Program Notes - Miyamoto Recital January 21, 2022
Notes on the Chopin Ballades excerpted from liner notes to the CD
Chopin: Ballades and Fantasies by Peter Miyamoto (Blue Griffin Recording 107)
Frederic Chopin’s greatness as a composer of smaller forms has rarely been questioned. Chopin’s contemporaries immediately recognized in him the emergence of a unique musical voice of genius through his etudes, nocturnes, preludes, impromptus and dance forms. Indeed, Chopin’s innovations in these forms are staggering: he extended the boundaries of pianism to untold heights through his etudes, translated the tradition of bel canto singing to the piano through his nocturnes, developed a whole new style of romantic contrapuntal writing (heavily influenced by Bach) in his preludes, forwarded the cause of nationalistic music through his harmonically progressive mazurkas and emotionally powerful polonaises, and transcended the genre of the salon piece with his impromptus and waltzes.
Chopin’s mastery of larger forms has been slower in gaining universal recognition. The four ballades can be examined against the backdrop of the archetypal format design of the classical period, the sonata form, but it is through his innovative departures from this model that Chopin demonstrates his genius. Through his tonal and formal deviations from the norm, Chopin creates a synthesis of traditional form and a new romantic aesthetic (in form and content) that results in unified structures imbued with powerful, epic poetry.
The title “ballade” has strong associations in both literature and music. It was a medieval poetic form that the early romantic poets revived as a narrative form to contrast lyric poetry. Settings of ballade texts constituted a major departure pointe from the relatively new genre of German Lied. In French opera, “ballade” denoted simple narrative songs inserted into operas. When Chopin wrote his Ballade in G Minor, he essentially created a new keyboard genre, although the title carried with it these many associations. Later composers to write keyboard ballades include Liszt, Brahms, Grieg, Fauré, Debussy, Barber and Perle.
Like most vocal examples of the genre, Chopin’s ballades are written in compound duple meter (6/4 or 6/8). Chopin’s works are linked with the narrative tradition, each being associated with a specific poem of Chopin’s compatriot in exile, Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855), although these ties are far from universally accepted. The Four Ballades are formally linked to sonata form in that they contain developmental areas and two themes that are eventually recapitulated. In each ballade, however, Chopin undermines the classical aesthetic of departure and return, creating structure (especially in Nos. 1, 3 and 4) that are end-weighted and, consistent with the romantic aesthetic, that delay the attainment of an emotional climax or as long as possible.
There is no consensus about the specific stories associated with each of the Ballades, but many believe that the following are the poems by Mickiewicz that inspired Chopin’s masterpieces. In his edition of the Ballades, Alfred Cortot published synopses of these stories, flipping the stories of the third and fourth ballades:
Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23
The story connected with the G Minor Ballade is Mickiewicz’s epic poem, Conrad Wallenrod. In this long poem, the titular character learns that although he has been raised as a Teutonic Knight, he was actually kidnapped by their enemies, the Lithuanians, as a youth. He eventually weds Aldona, a Lithuanian princess, and plots to overthrow the Order of the Teutonic Knights from within their ranks. In the episode associated with Chopin’s Ballade, a knight enters a banquet unannounced and requests to tell a tale. He proceeds to tell the tale of Conrad Wallenrod, his noble deeds, heroism in battle, and true love for Aldona. But this tale is not “long ago and far away,” and the moment of Conrad’s vengeance will soon be upon them.
Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47
Old father Budry sees his three sons ride off to war. The sons ride off. Time passes. The seasons advance. Budry sees the end of his life fast approaching. Then, unexpectedly, his sons return, one after the other, each with a beautiful Polish bride.
Ballade No. 2 in F Major/A Minor, Op. 38
The connection between the Ballade in F Major and the Mickiewicz poem “Switez” is the best documented. In this poem, a mysterious water spirit rises out of the depths of Lake Switez to tell a terrified crows the legend of the lake. Long ago, where the lake is now situated, a thriving city once stood. All able men were called to war against the enemy Russian forces. The prince was reluctant to leave the town unprotected, but his daughter, the Lady of the Lake herself, had an angelic vision that the city would remain protected. That very night, the Russians attacked the unprotected city. The princess prayed that the Lord would save her people. Suddenly, the whole town disappeared, swallowed by the earth, and in its place appeared a lake bordered by beautiful water lilies, into which the mothers and daughters of the city had been changed. When the Russians stooped to pick the lilies from the water to adorn their helmets in victory, they were struck with poison and perished.
