Chopin Schubert Beethoven Bach

When I practice Chopin, this chart is always in my thoughts.

I notice how deeply he absorbed the music that came before him.Schubert’s A♭ Major Impromptu, D.899 Op.90 No.4, echoes clearly in Chopin’s Second Ballade, Op.38.

He studied these voices and carried them into his own language.

Then Chopin called my name.

The Bibliothèque nationale de France announced a lecture on the Second Ballade, based on Chopin’s autograph manuscript.

Looking into a composer’s manuscripts reveals the deepest and most insightful traces of their creative process and their heart.

Chopin revised this Ballade and altered the very first measure.

It now begins on the third beat of 6/8.A single change, one that transforms everything.

Here is the list of Chopin’s manuscripts held by the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

https://gallica.bnf.fr/html/und/partitions/partitions-de-frederic-chopin?mode=desktop

Do you hear what I hear?

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These reflections grow out of ongoing work at the piano, in teaching, and in performance.