Unit XVII The NineteenthCentury Piano Piece

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Unit XVIIThe Nineteenth-Century Piano Piece

• Chapter 45
• The Piano and Its Literature

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The Ascendency of the Piano

• Because it could play both melody and harmony and
  because it became widely available, the piano
  became the most popular instrument of the
  nineteenth century.

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The Ascendency of the Piano

• The rise of the piano concert also gave rise to
  the piano virtuoso, whose primary function it was
  to dazzle. At first the performers were
  composers themselves (Beethoven, Mozart, etc.).
  Later the artist was an interpreter rather than a
  composer.

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The Short Lyric Piano Piece

• Instrumental equivalent of the song.
• Forms
• Improvisatory - bagatelle ("a trifle") impromptu
  ("on the spur of the moment") intermezzo
  (interlude), nocturne ("night song") novelette
  (short story) moment musical, song without
  words, album leaf, prelude, romance, capriccio
  (caprice)

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Forms

• Extended - rhapsody, ballade
• Dances - waltz, mazurka, polka, ecossaise
  (Scottish dance), polonaise (Polish dance),
  march, country dance
• Fanciful, descriptive titles
• Schumann - "In the Night," "Soaring," "Whims"
• Liszt - "Forest Murmurs," "Fireflies"

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Masters of the Genre

• Franz Schubert
• Frederic Chopin
• Franz Liszt
• Felix Mendelssohn
• Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel
• Robert Schumann
• Clara Wieck Schumann
• Johannes Brahms