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The elder Kalkbrenner's intention is to present his son as a child prodigy, showing the Duke his son's talent by letting him perform an 'extemporaneous' improvisation. After some wrong chords Arthur runs to his father and says to him: 'Daddy, I have forgotten the rest'
The elder Kalkbrenner's intention is to present his son as a child prodigy, showing the Duke his son's talent by letting him perform an 'extemporaneous' improvisation. After some wrong chords Arthur runs to his father and says to him: 'Daddy, I have forgotten the rest'
The elder Kalkbrenner's intention is to present his son as a child prodigy, showing the Duke his son's talent by letting him perform an 'extemporaneous' improvisation. After some wrong chords Arthur runs to his father and says to him: 'Daddy, I have forgotten the rest'
24 preludes for piano from the early virtuoso period, 1790-1835
Cycles of 24 Preludes written before Chopins preludes opus 28, part 1 Jeroen Riemsdijk
In a letter dated 1 st -10 th December 1842, Hector Berlioz mentions a performance at the court of Saxe-Weimar by the thirteen year-old Arthur Kalkbrenner, son of the then famous pianist and composer Friedrich Kalkbrenner. The elder Kalkbrenners intention is to present his son as a child prodigy, showing the Duke 1 his sons talent by letting him perform an extemporaneous improvisation. After some wrong chords Arthur runs to his father and says to him: Daddy, I have forgotten the rest. 2 It is not the first time Kalkbrenner is cheating his audience and is caught in the act. 3
Some twenty years earlier, in 1823, on the occasion of one of the Sunday soirees at the residence of the Mendelssohn family in Berlin, Kalkbrenner was performing what seemed to be an impressive extemporaneous improvisation. The next day some scores written by Kalkbrenner arrived from Paris, including his Effusio Musica, opus 68. 4 Fanny Mendelssohn thus discovered that the improvisation of the previous day had merely been a performance of Kalkbrenners Effusio. The same story applies when Kalkbrenner was improvising for the publisher Adolph Marx 5 ; the extemporaneous effusion Kalkbrenner played at a concert in Ireland in August 1824 6 could be an indication of the same trick.
According to Harold C. Schonberg, Mendelssohn was one of the most sensational improvisers of all time. His improvised fugues were legendary. There is nothing known about the improvisation talents of Kalkbrenner, but a Memoir of Mr. Frederick Kalkbrenner published in The Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review in 1824 mentions that he was improvising fugues with Hummel: He became friends with Hummel, together with whom he often played, especially on the outstanding organ of Baron Vezlart, close to Schnbrunn, where they regularly improvised four hands fugues. 7 According to biographer Nautsch, this Memoir should not be taken too seriously because it is likely that Kalkbrenner himself had a part in editing the text thereby producing a flattering autobiography. 8 The musical meeting of Kalkbrenner and Hummel took place at the end of 1803 and continuing 2 for the seven months while Kalkbrenner was staying in Vienna and both were studying counterpoint with Albrechtsberger. 9
A specific kind of improvisation was that of the art of preluding - improvising before the beginning of an actual composition. This had a long established tradition, especially among performing composers. 10
During the first half of the nineteenth century, when the pianoforte made its entrance, several treatises were written to elucidate on the art of preluding to the growing number of amateur pianists, their teachers and aspiring concert pianists. A treatise by Kalkbrenner, Trait dharmonie du pianiste, principes rationnelles de la modulation pour apprendre a prluder et a improviser opus 185, was published in 1849, the year he died. Prior to Kalkbrenners treatise, others had published similar studies. 11 Kalkbrenners treatise was aimed specifically at young pianists. At the same time, albums with preludes were published whose function it was to educate in the art of preluding - to study them and to borrow from them, when appropriate. These albums comprised techniques of preluding, using patterns of embellishment, modulations and cadences (often of a virtuoso kind).
