There's certainly no question to which composer I am devoted.

Thought I'd share with the rest of the Learning Groups, the award/reward we received for learning Chopin's Dflat prelude (some of us have moved on to his Nocturne 55/1.)

We got T-shirts! Similiar to the one below. The "studly" picture of Chopin is our favorite and we can chose the wording. Below is an sample.

Kathleen

I shared your Chopin devotion (obsession?) for a long time. I used to take piano exams when I was younger, and Chopin first showed up at Grade 7. One of his mazurkas was listed as a choice for the Romantic piece. My teacher, being a Chopin lover herself, highly recommended it to me. I was hooked from then on. The next year, I learned the Minute Waltz... Then the next year, the waltz in C# minor... Then the next year, the Military Polonaise... So much for maintaining variety in my repertoire .

I do love music by other composers too (Beethoven sonatas were always a favourite, and I've recently developed a thing for Tchaikovsky) - But somehow, nothing ever quite does it like Chopin.

Did I say I "shared" your devotion (past tense)? I think I still do .

AMEN!!

Kathleen

Well, seeing as my "favorite" composer changes frequently, often several times daily depending on what I'm listening to at the time, I guess the answer to your question is "not very."

However, I am extremely devoted to a large group of composers/artists whose work I love. Just call me a polygamist.

i divorced Chopin to marry Bach.. occasionally i'll go out w/ Schumann, Brahms, Debussey, anybody really just for a change of pace... don't mess around tho.

I apparently caught Chopin on the rebound. Kathleen, are you the OTHER woman, or am I?

I also confess to a sisterly affection for Bach and Liszt.

I'm with Monica on this one, altho my list of favorite classical composers is kinda short. But it changes a lot, depending on my mood or the phase of the moon or.... lol Across the broader spectrum of music- well, I guess I join Monica in her polygamy.... lol

Mostly Mozart. Easy to play, tough to play well.

Then Chopin. But he's just tough all around for me.

I love them all....for different reasons. I still feel underexposed so my favourite changes frequently. Currently it's Mendelssohn and Gliere. But I'm eager to get back to Bach and also I'm working the beginning of my favourite Chopin piece.....I'm a real flirt!! :3hearts:

Monica and IrishMak: I'd be happy to make T-shirts for you both reading: I am a polygamist! They would be an eye-opener when worn to the mall.

Frycek: Being that I've loved Chopin since I was about 10 years old and the fact that I am MUCH older than you, I think you are the other woman!

Kathleen

Kathleen, I do assure you, my feelings are purely platonic.

I've always been into rock, hip hop, house, jazz, etc. And I thought that when I started to play piano I wanted to play jazz and blues. But when I learned my first little minuet, I was hooked on classical piano. Then in NYC on vacation I saw Konstantin Lifschitz play Shostakovich's complete preludes and Fugues and it blew my mind. While I'm not a huge fan of Shostakovich, the playing was so amazing. I bought all of his CD's after the show, and that got me started on Bach's Goldberg variations (Lifschitz's rendition is my favorite - so raw and earnest). Now I've gone and started buying all kinds of solo piano work by various artists and composers. Right now I'd have to say Haydn and Liszt are my favorites. But that changes almost weekly. It's cool to be discovering classical music and playing it all at the same time. And I'm so new to it my mind is wide open.

Oh, Kathleen- now you've given me an idea! I think I need to make myself a "I am a Musical Polygamist" shirt for my next rock concert!!! I wonder how many people would actually know the word???? LOL

whoops!

Frycek:

Same for me. The relationship, that is.

However, as is so often the case with the other woman, you know so much more about him than I.

He's obviously grown tired of me and pours his soul out to you. But I forgive you.

I know you can't help yourself.

Kathleen

He's an enigma even to himself.

He's an enigma even to himself.[/b]

And a true anomaly. Because (at least, in my mind), he had such a relatively happy childhood...with the exception of losing his young sister to the same disease that eventually killed him. But, while I'm sure he was saddened by this, he scarely mentioned it in a letter to one of his friends.

He had a loving mother and adoring sisters. His father, while firm, was extremely supportive and did not push him into performing for money as Mozart's father had. He seem unaffected by all the fuss going on about him.

He was, in effect, surrounded by caring and genuine people. Wonderful young friends and healthy/fun-full experiences as a youth.

I've read that he (his personality and character) is psychiatrist's dream.

With so many other composers (Beethoven, Mozart to mention just a couple), their strange behavior could be traced back to either their childhood or their disabilities.

However, Chopin had none of these, to speak of. Just where/when/how did he develop into the kind of person he was?

And, he became this person BEFORE he met Sand. So we can't blame her for it.

He was once described as being someone from another planet. A lot of what he appeared to others was simply a facade...not really a indication of his true nature.

To quote James Huneker: "He was, like his music, a bundle of unreconciled affirmations and evasions and never could have been contented anywhere with anyone. Of himself, he said that he was in this world like the E string of a violin on a contrabass."

I admit I don't understand Chopin referrence to the E string. But I did some research on the E string:

E strings are a little trickier to pick than the others, because they wear out faster and seem to vary more in terms of sound quality.

I guess Chopin knew himself the best.

Sorry if I bored any of you who have managed to read this far. He is such interesting character. Once referred to as a heaven-made genius.

To love his music is to be obsessed with trying to understand the make-of the composer. In Chopin's case, a true exercise in hopelessness.

Kathleen

The small violin string would be stretched very tightly on a big double bass.

Mel

Ah...

This is in keeping with something else Chopin said about all of us being created by some kind of Stradivarius and how this creator had abandoned us when we needed his help (probably in need of a tuning).

Thanks,

Kathleen

Yes, and I think it could also mean "wound so tight to the breaking point".

Or "high strung".

I don't think they had the word anxiety back then, but it might describe what FF was talking about in his E string quote.

Mel

FF is responsible for his tight-winding. Something in his nature.

I know because I was the same way all the years I worked. Put way too much pressure on myself, when it wasn't called for.

However, now that I am retired, I've let myself become unwound and out-of-tune.

And it's heaven.

Kathleen

If I could get a set of "Rachmaninoff ROCKS" (or perhaps RACHS, lol) "Liszt OWNS", "Bach RULES" and "Chopin IS DA BOMB" that would be cool.

:p

While I agree that your choices of T-shirt messages are great, I'm afraid I will have to limit you to just one ( I HATE IRONING!)

Take your pick. I'll even include a picture of whichever composer you want.

Let me know if you are still interested.

Kathleen

Alright... a portrait of a young liszt using the same layout as the the original shirt posted here... "LISZT RULES." using a period at the end instead of an exclamation?

Is that asking too much?

It would really be awsome.