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I didn't have time to check out the mazurka e-cital this morning, but I've just been listening now. What an amazing thing. Congratulations to those who played, and those who put the whole thing together.

Elene

Cornflake, that is what Chopin does to you. There are a few pieces of his that I didn't like so well at first (not many) but then they get under your skin, and you can't get away from them for ever afterwards. I am glad you are insisting on playing what you want - after all, you are the 'customer' and your teacher should aim to help you get to where you want.

Now that you are 'one of us' do call in more often!

Kathleen, thank you for posting such a beautiful, heartfelt tribute to Chopin. Like Chardonnay, I too have read your sensitive words several times and have been deeply touched by them.

Michael

May I second Mary-Rose's words on this! Hope you are feeling better, Kathleen!

and Happy Birthday, M. Chopin! Your music is chocolate to my ears ...

Sophia

Kathleen - I am very sorry to hear about the fall. Wishing you a quick recovery.

Thank you to all Mazurka participants. You've outdone me this time.

Hi,

Kathleen, hope you mend quickly.

I'm a bit of an interloper here as this Mazurka was my first (well, maybe second) Chopin piece.

But let's talk about them. Mary Rose asked 1) why we chose the piece and 2) How we feel about the Mazurkas.

1) When I got my piano in 2005 after not really having played since high school, I bought a copy of Pianist magazine that had Mazurka 17/4 in it. I had never heard it before, but I just loved playing it. I didn't really learn it, just kept reading through it.

Peyton beat me to it in the sign up, but I won't hold a grudge since he did such a beautiful job. At first I thought I was out of luck, but I did a little youtube research and listened to a few others. I finally decided if I couldn't do 17/4, I could learn the others in 17 so that someday I would know them all. 17/2 was the easiest of the three, so I started with that one.

2) I'm really loving these. There's a certain longing, especially how they end, that makes me want to go back and keep playing (or listening to them again and again.) Thanks for dreaming up this idea--I'm sure I wouldn't have done this without y'all.

How 'bout the rest of you?

After I learned the Op. 55/1 Nocturne last year, I thought I'd like to learn a mazurka. I've worked on several in the past but never got any of them in any polished shape (like all of the pieces I worked on in the years before my current piano venture). I decided to learn 6/1 because it's the first one -- and Chopin put in a lot of detailed markings, including a metronome speed, so I thought it would be a good way to learn his intentions for this style. It also has a beguiling main melody and some interesting rhythmic stuff in the B and C music.

When the Mazurkathon idea came up, I asked for this one because I had already started on it.

I would love to learn more of them. I will be learning 6/4 for the next Mazurkathon, at least.

The problem with Chopin is that with each genre of his works, I think, "Boy, it would be great to learn all of the [preludes, nocturnes, waltzes, mazurkas . . .]," but there's only so much time. And there are other great composers (as I'm sure he would agree).

Ain't it the truth!

Thanks for filling us in about your choice. Anybody else want to share?

I guess I would add another question to Mary Rose's: Was there anything particularly tricky about your Mazurka--and advice to others who may want to pick it up?

I was also late in choosing a Mazurka, so I listened to as many as I could on Amazon.com and found one I thought was haunting and sad, if a Mazurka can be that way. That's just what I was in the mood for. It turned out to be a pretty easy one, but when I first took it to my teacher, she said I was playing it way too sadly and slowly. It had a completely different feel to it once I sped it up.

It's interesting how these Mazurkas don't sound like waltzes, despite the time signature. I'd love to learn more about the history of the Mazurka, if anyone knows it.

Nancy

I chose the op 41 Mazurkas because they are a bit weird and I like that.....
I wanted to start with the easiest one, but of course I should have known that Chopin is never easy
I struggle as everybody with too little time for all my small but (to me) important musical projects, and the Mazurka I'm afraid got far too low prority, something that is very unfair to this lovely little piece of music.
Another problem for me was that my teacher did not know this Mazurka, so I had to work it out by myself. I hate to present something as unpolished as this, but I like to keep a promise and by delaying I would just get more unfinished work...

I'm happy that we were able to present 11 Mazurkas for Chopin's birthday, great job everybody, I admire you all, and especially MaryRose and Frycek for the wonderful layout !

Ragnhild

In 6/1, definitely the C music (the part with the grace notes that's marked "scherzando"). Very tricky! It took me many months to get it up to tempo and clean, actually, and it's only 16 measures long. I had to practice hands separate, voices separate, at many different speeds. There's a lot of jumping around, and the key sig. makes it difficult (landing on those black keys after a big jump).

The other difficult aspect of this piece was incorporating all the inflections that Chopin asked for -- accents, dynamics, tempo changes, and so on -- and transitioning from A to B, B to C, and back to A again. I believe it's considered a Grade 8 in difficulty.

I'm a sucker for a sad piece--my sister teases me for "sitting around playing sad music." I thought it was interesting that most of the choices in this recital were in a minor key. I don't know if that's true of the Mazurkas in general, or we there was selection bias in this recital.

About tempo: my Henle edition had a metronome speed of 144. I thought it sounded good much slower, but I dutifully kept ratcheting up the ticker. I only ever got to 112 or so. I agree that it did change the character completely.

But my reference recording wasn't any faster than I played it. I was curious about that as well.