Czerny, in his Systematische Anleitung zum Fantasieren auf dem Pianoforte, opus 200, draws a parallel between the art of preluding and written introductions for fantasies, variations etc. with the remark that every well-written introduction could serve as an example on how to prelude oneself. 12
There are also many shorter and longer introductions to be found in regular serious repertoire, for example in the Polonaises by Chopin and tudes d'excution transcendante by Liszt, which only give an indication of the endless creativity and diversity of forms and characters in which these masters of improvisation were preluding. 13 They can take the shape of a storm (tempest) introduction like Liszts Rakoczi March, his Mephisto Waltz and Chopins direct and simple introduction to his Polonaise opus 44 or the more technically and harmonically advanced Polonaise opus 53; alternatively, such introductions may be of a dreamy, poetic nature such as Chopins Polonaise-Phantasie. Liszts introduction to his "Feux Follets" is a fine example of the most subtle and fast passagework. 3
The prelude as a single piece or collection is a genre that goes back far in time. 14 The cycle of 24 Preludes for Piano through all tonalities can also be considered a genre piece. With his 24 Prludes through all tonalities, opus 28, Chopin popularised this genre. For many of his successors his cycle was an example and source of inspiration. Strangely enough, little attention has been paid to those composers who preceded Chopin in this practice of writing 24 preludes through all tonalities. There are no existing publications which deal more or less systematically with 24 preludes written before Chopins opus 28. Therefore I will endeavour to here establish how many cycles of 24 preludes for piano were written before those composed by Chopin. The New Grove makes reference to only one cycle in an article about the prelude, those of Hummel, and in some other publications only one or two examples are mentioned. New Grove: More typical of the Romantic period and its aftermath, however, are the many independent preludes for piano, whose prototype was Chopins matchless set of 24 Preludes op.28 of 18369. (They were not the first: Hummel had published a set of 24 preludes in the major and minor keys, op.67, some 20 years earlier.) 15 Hamilton (2008) and Goertzen (1996) mention the cycles of Kalkbrenner and Kessler. The 24 preludes by Chaulieu are mentioned by Jim Samson. 16 The Wrfel preludes are mentioned in Zielinskis Chopin biography (2008) and by Goldbergs (2008). Composers have written in the 24 major and minor keys for several genres. Some composers of 24 preludes also wrote 24 studies (Hummel, Kalkbrenner, Kessler). Hassler composed Etude en quatre-vingt valses, opus 29 and 49. J. G. Goldberg composed at an earlier date his 24 Polonaises. Although in many cases Bach has been taken as example, there is good pedagogic and methodical reason for piano students to be able to play freely in all tonalities. 17 Different tonalities give different orientation of the keyboard and can challenge pianists to improve the sensation of subtle differences in tone colour of the key characteristics. Recently, Van Sambeek Editie published a reprint of the 24 Preludes, opus 88 by Friedrich Kalkbrenner. They were originally published in 1827, twelve years before Chopins opus 28. It is interesting to see what place these Prludes take among the preludes composed during that time. One may consider the following: 4 Which other composers wrote 24 preludes before Chopins opus 28? What was the first cycle of 24 preludes written for piano? Which cycle of 24 preludes for piano is the first that may be performed as a cycle? (Is it opus 28 by Chopin?) Many of the first albums with preludes, whether 24 or not, are meant as pedagogic works - introductions in the art of preluding, and have no artistic pretentions. We are speaking about publications from the period 1790-1840.
The interest in the art of preluding from that era is a recent development that begins with the publication of an article by V.W. Goertzen in 1996 - By Way of Introduction: Preluding by 18th- and Early 19th-Century Pianists - where the author connects the written preludes to the common performing practice of improvisation of an introduction before the actual written composition begins. The art of preluding is very vividly described in the chapter A suitable prelude in After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance (2007) by K. Hamilton. Hamilton gives examples showing how this tradition survived well into the twentieth century. He provides many examples of how the art of preluding took shape in written introductions of the most diverse kind and how this tradition was hilariously exaggerated by the pianist-composer von Blow who, before beginning Beethovens opus 111, would play the first bar of Beethovens Pathetique as a short introduction. Hamilton shows evidence that in several cases preluding was regarded not as an option, but as a necessity. Shane Levesque presents in his article Functions and Performance Practice of Improvised Ninetheenth-Century Piano Preludes a long list of purposes for preluding before a piece. Functions that serve a performer only, such as warming up the fingers; functions that serve to support a performer-instrument connection, such as trying out an unfamiliar piano; functions that serve to support a performer repertoire connection, like to prepare the key; and functions that serve to support a performer-audience connection, like to arouse the audiences attention. Edited until here
One could base preludes to two traditions. The preludes from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier (I:1724-II:1744) by J.S. Bach usually are build 5 on one single musical idea and have not seldom a virtuoso character.
