Frédéric Chopin: Chamber music on period instruments

Description

Chopin is among the most emblematic figures of Romanticism in music, an era of profound stylistic and cultural changes in which the piano, an instrument in full evolutionary process at the time, could be seen as a symbol. If we exclude the lyrical compositions, there are only five pieces that come out of the musical sphere in which Chopin enclosed all his musical production, namely the piano: the Variations in E major on a theme from Rossini’s La Cenerentola, the Trio in G minor Op. 8, the Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major Op. 3, the Grand duo concertante on themes from Meyerbeer’s “Robert le Diable” in E major and the Sonata in G minor Op. 65.
For this small foray outside the boundaries of his favorite instrument, Chopin looked to the cello, the favorite instrument of two very important figures in the life of the Polish composer, namely Auguste Franchomme and Prince Antoni Radziwiłł. The latter, composer of incidental music to Goethe’s Faust, was an amateur cellist and began to appreciate Chopin’s musical ability at an early age, when both frequented the house of Princess Idalia Czetwertyński who was a sort of second mother to the young composer. Chopin dedicated the Trio in G minor Op. 8 for violin, cello and piano to Prince Radziwiłł, who periodically gave concerts in his palaces in Berlin and Warsaw. In one of Prince’s aristocratic residences, more precisely the one in Wilhemstrasse, Chopin composed the Polonaise brillante in C major for cello and piano, a piece inspired by Princess Wanda, the youngest daughter of his patron.
Soon after his arrival in Paris in 1831, Chopin forged a lifelong friendship with Auguste Franchomme, one of the most important French cellists of the 19th century and the dedicatee of the Sonata in G minor Op. 65. Franchomme helped the composer both in finishing the cello part of the Introduction to the Polonaise Op. 3 and in preparing a thematic catalogue of his works. He has always remained close to Chopin, especially during his last, dramatic days.
In the chamber compositions, imbued by often evocative tones, flexible harmonies and melodies full of that melancholy so typical of Chopin’s universe, a clear attention emerges for the piano, which in many points has a leading role. The richness of the piano writing, in fact, contrasts with the greater simplicity of the other instruments from which a certain Biedermeier taste can be sometimes glimpsed, aimed more at involving than astonishing the listener. Here we do not find the impulses, the passionate torments, the dialectic between intimism and dramatic momentum which are so typical of Chopin’s other compositions, such as the Ballades or the Scherzi: here appears a more controlled and restrained melodic invention that evokes more of a domestic and idle dimension rather than the expressive violence that often manifests itself in Chopin, from the piano Sonatas to the Polonaises. It is also true that in pages of extraordinary beauty, such as the Introduction to the Polonaise Op. 3 or the famous Largo from the Sonata Op. 65, Chopin creates a more balanced dialogue by fully exploiting the expressive capabilities of the cello.
The Trio in G minor for violin, cello and piano Op. 8, completed in 1829, ranks among Chopin’s earliest compositions. This is Chopin’s first and only case of composition for this ensemble and it aroused considerable admiration from contemporaries, including Robert Schumann, Ludwig Rellstab and James Huneker who briefly described the piece as follows: «The Trio opens with a fire, the Scherzo is fantastic, the Adagio pleasant, while the Finale is cheerful and lovely». In the first movement, Allegro con fuoco, an aspect that will become fundamental in Chopin’s art is identified, is the unconditional predilection for the piano part. The musical passages of the piano, often brilliant and rich in rapids figurations, intersects with those of the strings. Chopin’s use of the violin, whose part is widely developed in the medium-low register of the instrument, also made the composer reflect on the possibility of replacing it with a lower instrument, as we learn from a letter in which Chopin says that he should have «used a viola instead of a violin, because in violins it is the cantino that is used the most, and there it is not exploited.» The first movement is followed by a Scherzo in G major which contains a Trio in C major defined by a sweet and lyrical mazurka rhythm. The slow movement, the Adagio sostenuto in E-flat major, is the most poignant and intense part of the entire composition, imbued with a sonic poetry that is especially striking in the closing mysterious recitative. The composition concludes with a Rondò whose main theme, first exposed by the piano and then by the cello and the violin, is characterised by a certain immediacy, giving to the entire movement a dynamic and bustling character.
In the same year, Chopin also composed the Polonaise Op. 3, while the Introduction was instead added the following year. The Polonaises are, together with the Mazurkas, the composition in which Chopin’s musical nature was poured out throughout his life. The polonaise is one of the most ancient traditional Polish dances. The music is in triple meter and usually has a moderate tempo. It’s character is very gentle and elegant because, according to Franz Liszt, it was a dance aimed at highlighting the masculine beauty and courteous bearing of the knights, so much so that the name of the dance was originally masculine (Polski). In the Polonaise Op. 3, the remarkable cadenza of the piano, paired with the sinuous melody of the cello, reveals already in the opening the noble character of the entire composition, which unfolds in the cantabile melodies with a vocal imprint in which the writing is aimed more towards diversification than to the power of the instruments. The Introduction is followed by a second movement, Alla polacca, in which the chivalrous nature and vivacity of traditional Polish dance are then rendered through the instrumental dialogue of the final movement in which the virtuosic writing makes both instruments shine. The cello part was revised by Auguste Franchomme, with whom Chopin also collaborated on the Sonata in G minor Op. 65, composed between 1845 and 1846. Among the last compositions of the Polish genius, the Sonata was the result of a tormented compositional path, made up of many deletions and second thoughts: «Sometimes I feel satisfied with my Sonata for cello, sometimes dissatisfied. I set it aside, then I take it back.» Thus Chopin wrote about this work in a letter of 1846. The composition, in fact the last one to be published under the direct care of the musician, is structured in four movements in which we come across a dense writing and constant alternation between engrossed melodic vein and a truly remarkable polyphonic richness. The Allegro moderato, composed in sonata-form, is rich in melodies and harmonies that point towards an almost pre- impressionist palette of sounds in which the colours of the cello intertwine with those of the piano in a sumptuous dialogue. The Scherzo, in which the Trio is present, dominated by the cello’s timbre, represents the epicentre of the entire composition and contrasts with the few melancholic bars of the Largo. Like the first movement, the Finale is characterised by the density of the writing that unfolds in themes defined by a strong rhythmic profile.
In chamber music, a field not widely explored in Chopin’s production, stands out some of
the most singular characteristics of his personality. The curiosity towards musical genres that are not exclusively focused on the piano, the openness towards the technical suggestions of the soloists in order to make the compositions more available, the ability to distribute with intelligence the melodic material and to shape a musical work according to the interests of friends, has allowed Chopin, defined by many “the poet of the piano”, to leave an important, albeit limited, mark on the 19th century chamber music repertoire.
For this recording, Tatiana Larionova has chosen to play a Pleyel petit patron No. 25667 from 1858 with single escapement action, Duccio Ceccanti plays a violin by Vincenzo Postiglione from 1896 and Marco Decimo a Parisian-built Joseph Charlotte cello from 1830.
Ioana Hadarig © 2023