Chopin's 'Soul and Heart'.
No word is more important in describing the playing of Chopin's music than rubato. It comes from the Italian word robare, to rob, but in music it means "give and take." If you steal a little time here, you've got to give it back. For example, in playing a melodic phrase, if you go forward in the first two bars, you must pull back in the next two so that the freedom you took does not break the rhythmical pulse. The classic feeling will come from the left hand, which Chopin insisted should be played as evenly as possible. Then the right hand can have its romance and play as freely as the left hand will allow. Every performer will use that freedom differently, and that is the beauty of the "disciplined freedom" that makes Chopin Chopin.
The 1996 all-Chopin CD that Byron mentions is well worth getting.
Thanks for this. What a wonderful essay. It brought up some good memories of my mother, who was a pianist as well, playing Chopin at home.
ReplyDeleteVery cool, and thanks!
ReplyDeleteI've blogged about my mother's Chopin playing, now, too. Writing that bit of memoir was prompted by all this, so double thanks.