They are composed pieces. Only few of them, I: nos. I, 2, 5, 6, II, I5, and II: no 3, have a preluding character. 18 The Prludes from lArt de Toucher le Clavecin (1720) by Bachs contemporary Couperin are written improvisations, according to its composer. Couperin explains: Although these measured preludes are written, however, there is a got dusage (fashion) of that use must follow. I'll explain: The Prelude is a free composition, where the imagination is engaged in anything that presents itself. But as it is rare to find geniuses capable of improvising them in the moment, they are depending on these pre-fixed preludes (non-improvised preludes), to play them with ease (manire aise), without too much focus on precision of movement (mouvement), unless I have indicated mesur. Thus, one can venture to say that in many things, the music (as opposed to poetry) is his prose and verse. 19
This practice of preluding counts for many of the prelude collections for piano, written before the publication of Chopins Preludes opus 28 in 1839. It puts an interesting light on the nature of Chopins Opus 28.
On which tradition Chopins preludes were based? Can they be considered as composed improvisations, a kind of cultivated preluding? Or are they common composition, miniature character pieces? Biographer Zielinski writes in his standard biography of Chopin, that his preludes form a clear unity. According to Chominski the rising and ascending second interval form a central motive throughout the cycle. Also Eigeldinger argues that the preludes opus 28 form a musical unity, because the rising sixth that drops back to a fifth form a leading composition element in his preludes. 20 Chopin showed great admiration for the preludes and fugues by Bach and he took them to Mallorca in the period that he finished his set of preludes. Several comments have pointed out that they have served as examples for Chopins preludes. The disciplined form of Bachs preludes has certainly been example for the disciplined style of his Studies opus 10 and opus 25. On the other hand, Shane Levesque wrote in his article about the function and performing practice of improvised preludes in the 6 nineteenth century: Chopin did not compose only twenty-six preludes, but likely improvised hundreds: revising, notating, and publishing his best examples in twenty-four major and minor keys. 21
Andr Gide wrote: I have to admit, I dont understand the title that Chopin has given these short pieces: Prludes. Prludes to what? 22
Chopin was known with many of the prelude collections of his precedors. Chopin combined at his performance Prludes, Nocturnes en Etudes as one group, and called it a Suite. Pianists occasionally have performed a Chopin Prlude before another composition of Chopin, for example the Prelude nr. 20 in c-minor as introduction to the Nocturne in c-minor opus 48 nr. 1. Busoni for example performed the 7th Prlude in A-major before the Black-key Study in G-flat 23 . During the period 1790-1839 many collections of preludes have been written. I have found about 26 collections, among them are preludes by Clementi, Cramer, Ries, Moscheles, Szymanowska and Czerny. Moscheles wrote 50 Preludes, opus 73, who could be used as preludes for his Studies, opus 70 24 . Dussek wrote three sonatas (opus 31) and added three preludes at the end of the album, who could be used optional. Preludes were also combined to Fugues. Mendelssohn wrote six of them, taking J.S. Bach as an example. Common was the combination of Preludes and Exercises 25 , for example of Clementi, Szymanowska, Wrfel, Herz en Sowinski. The 25 Preludi e Esercizi by Clementi contain irregular mixture of preludes for some of his 24 Esercizi. His first Esercizio is preceded by not less then 5 preludes, while towards the end many of the Esercizii have no preludii. Clementis Gradus ad Parnassum (1817-1826) contain Preludes, Studies and Fugues which where called Preludes and Exercises by the Londense Repository of the Arts in 1827, imitating Bachs Wohltemperiertes Klavier. Especially Czerny, as composer and pedagogue, has been dealing extensively with the phenomenon of preludes for piano. A short view on his opus list show following works. Preludes, cadensen and a short Phantasia in Brillant Style, opus 61; 48 tudes en forme de Prludes, opus 161; L'Art de Preludier, opus 300; 50 Exercises, Studies and Preludes for beginners, opus 359; 24 Easy in the most common keys, opus 501; Studies for young pianists; 24 Preludes, opus 694; 60 Preludes, opus 696; 24 Preludien und Fugen, opus 856.
