“The mazurka provided him with a repertoire of motifs, rhythms, and sonorities outside the main Italian, French, and German traditions of European music: he used it to create a series of works within this tradition which are absolutely personal—marginal works which challenge the center.
They are the most eccentric and original of Chopin's works. We shall never know exactly what and how much Chopin took directly from the popular folk tradition and how much he invented, but it does not matter: his originality is revealed as much in what he selected as in what he imagined. The folk dances gave him the possibility of exploring new harmonies, of exploiting the emotional effect of obsessive repetition, and of developing a new form of rubato.”

Source: The Romantic Generation (1995), Ch. 7 : Chopin: From the Miniature Genre to the Sublime Style

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The mazurka provided him with a repertoire of motifs, rhythms, and sonorities outside the main Italian, French, and Ger…" by Charles Rosen?
Charles Rosen photo
Charles Rosen 69
American pianist and writer on music 1927–2012

Related quotes

“This is the true paradox of Chopin: he is most original in his use of the most fundamental and traditional technique. That is what made him at the same time the most conservative and the most radical composer of his generation.”

Charles Rosen (1927–2012) American pianist and writer on music

Source: The Romantic Generation (1995), Ch. 7 : Chopin: From the Miniature Genre to the Sublime Style

Burkard Schliessmann photo
Burkard Schliessmann photo
Alan Menken photo

“Having a tradition is a great thing to work within, and maybe today [it] is the only way to really land musically dramatic work.”

Alan Menken (1949) American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.

Inside Movies interview 24 Nov 2010 http://insidemovies.ew.com/2010/11/24/alan-menken-tangled/.

George Gershwin photo
Burkard Schliessmann photo

Related topics