William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

The works to be discussed in this essay are all masterpieces in their own right, especially
when we consider their pedagogical implications from a keyboardists point of view. The
works chosen are Bachs monumental Well-Tempered Clavier (WTC), Beethovens
longest piano Sonata, Op.106 Hammerklavier and Chopins 12 tudes, Op.10. All three
share a common feature in that they have become staples of the keyboardists repertoire
and can be heard in concert halls throughout the world frequently today. Furthermore,
they all have an inherently didactic quality. Bachs WTC provides a bounty of musical
material and instruction on fugal structure and economy of motivic writing, Beethovens
Hammerklavier Sonata is a fine example to examine for its rich array of ideas and
harmonic shifts which are used in a typically classical sonata structure. Finally, Chopins
12 tudes, Op.10, a work which revolutionised the concert-etude and masterfully
presents a plethora of technical problems embedded in a unique and wonderful expressive
structure.

Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier is often revered as one of the most influential works and
at the centre of European civilisation1. It is a rich catalogue of styles and compositional
ideas which remain as didactic today as when they were written. Simply the mere concept
of writing a sequence of pieces encompassing all tonalities was relatively unheard of,
whilst Bach was not the first to do such surveys his treatment set the benchmark and duly
inspired major composers such as Chopin, Scriabin and Shostakovich to write their own
cycles.2 We are to assume from Bachs title page to the first book of the WTC that it was
intended as an educational work. Bach himself writes For the use and improvement of
musical youth eager to learn3, undoubtedly in the 18th Century printing was still a costly
endeavour and one of the ways in which music could be reproduced was via a copyist.
This would prove invaluable for Bachs sons and his students to copy out his music, as it
would provide a close environment in which to observe the compositional processes
involved, something that Bach is said to have done in his own early education.4
Consequently, this was not only the work Bach wrote that was specifically intended to
instruct his protgs, other well-known instructional works include his Clavier-bung5,
Clavier Bchlein fr Wilhelm Friedmann Bach and Notebook fr Anna Magdalena Bach.
Whilst Bach cannot be said to have revolutionised the fugue in the sense that most if not
all of his fugues are based on existing structures of the time it his exploration of the
possibilities found within the structure that make his writing stand out and provide clear
examples of fugal writing for the future generations. An unusual quality of the WTC is its
lack of specific direction as to which instrument ought to be used to play. In Bachs day

1 Ledbetter, David, Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier (Yale University Press, USA, 2002)
Pg.xi
2 Chopin, Scriabin and Shostakovich however wrote the pieces according to the circle of
fifths as oppose to the rising semitone starting from C that Bach used.
3 Ibid., Pg.3
4 Christoph Wolff, et al. "Bach." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press.Web. 18
Apr. 2016.<http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/40023pg10>.
5 A concept that was further expanded on by Ferrucio Busoni a composer whos musical
life was deeply rooted in Bachs influence.
William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

the clavichord, organ and harpsichord predominated however the ambiguous use of the
word Clavier which simply refers to a keyboard instrument rather than a specific one.
This suggests some foresight on Bachs part and could be used as an argument to justify
playing these pieces on a piano. This is of course not the only example whereby Bach
does not specify a specific instrumentation. The piece Art of Fugue though played on
keyboard instruments quite frequently there is no specific instrumentation. This may
suggest that Bach imagined these pieces to be something of a meta-concept, that the
music exists in and of itself rather than for any one specific instrument. This could also be
an explanation why numerous works from the WTC have been transcribed for other
instruments to great acclaim. This universal quality deservedly marks Bachs WTC as a
masterpiece.

Beethovens Op.106 sonata Hammerklavier is the longest of all Beethovens piano

sonatas running to around 45-50 minutes. In writing this sonata it is likely Beethoven had
Bach in mind as throughout the piece there is a running theme that was common to
Bachs music. That is, they developed ideas using traditional forms and styles but
maintaining a distinct sense of identity and style throughout. This sonata is considered to
be of Beethovens so-called late period and this is also confirmed by the presence of the
fugue in the 4th movement. The fugue was considered even in Bachs time to be a model
of antiquity consigned to music history, that Beethoven in his later years began writing a
great number of fugues (e.g. Grosse Fugue, Op.101, Op.110) is a sure sign that he was
progressing to the view of utilising forms to fulfil ones aesthetic desires. A trait
Beethovens spiritual successor Brahms also subscribed to. Brahms was undoubtedly
influenced by Beethovens work in this respect and the Op.106 has particular significance
with relation to Brahms as quotes this work in the very opening of his Op.1 sonata.