7 Overview of Prelude-cycles until Chopins opus 28 1787 Muzio Clementi Preludes en cadenzas. Musical characteristics 1789 Tomasso Giordani Preludes voor klavecimbel of piano door alle toonsoorten op 33b 1790 Muzio Clementi 25 Preludi e Esercizi per pianoforte 1791 Daniel Steibelt Prludes ou Caprices, opus 5 1803 Muzio Clementi 12 Prludes 1805 Adalbert Gyrowetz Prludes 1813 Philiph Antoni Corri Original system of preluding 1814 Johann Nepomuk Hummel Vorspiele vor Anfang eines Stckes aus allen 24 dur und moll Tonarten zum ntzlichen Gebrauch fr Schler, opus 67 1817 ca. J. H. Mller, Prludes et exercises 1818 Johann Baptist Cramer 26 Preludes in the principal major and minor keys for the pianoforte 1818 Tobias Haslinger XXX Vorspiele in den gebruchlichsten Dur und Moll Tonarten fr das Pianoforte 1818 Francois-Joseph Ftis Prludes progressifs, opus 4 1820 Maria Szymanowska Vingt Exercises et Prludes 1820 Ferdinand Ries 40 Prludse pour le pianoforte en plusieurs Tons majeurs et mineurs pour servir dintroductions a toutes Sortes de mouvements, opus 60 1820 Carl Czerny 48 Exercises en forme de preludes ou cadences, opus 161 1821 Wilhelm Wrfel Verzameling etudes in de vorm van preludes in alle grote en kleine toonsoorten 1822 Henri Herz Exercices et Prludes pour Piano dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs, opus 21 1820/25 ca Charles Chaulieu Vingt-quartre petits prludes, opus 9 1826 Heinrich Gherhard Lenz Collection de prludes dans tous les tons usites pour le pfte 1827 Moscheles 50 Preludes in the major and minor keys intended as short introductions to any movement, and as preparatory exercises to the authors studies, for the pianoforte, opus 73 1827 Friedrich Kalkbrenner 24 Preludes for the pianoforte, in all the major and minor keys, being an introduction to the art of preluding 1827 Anselm Httenbrenner 72 Prludien 8 1834 Joseph Kessler 24 Preludes, opus 31 1835 Felix Mendelssohn 6 Preludien und Fugen, opus 35 1836 Felix Mendelssohn 3 Preludien fr Klavier, opus 104a 183? Wojciech (Albert) Sowinski Vingt quatre prludes et exercises dans tous les ton majeurs et mineurs, opus 20 (Parijs va 1830) 1839 Frederic Chopin 24 Prludes, opus 28 Some of these composers, especially Hummel, Moscheles, Kalkbrenner 26 , Field, Ries, Herz en Czerny are connected to a new form of virtuoso composing and piano playing, that is called Style brillant 27 . Also young Chopin was initially composing in this style. Jim Samson describes this style as follow. Beside of renewal of proportions and rhythm, the Style brillant introduced also a new way of expression, that was different from the habits of the previous (18th) century: the free, colourful and brilliant humour, the often plebs roughness, the beloved dance rhythms especial in the final movements of concertos, the new revelling in feelings and a sentiment, that was more to the taste of the bourgeois audience in concerts than of the guests in salons, and finally the melancholic dreaminess. 28
Except being a style of composing, the style brillant was also a way of playing piano, represented by pianists like Hummel: Variations in nuance, clear articulation, sharp contrasts and speed of execution. 29 The virtuoso piano playing is the style of bravura and brilliance.
