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Topic: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole? (Read 5424 times)

icilkovich

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Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

on: October 31, 2008, 12:42:34 PM

between one of Chopin scherzo (especially no. 4) or Chopin barcarole, which one do you think is more interesting? which one is easier to cope with or which one is more challenging?

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pianistimo

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #1 on: October 31, 2008, 12:57:53 PM

I can only speak from listening - but the Chopin Bacarolle that i heard on the radio the other day had an elusive quality of pianissimo playing that you might find entrancing and somewhat more difficult to play in terms of controlling dynamics. I've always thought the Scherzos were very difficult with connecting passages and general technique. Maybe you should consider playing one of each: prelude, waltz, etude, polonaise, scherzo, bacarolle, fantasie-polonaise, fugue - just to get an all Chopin program going. It's sometimes disappointing to me to hear other composers mushed around Chopin. He is an island to himself - unless combined with John Field and/or a bit of Bach at the beginning and some poetry reading in the middle and at the end (possibly his favorite poet Mycki -sp?).

Another idea which i've never seen yet myself - is to have a singer between several of the pieces and singing a few of Chopin's 'songs.' I don't think I've ever heard the seven songs which he composed for Maria (the girl he wanted to marry at the end of his life - but couldn't because she was too young and he was too sick).

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soderlund

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #2 on: October 31, 2008, 02:30:41 PM

I think, although I may be wrong, that the fourth scherzo is a lot harder. My teacher tells me that we might play the barcarolle this spring, but I would not touch the fourth scherzo with a twenty foot pole.
I would be glad to hear I was wrong, but if you are insecure I would definitely go with the barcarolle.

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chopinmozart7

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #3 on: October 31, 2008, 07:50:12 PM

scherzo

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icilkovich

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #4 on: November 01, 2008, 01:15:59 PM

i heard about the killing double third trill in barcarolle. that's what i think as big technical challenge. what about in scherzo no. 4?

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chopinmozart7

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #5 on: November 01, 2008, 05:28:46 PM

scherzo

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eric_wong1387

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #6 on: November 01, 2008, 09:50:14 PM

I have not played any of the scherzi but have played the Barcarolle.

The Barcarolle is a musically demanding work, but I find that in terms of technical challenge it is probably not as demanding as most of the scherzi. No. 4 in particular has always appeared to be the toughest of the scherzi for me from listening/looking at the score.

The double third trills in the Barcarolle, if I'm remembering correctly, only appear in four bars of the entire piece. While playing them smoothly and quickly is a challenge nonetheless, they're a bit too short to really be considered a "killer" obstacle in the piece. If you practice the upper voice and the lower voice separately at first, it should eventually come together.

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communist

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #7 on: November 02, 2008, 01:18:42 PM

Barcarole or how about another one of those miserable ballades

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pianisten1989

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #8 on: November 02, 2008, 02:47:04 PM

Quote from: icilkovich on November 01, 2008, 01:15:59 PM

i heard about the killing double third trill in barcarolle. that's what i think as big technical challenge. what about in scherzo no. 4?

Kind of everything. You have to be very imaginative. Since the theme comes like 2 billion times, you have to play if differently almost every time.
Uhm... There's also some really fast arpeggio-like things, which are very difficult.. and so on... The scherzo is way more difficult than the Barcarole

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tanman

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Re: Chopin: scherzo or barcarole?

Reply #9 on: November 03, 2008, 12:24:05 PM

me prefers the barcarole.

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