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52
Mickiewicz’s poem “Switezianka” is a companion poem to “Switez.” It is a retelling of the Ondine legend. A young hunter encounters a water nymph that appears at night along the shores of Lake Switez and disappears at dawn. He immediately falls in love, but she is reluctant to trust him, but cannot trust her heart, and gravitates between hope and despair over her situation. Ginally, she decides to test him. One night, she appears to him in the guise of another, more beautiful woman, and invites him to engage in love. They begin to exchange caresses when suddenly she reveals her true self. She curses his infidelity and causes a tremendous storm to arise. The waters of the lake open up in an abyss, and both are engulfed into its depths.
Notes by Peter Miyamoto
© 2001
Franz Liszt Sonata in B minor (1853)
Liszt’s monumental Piano Sonata in B minor was completed in February 1853. A work taking almost 30 minutes to perform, the piece has been analyzed variously as a one-movement sonata form, and as a continuous, three or four-movement piece. Regardless of the form, the structure demonstrates extraordinary unity through Liszt’s masterful use of thematic transformation. Some have linked all of the work’s thematic material to the ominous descending scale that opens the piece. Although Liszt never made explicit reference to a specific program for the sonata, many extra-musical plots have been advanced. Several of Liszt’s students, as well as pianists such as Alfred Cortot and Claudio Arrau, believed that the sonata was inspired by the Faust legend.
In Goethe’s version of the Faust legend, the scholarly Faust is dissatisfied with his life, and makes a pact with the devil, in the form of Mephistopheles, trading his soul for unlimited knowledge and earthly pleasures. Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce innocent Gretchen, who in despair, drowns the child they conceive. Gretchen is saved by her innocence. Faust is eventually granted salvation by the Almighty because of his constant striving, and Gretchen’s pleading in the form of the Eternal Feminine.
Notes by Peter Miyamoto
© 2005/2022
Notes on the Chopin Ballades excerpted from liner notes to the CD
Chopin: Ballades and Fantasies by Peter Miyamoto (Blue Griffin Recording 107)
Frederic Chopin’s greatness as a composer of smaller forms has rarely been questioned. Chopin’s contemporaries immediately recognized in him the emergence of a unique musical voice of genius through his etudes, nocturnes, preludes, impromptus and dance forms. Indeed, Chopin’s innovations in these forms are staggering: he extended the boundaries of pianism to untold heights through his etudes, translated the tradition of bel canto singing to the piano through his nocturnes, developed a whole new style of romantic contrapuntal writing (heavily influenced by Bach) in his preludes, forwarded the cause of nationalistic music through his harmonically progressive mazurkas and emotionally powerful polonaises, and transcended the genre of the salon piece with his impromptus and waltzes.
Chopin’s mastery of larger forms has been slower in gaining universal recognition. The four ballades can be examined against the backdrop of the archetypal format design of the classical period, the sonata form, but it is through his innovative departures from this model that Chopin demonstrates his genius. Through his tonal and formal deviations from the norm, Chopin creates a synthesis of traditional form and a new romantic aesthetic (in form and content) that results in unified structures imbued with powerful, epic poetry.
The title “ballade” has strong associations in both literature and music. It was a medieval poetic form that the early romantic poets revived as a narrative form to contrast lyric poetry. Settings of ballade texts constituted a major departure pointe from the relatively new genre of German Lied. In French opera, “ballade” denoted simple narrative songs inserted into operas. When Chopin wrote his Ballade in G Minor, he essentially created a new keyboard genre, although the title carried with it these many associations. Later composers to write keyboard ballades include Liszt, Brahms, Grieg, Fauré, Debussy, Barber and Perle.
Like most vocal examples of the genre, Chopin’s ballades are written in compound duple meter (6/4 or 6/8). Chopin’s works are linked with the narrative tradition, each being associated with a specific poem of Chopin’s compatriot in exile, Adam Mickiewicz (1798-1855), although these ties are far from universally accepted. The Four Ballades are formally linked to sonata form in that they contain developmental areas and two themes that are eventually recapitulated. In each ballade, however, Chopin undermines the classical aesthetic of departure and return, creating structure (especially in Nos. 1, 3 and 4) that are end-weighted and, consistent with the romantic aesthetic, that delay the attainment of an emotional climax or as long as possible.