According to Chopin-biographer Jim Samson, the brillant style is most connected to Vienna. Categories were anything but watertight, but in general the light-toned, light actioned and well-damped Viennese instrument encouraged a brilliant style of rapid, non-legato passage- work and a cantilina which would be subject to elegant embellishment. This was the manner favoured by Mozart and taken over in part by Hummel and Kalkbrenner. The heavier, deeper-toned English instrument, on the other hand, fostered a legato cantabile style associated above all with Clementi and continued by Cramer and Dussek. 30 One though should also consider the brilliant capacities of the French instruments Erard and Pleyer, the last being the equivalent of the Viennese piano with its light touch. And from the Paris Pianist-Composers, it was Henry Herz, 9 who, throughout his life - like Czerny - wrote Variations and Phantasies in a brilliant manner.
The brillant style often is found in the title of compositions, such as Rondo brillant, Phantasie brillante, Variations brillantes, and in case of Chopin also as Polonaise brillante and Valse brillante. For publishers such addition was a plus and a good legitimating to publish a composition. It is worth to relate the style brillant to the improvised preluding and preludes written for piano in this period. In many of the preludes written before Chopins opus 28 this new spirit of virtuosity and bravura is present. Exceptions are for example made by Mendelssohn, whose variations opus 54 as reaction to the style brilliant where called Variations serieuses and whose preludes are more in line with those of Bach. These early piano-preludes show how every composer-pianist has their own brilliant texture and maybe even more present than in the concertos the diversity of the style brilliant is showed. The pianistic texture that is used by Hummel in his short preludes is significantly different form that of Kalkbrenner and Herz. Chopin changes from the style brilliant to Romantic style around 1831, with his Scherzo nr. 1 in b. Czerny for example on the other hand continues to write his compositions life-long (he died in 1857) in the brilliant style. A list of 24 preludes for piano can be made out of the previous list with preludes collections. 1814 Hummel Vorspiele vor Anfang eines Stckes aus allen 24 dur und moll Tonarten zum ntzlichem Gebrauch fr Schler opus 67 1821 Wilhelm Wrfel Verzameling etudes in de vorm van preludes in alle grote en kleine toonsoorten 1822 Henri Herz Exercices et Prludes pour Piano dans tous les tons majeurs et mineurs Opus 21 1820/25 ca Charles Chaulieu Vingt-quatre petits prludes opus 9 1827 Friedrich Kalkbrenner 24 preludes for the pianoforte, in all the major and minor keys, being an introduction to the art of preluding 1834 Joseph Kessler 24 preludes opus 31 183? Wojciech (Albert) Sowinski Vingt quatre prludes et exercises dans tous les ton majeurs et mineurs opus 20 10
There are at least seven cycles of 24 preludes trough all keys, written before the publication of Chopins opus 28.
Notes
1 Karl Friedrich von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach was Duke from 1828 to 1853. Hummel was here Kapellmeister at court from 1819 on. 2 Nautsch p 106. 3 Not seldom in publications Kalkbrenner is ridiculised in terms of: charlatan and vain. 4 Musicians like Hall and Liszt had great apreciation for this work dit werk zeer. 5 The question is, if this is a misunderstanding. Gerig describes an identical situation in his book Famous pianists and their techniques. In 1834 Kalkbrenner came to visit him (Marx), bemoaning the fact that since the days of Hummel no one was carrying on the noble art of improvisation except himself.Then he went to the piano and improvised for fiftteen minutes without interuption impressing Marx with his use of various themes and the brilliance of his fugal treatment. But the next day Marx received a package of newly published music from paris. What should he find included in it but the previous days improvisation by Kalkbrenner, note for note (Gerig p 131-132) Marx was friends with the family Mendelssohn, so it possible that the two stories belong to the same incident, so that marx was present at the performance even when an other date is mentioned. The two stories resemble too much. The Effusio was published in 1823 by Schlesinger in Berlin, so in the period that the event 11
took place at the Mendelssohns. Around 1834 the composition was most likely known iby many pianists. 6 AMZ 26, 830; QMM-Memoir p 511 7 Quarterly Musical Magazine and Review -Memoir p 507 8 Nautsch p. 5 9 During his staying Vienna Kalkbrenner met and heared Clementi and Beethoven playing and followed lessons with Haydn. 10 Hamilton p. 103. 11 Shane Levesque (2008): mentions following writers of NineteenthCentury keyboard traiteses: Philiph Antony Corri, Carl Czerny, Francois-Jospeh Ftis, Andr Grtry, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, August Frederic Christopher Kollmann, Ignas Mocheles and Friedrich Wieck. 12 Goertzen p. 326. 13 Zie Hamilton. 14 In Gattungen der Musik fr Tasteninstrumente (2003) in connection to building an extensive pedagogic repertoire for pianoforte since 1780, is spoken about the use of the traditional prelude against the substantial new genre of Etude.(p. 279) 15 New Grove online 2010 16 Kalberg, 1992 17 Edler 7.2 p 287.
