Alfred Cortot performs Frédéric François Chopin : Étude in E major, Opus 10-3 (1933)
Rarely is this opening phrase of the Chopin's most famous melody played properly. Here are few exceptions.
'The Romantic Generation' by Charles Rosen, Harvard Univ. Press, 1995
The secret of avoiding monotony with the four-bar module was to vary the accent and the weight of the bars to avoid giving a similar emphatic accent on the first bar of every group, as if one were accenting a downbeat. After Beethoven and before Brahms, perhaps the greatest master of the technique was Chopin, as one can see from the opening of the Nocturne in D flat Major, op. 27, no. 2, of 1836 :
[opening bars of the music]
After a bar of introductory accompaniment (which hints at the contour of the melody), we find a five-bar phrase followed by three and a half. Basically, the fourth bar of the melody (bar 5) has been lengthened. Insted of
[an example of a poor probability]
we find a surprisingly long A natural with a wonderfully expressive effect, and this forces an accelerated movement in the following bar with a sense of greater passion.
The Etude in E Major, op. 10, no. 3, also opens with a similar group of five and three bars, but different forces are at work :
[opening bars of the music]
Bar 6, which should be a second or weak bar, has the weight of a downbeat, and crowding the whole second phrase into three bars creates an agitated contrast with the simpler opening. We can see that the module of four is generally constant with Chopin but that it is partly independent of the length of the phrase, which Chopin can vary with great suppleness.
(pp. 267 - 268)
'Baroque reflections' pp.63-64 from 'The Music of Chopin' by Jim Samson, Oxford Univ. Press, 1985, 1994
Such irregularity is merely the surface of a much more thorough-going ambivalence in rhythmic structure which contributes to the fluid quality of the unfolding line. It will be enough to look at the opening five-bar phrase. The anacrusic quaver encourages us to view the F sharp and G sharp of (Ex.8(i) = Opening bars of Opus 10-3), a tendency which is reinforced in bar 3, where the C sharp is perceived not as a goal but as a pivot in a longer-spanning motion to the F sharp in bar 4. This has the further effect of weakening the sense of closure in bar 5 and of giving the final E of that bar an anticipative feeling alence when we look at contour and motive. It is easy to see how the overall of the opening motive. This indeed is typical of Chopin's melody. Yet this arch-like contour, with bar 3 as the peak and bars 4 and 5 a transformed reprise of 1 and 2 (Ex.8(i)). This interpretation is strengthened by the harmonic correspondences of the outer wings of the arch. We can retain an awareness of both interpretations simultaneously, the one time-dependent and dynamic, the other synoptic and inert, the one concerned with process, the other with design.
No single factor, then, makes for the hauntingly memorable quality of what seems on the surface like a simple, innocent tune. Rather we have a rich play on different levels of function and perception which sets Chopin far above superficially similar essays by predecessors and contemporaries and which presents incidentally teasing questions for the performer. The sense of flow in the opening phrase of the melody persists through the succeeding three phrases, reaching its main goal at bar 17, the peak of an overall melodic arc which returns to base at bar 21.
And here is my analysis :
Referential materials (which is available at the following website below) can be seen in the Opus 10-3 manuscripts by Chopin.
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=c732dbb14d1df16636df4e8dca1419695643395cc7...
The point you must not ignore is;
1. X-ed phrasings from bar 5 to bar 6 (which implies 4 bar module) as well as the "Vivace" marking in early manuscript once owned by Cortot.
2. On later manuscript, bar 3 to 4 slur beginning from the H note (see the difference between Editions.)
By carefully reading these two manuscripts, you will see composer's deepening consciousness on the role of bar 4-5 which is variant version of bar 1-2.
I agree with the Cortot's choosing of the slur; he begins it from the H in bar 3 not from the Cis because this marking of slur is also partially bridged from the Cis in the mist, not only from the H; thus, Cortot is telling of the slur is double orientated.
This technique of double orientation is formidable abdomen of Chopin's works. "Condensed" bar 4 is the same. bar 3's relations to the previous bars is self-evident.
Chopin knew how to make a long lyrical phrase. This is one of those samples. The theme is 'condensed' in bar 4, and consequently, it gives 2 bar space to calm down for a most emotional phrase.
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This is a brilliant performance and really sets the mark high above the others I've listened to here on YouTube. Cortot breathes life into every phrase. He finds the essential direction, shape and gesture in every phrase, and helps us to understand the heart and mind of the composer.
jawdfs 1 year ago 2
Under Cortot's fingers, chopin's music breathes. He understood the music of the master like no other pianist. Cortot is not only sublime amongst all pianists; he is unique.
soukouyan 1 year ago 2
The manuscript! It's amazing!
advisorC101 2 years ago
This is so beautifully played, with so many varied colors and expression!
Bognarfan 2 years ago
At my library! ;-)
MukudaiYoshiyuki 2 years ago