There is no consensus about the specific stories associated with each of the Ballades, but many believe that the following are the poems by Mickiewicz that inspired Chopin’s masterpieces. In his edition of the Ballades, Alfred Cortot published synopses of these stories, flipping the stories of the third and fourth ballades:
Ballade No. 1 in G Minor, Op. 23
The story connected with the G Minor Ballade is Mickiewicz’s epic poem, Conrad Wallenrod. In this long poem, the titular character learns that although he has been raised as a Teutonic Knight, he was actually kidnapped by their enemies, the Lithuanians, as a youth. He eventually weds Aldona, a Lithuanian princess, and plots to overthrow the Order of the Teutonic Knights from within their ranks. In the episode associated with Chopin’s Ballade, a knight enters a banquet unannounced and requests to tell a tale. He proceeds to tell the tale of Conrad Wallenrod, his noble deeds, heroism in battle, and true love for Aldona. But this tale is not “long ago and far away,” and the moment of Conrad’s vengeance will soon be upon them.
Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47
Old father Budry sees his three sons ride off to war. The sons ride off. Time passes. The seasons advance. Budry sees the end of his life fast approaching. Then, unexpectedly, his sons return, one after the other, each with a beautiful Polish bride.
Ballade No. 2 in F Major/A Minor, Op. 38
The connection between the Ballade in F Major and the Mickiewicz poem “Switez” is the best documented. In this poem, a mysterious water spirit rises out of the depths of Lake Switez to tell a terrified crows the legend of the lake. Long ago, where the lake is now situated, a thriving city once stood. All able men were called to war against the enemy Russian forces. The prince was reluctant to leave the town unprotected, but his daughter, the Lady of the Lake herself, had an angelic vision that the city would remain protected. That very night, the Russians attacked the unprotected city. The princess prayed that the Lord would save her people. Suddenly, the whole town disappeared, swallowed by the earth, and in its place appeared a lake bordered by beautiful water lilies, into which the mothers and daughters of the city had been changed. When the Russians stooped to pick the lilies from the water to adorn their helmets in victory, they were struck with poison and perished.
Ballade No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 52
Mickiewicz’s poem “Switezianka” is a companion poem to “Switez.” It is a retelling of the Ondine legend. A young hunter encounters a water nymph that appears at night along the shores of Lake Switez and disappears at dawn. He immediately falls in love, but she is reluctant to trust him, but cannot trust her heart, and gravitates between hope and despair over her situation. Ginally, she decides to test him. One night, she appears to him in the guise of another, more beautiful woman, and invites him to engage in love. They begin to exchange caresses when suddenly she reveals her true self. She curses his infidelity and causes a tremendous storm to arise. The waters of the lake open up in an abyss, and both are engulfed into its depths.
Notes by Peter Miyamoto
© 2001
Franz Liszt Sonata in B minor (1853)
Liszt’s monumental Piano Sonata in B minor was completed in February 1853. A work taking almost 30 minutes to perform, the piece has been analyzed variously as a one-movement sonata form, and as a continuous, three or four-movement piece. Regardless of the form, the structure demonstrates extraordinary unity through Liszt’s masterful use of thematic transformation. Some have linked all of the work’s thematic material to the ominous descending scale that opens the piece. Although Liszt never made explicit reference to a specific program for the sonata, many extra-musical plots have been advanced. Several of Liszt’s students, as well as pianists such as Alfred Cortot and Claudio Arrau, believed that the sonata was inspired by the Faust legend.
In Goethe’s version of the Faust legend, the scholarly Faust is dissatisfied with his life, and makes a pact with the devil, in the form of Mephistopheles, trading his soul for unlimited knowledge and earthly pleasures. Mephistopheles helps Faust seduce innocent Gretchen, who in despair, drowns the child they conceive. Gretchen is saved by her innocence. Faust is eventually granted salvation by the Almighty because of his constant striving, and Gretchen’s pleading in the form of the Eternal Feminine.
Notes by Peter Miyamoto
© 2005/2022