Not-at-all-Rusty, about half the Mazurkas are in minor keys and half are in major keys. The most used key is A minor (7) and Chopin's favourite key for everything, A flat major (also 7).

As for speed, you can't trust Henle (or any edition) to accurately replicate Chopin's own markings, I'm afraid, and I've not seen copies of the autograph manuscript for most of the Mazurkas. However I thought your version sounded just fine.

According to Eleanor Baillie, the marking of 132 = quarter note for 6/1 is Chopin's. It seemed very fast to me until I had worked on the piece for a while.

And also according to her, the 144 marking for 17/2 is Chopin's.

Well hopefully EB will be right then. Thanks for that, Piano Again

Wow PA, you really did your homework! Thanks for the research. I don't know if I'll ever get up to speed--my family is ready to mutiny.

Thanks also for the mode info, Mary-Rose. I guess we're just a sad-loving bunch. By the law of averages, the next recitals should be more major, I guess.

Ragnhild, there were definitely some "weird" tonalities in yours, but that really made it interesting, I thought.

For a while when listening to Peyton's 17/4 I thought I was listening to jazz--but maybe that was just left over from the red dot boogie he posted.

I listened to your recordings again last night. And I must admit I am envious of how beautifully you all played. But I am also so proud of you and thankful too. Each of you played from the heart, and I think your performances are as close to perfect as could be. I just know that Chopin would have been so pleased.

I’ve been slacking off lately (pure laziness), but after hearing you play, I was so motivated and inspired that (pain and all) I practiced for two full hours. I’ve been at a standstill with Chopin’s nocturne in C# m. Although I started it last December, I can’t seem to get it anywhere near polished. I was tempted to just leave it and go on to something else. But after reading how so many of you struggled and spent so much time on your pieces to perfect them, I was truly ashamed of myself. So what if it takes me another three months or more, being able to play this haunting piece as best I can is well worth the time and effort. And I have you all to thank for giving me that big kick in the a-- that I so richly deserve.

I would be hard pressed to choose my favorite Chopin genre. At times I think it’s the nocturnes; then, on another day, it’s the mazurkas. I believe it is in the mazurkas, that Chopin felt free to revealed himself so completely. That is why one will find so many different types of tempi and modes. I’ve learned 5 of this mazurkas, and in each one, I hear and feel almost all of this other compositions…the polonaises (rich and proud), the waltzes (light and gay) the etudes (strong and willful), the nocturnes (dreamy and ethereal). In the mazurkas, he gave everything he had to give; he used them to express all that he had been as a child and all that he had become as an adult. That is why so many of them are filled with yearning and sadness (his wish to return to his home and family as they once were). Perhaps that is what appeals to so many of us. That unspoken wish to return to the innocence of our youth.

But he experienced much happiness and joy, and he felt compelled to express this also. And what better vehicle than in the mazurka. It is interesting to note that it was a mazurka that was Chopin’s last work.

I’ve gone on too long, as usual. But I am so grateful to you for all you have done to honor his name. And I was so happy to see btb has returned and posted a lovely comment. Welcome back, btb, and we hope to hear from you more often.

Peyton, you chose the perfect mazurka. It has such a delightful section where Chopin seems to be improvising. I bet that is what appealed to you for you are such an expert at that.

Have a wonderful day,
Kathleen

Happy his name-day!

I would like Frycek to know that the copy of the death mask that she found for me on eBay arrived yesterday. I never would have expected to be able to own such a thing. There are some distortions, but he is BEAUTIFUL.

It is easy to be misled, when first looking at the mazurkas, into thinking they are easier than they really are. We’ve all realized how many challenges they contain! Chopin didn’t write anything truly easy. But there are always so many worthwhile lessons embedded in his work. Even when he’s not actually there, he’s a superb teacher.

I would say don’t get too hung up on metronome markings, at least not unless you can be sure they are the composer’s real thoughts, and perhaps not even then, because you are a different person from the composer and your performance is your performance. I don’t mean “anything goes,” but if you listen to a number of performances of a given piece by pianists who are considered “great,” usually you will find a variety of tempi. Take the suggestions into account, but remember that you have your own characteristic internal tempo. Listen to that.

This discussion reminded me to look back at that section of Op. 6 No. 1 with the tricky grace notes in the right hand. In measure 54, the last beat of the right hand is impossible for me to play as written; I think I would need one of those 1840s pianos with the narrow keys. I can’t fit my index finger on that D while playing the octave. I was wondering how other people dealt with this. I can think of three potential solutions:

1)just play the octave C sharps (not good at all)
2)break the pattern up by quickly playing D- C sharp- C sharp in succession
3)only play the D and the higher C sharp (maybe the best choice for me)

Any thoughts? Am I missing something obvious?

Kathleen, if you have only been working on that nocturne for a few months, it sounds to me like there’s not much to worry about. There’s always more to those pieces than meets the eye, and they deserve a lot of time and attention. Me, it takes me years, with many pieces. I wish I were not such a slow learner. I get the impression that many people get a piece up to speed much sooner.

Elene

I meant to add: Looking at his face-- what an experience-- made me realize that we don't really look at each other. Be sure to look at the faces of those you love; they won't always be there.

Elene

Wow OMG I missed the mazurkathon!!

I am listening right now. Magnificent effort!!

I hope I can join the next mazurkathon.