longer than he did.