Health & Fitness
The Very First Chopin Waltz that I teach
With its Romantic palette of colors and nuance, Chopin's A minor Waltz is the perfect student entree to this form.
My Chopin performance is dedicated to Mark Levine, long-time El Cerrito resident on the occasion of his birthday. (May 26)
After decades of teaching the Chopin Waltzes, I’ve come to the conclusion that the A minor, No. 19, Op. Posthumous is the best student introduction to the form as the composer cultivated it. While many other Waltzes in Chopin’s collection are far more substantial and technically challenging, No. 19 is, in my opinion, easiest to assimilate, study, and play. In part, it’s because the harmonic structure is very straightforward, leaning toward tonic, sub-dominant, and dominant chord relationships. In addition, a frequent interchange occurs between the tonic A Minor in which the piece is written and its relative C Major. (Good material for introductory theory) Finally, there’s an abundance of thematic repetition.
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The big climax of the piece, on the third page, (measures, 33-40) is a modulation to the Parallel A MAJOR, which makes a conspicuously audible impression. This section also has the most notes phrased at a Forte dynamic level.
Following the composition’s peak, the composer returns to the opening theme, which is in the home key of A minor.
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About the Composer, Frederic Chopin
(1810-1849)
Chopin lived during the height of the Romantic Period, and composed very expressive music that included free flowing phrases, ornamented notes, a colorful harmonic palette, and a tempo rubato (flexible, borrowed time that if taken too far, is a bit of a parody of itself). The pedaling for this music is rich, but tasteful. (The player should not overuse the sustain.)
The Way to Practice:
1) First, trace the path of melody through the opening section, (measures 1-16) in SLOW motion, following the phrasing very carefully. Chopin was very much a molto cantabile composer, who stressed the singing tone capability of the piano. In this first section, the composer offers the preponderance of material for the complete Waltz. Take note that the ornaments are played on the beat and with good directions in the editor’s annotations. (I use the Palmer edition.)
2) Continue by separately practicing the fundamental bass of the first section. (only the first beat of each measure, known as a “downbeat”) Draw each one out with a deep, resonant stroke.
3) Then play “after-beat” chords only–the two sonorities following the downbeat. Isolate them from measure to measure and notice the voice leading. Knowing they are neighbor chords will make the jump from the downbeat bass notes seem less awesome. Lighten the third beat or chord in each measure. Approach with a flexible or spongy wrist. (The wrist is the great shock absorber.)
4) Next play the downbeats followed by the after-beat chords in each measure. Draw out the downbeats without poking at them. You want a rich bass, not an accented one.
The after-beat chords should be lighter, as previously mentioned.
5) Finally, put hands together for the first section. The melody should be very singable and prominent. The fundamental bass gives the ground energy; the after-beat chords fill in with colorful harmony. The balance between the melody, fundamental bass, and after-beat chords is very important.
Part II (Measures 16-24)
The same advice for part one applies here. Keep to the order of practicing separate hands, with an awareness of balance between right hand and left hand.
Notice that this part of the composition is more extemporaneous, and feels improvised. It begins in the Melodic form of A minor and lets go with a DOMINANT key arpeggio (E Major). If you’ve been conscientious about practicing arpeggios, this passage should not be too difficult to execute, but consider it a freely rendered figure and not meant to be metronomically played.
Remember that the Romantic style is characterized by a sense of freedom and improvisation.
The next section is a return of the opening phrase in A Minor (measures 25-32).
Follow the method of practicing separate hands, as introduced in the beginning of the work.
The Climax: Measures 33-40 The longest phrasing in the piece and in A MAJOR (The Parallel MAJOR) with a Forte dynamic.
Practice with the same parceled-out approach as in the beginning.
Finally the opening section returns in Measures 41 to 52 with a Codetta (small, modified ending) as the last line.