18 Iliffe, Frederick, p. 58 19 Quoique ces prludes soient crits mesurs, il y a cependant un got dusage quil faut suivre. Je m explique: Prlude est une composition libre, o limagination se livre tout ce qui se prsente elle. Mais, comme il est assez rare de trouver des gnies capables de produire dans linstant, il faut que ceux qui auront recourt ces prludes rgls les jouent dune manire aise sans trop sattacher la prcision des mouvements, moins que je ne laie marqu exprs par le mot de mesur. Ainsi, on peut hasarder de dire que dans 12
beaucoup de choses, la musique (par comparaison la posie) a sa prose, et ses vers. 20 Kallberg p. 124? .Eigeldinger p. 167-194. 21 Levesque, p 109 22 Kallberg p 133. 23 Hamilton p 102. 24 The remark could as well bes een as a promotion for his Studies opus 50. 25 A distinction was made between etude, exercise and study. 26 Czerny considered Hummel, Moscheles en Kalkbrenner as belonging to the same school with an equal style of performing. 27 Ratner (1980, blz. 19) uses the term The Brilliant Style in the context of composers like Scarlatti, Correli and Vivaldi. Style brilliant, as used by Daube (1797), Trk(1789) en Koch(1802), refers to the use of fast passagework, for virtuosity and intense feelings. 28 Zielinski p. 50. 29 Rittermann p 18 in Samson 1992. 30 Samson p. 46.
Sources Edler, Arnfried, Gattungen der Musik fr Tasteninstrumente, Laaber Deel 7.2(2003) en deel 7.3 (2004). Eigeldinger, Jean-Jaques, Twenty-four preludes opus 28: genre, structure, significance, in: Chopin Studies ed, by J. Samson Camebridge University Press 1988. Gerig, Reginald Famous Pianists and their technique Indiana University Press 1974/2007 Goertzen, Hamilton, Kenneth, After the Golden Age: Romantic Pianism and Modern Performance, Oxford University Press 2007. Kallberg, Jeffrey, Small forms: in defence of the prelude. in: The Cambridge Companion to Chopin, Cambridge University Press 1992. Levesque, Shane, Functions and Performance Practice of Improvised Ninetheenth-Century Piano Preludes, Dutch Journal 13
of Music Theory Vol. 13 No. 1 Febr. 2008 Amsterdam University Press. Iliffe, Frederick, The Construction as to Form of Bach's Forty- Eight Preludes in: Proceedings of the Musical Association, 23rd Sess. (1896 - 1897) Nautsch, Hans, Friedrich Kalkbrenner. Wirkung und Werk, Dissertatie Hamburger Beitrge zur Musikwissenschaft 1983. Ratner, Leonard, Classic Music: Expression, Form, and Style, Schirmer books 1980. Rittermann, Janet, Piano music and the public concert, In: Samson, J. The Cambridge Companion to Chopin 1992. Samson, Jim, The music of Chopin, Oxford University Press 1985. Timbrell, Charles French Pianism. A Historical perspective Kahn & Avrill London 1992/99. Woodring, Valerie, By Way of Introduction: Preluding by 18th- and Early 19th-Century Pianists The Journal of Musicology, Vol. 14, No. 3, 1996, pp. 299-337 University of California Press. Zielinski, Tadeusz A., Chopin. Sein Leben, sein Werk, seine Zeit, Schott 2008. Vol.13 No.1 Febr. 2008 Amsterdam University Press.
Nautsch, Hans, Friedrich Kalkbrenner. Wirkung und Werk. Dissertatie Hamburger Beitrge zur Musikwissenschaft 1983.