The hands are meant to be played together, of course, but it’s not until we separate them out and slow them down that we can really hear them. Chopin instructs the same fast tempo of the entire scherzo, but specifies a brisk, light, delicate style for this part, which is what creates that blur of sound. In the bass clef, the left hand almost always plays one note on the beat, while the right hand of the treble clef plays over and between them, eighth notes only. The part consists of eight measures repeated once, in the key of A and ¾ time. Each time, I felt it come closer, but also pull away. I listened to this part once, twice, endlessly. The first times I heard it, I wasn’t sure what it amounted to, perhaps because I’d become fixated on this one brief part. That’s the piece we were listening to earlier and have now picked back up. and here’s where it goes.Ĭhopin stuck to the same structure and aesthetic for his second scherzo.

Sometimes, the best ideas for teasing out melodies simply won’t work.įrédéric Chopin wrote four scherzos, and each one is like a chocolate cream: devilishly dense, with a gooey middle. And, sometimes, the music will not allow a full accounting. Of course, I rarely have the time and energy to do this to my liking. It helps me grasp the live performer’s interpretation, that artful algorithm of tempo, dynamics, phrasing, that sense of soul, without which music struggles to transcend sound. Personally, I like when classical pianists and program directors risk money and reputation to innovate in artist-audience interplay.īut I also love the status quo, because it ensures that, in a standard recital-unlike in a film soundtrack, or a concert in the park, or even a piano competition-the music remains the main event.īefore going to a recital, I like to read the pieces, play them, listen to different recordings.

This wasn’t always the case-Franz Liszt’s concerts in the 19th century were uniquely Dionysian-and anyway it’s changing. If they’re really feeling it, they’ll clap while standing. Audience members do not speak or yell or dance. Mainstream music is definitionally communal, while classical music is highly internal to individuals. It’s just that, who listens to Madonna for the drums? Or when you get pumped for a Slash guitar solo, isn’t getting pumped the point? When RZA explains the creative process behind his new ice cream truck jingle, isn’t he doing so for the purposes of selling ice cream without racist music? Mainstream music also allows us to engage with instrumentals. This is not about putting classical piano on a pedestal. It is unfortunate that one big barrier to classical piano’s popularity lies within one of its deepest truths: that the music often contains layers of beauty and intrigue that are inaccessible without deep engagement.

Chopin scherzo 2 program notes