Johannes Brahms Sonata Op.1, 1ST Movement Bars 1-4 (Arthur Whiting, Schirmer 1918)
William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

Ludwig Van
Beethoven, Sonata Op.106 1st Movement Bar 1-2 (Schenker, Universal Edition, 1920)

As one can see, the rhythmic similarity is uncanny and is likely the young Brahms
acknowledging Beethovens stature as a composer. The 1st Movement of this Sonata has
bold characteristics. As is typical of Beethovens style there is an immense economy of
material, in this case it is the presence of the major third which occurs from even the very
first two notes (Bottom Bb to Bb 2nd inversion chord where the sound of the D
predominates which is then marked marcato in its subsequent repetitions) This reliance
on singular ideas is common throughout Beethoven but is taken to a new level in this
Sonata in that in every new phrase the germ of the major third motif is present. (See
examples below)

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata Op.106 1st Movement Bar 4-6 (Schenker, Universal
Edition, 1920)

As we can see in the above example the ascending melodic line is primarily built upon
the third which each time resolves to the note below it. This subject is then restated and
elaborated upon before returning again to a more rhythmically active developmental
version of the opening dotted rhythm figure.
William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata

st
Op.106 1 Movement Bar 16-17 (Schenker, Universal Edition, 1920)

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata Op.106 1st Movement Bar 46-47 (Schenker, Universal
Edition, 1920)

Here in the example above in a transitory phase is an example of building material

around the third motif. The R.H. descends by a third in each successive four-quaver
pattern whilst the L.H. ascends in intervals of thirds on syncopated beats.
William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

Ludwig Van Beethoven, Sonata Op.106 1st Movement Bar 101-104

(Schenker, Universal Edition, 1920)

Yet another example whereby Beethoven introduces another phrase which aesthetically is
fundamentally different from the last but is however built on the all-important third motif.
In this example we can see the left hand is playing an arpeggio formation making leaps of
a compound major 3rd in the first bar whilst descending a major 3rd and the descending
major 3rd is present again in the 3rd bar. The right hand melody is built around sequences
of thirds starting on a D descending to a B which then rises to an Eb followed by a
descent to C. The passage then resolves on a perfect cadence via a descending major 3rd
to continue with a passage which utilises much of the same material in a more elaborate
format.

As we can see in these examples this piece is a monument to Beethovens genius and is a
testament to his creative capabilities and economic style which influenced composers
such as Brahms and Liszt.

Whilst, Chopin was by no means the first to write concert-etudes nor the last, it is
generally agreed that his 27 tudes for Piano have made an indelible mark on the
landscape of piano writing and the evolution of piano technique. One need only to peruse
numerous major piano competition syllabi to witness the enduring popularity and respect
that these pieces have garnered not only as pieces of music but also as tests of ones
virtuosic mettle. Despite having only written these pieces in his early twenties they
already exhibit signs of a wholly personal and individual musical language as well as a
uniquely refined understanding of how to write for the piano. One can find influences of
this writing throughout the piano repertoire but most especially in the music of Scriabin
and Rachmaninov, by no coincidence also pianists themselves. Chopin was undoubtedly
familiar with etudes of his time works such as Clementis Gradus ad Parnassum, JB
Cramers studies, these were used in his own work as a teacher6 and as such provided an
incentive to compose something of a more grand stature worthy both of the teaching
studio as well as the concert platform. Amongst the most interesting of the tudes is
Op.10 No.3 one of the most popular due to its feature in a number of Hollywood films.
This is an tude which whilst on surface appears to be simple and relatively problem
free, to play with the immense amount of detail that Chopin proscribes becomes a major
challenge arguably greater than the other more famously difficult etudes. The French
pianist and famous chopin interpreter Alfred Cortot remarks that the etude requires
"intense expressiveness imparted by the weaker fingers and development of
the "individual tone value of the fingers".7

6 Cortot In Search of Chopin Nevill, 1951

7 Cortot, Alfred. Frdric Chopin. 12 tudes, op.10. dition de travail des oeuvres de Chopin. Paris: ditions
Salabert, 1915, p. 20
William Jones SKS Word Count: 1957

Op.10 No.3 Bars 1-4 (Ed. Karl Klindworth Bote & Block, 1880)

In the above example the complex array of dynamics makes interpreting a difficult task.
The numerous hairpins suggest a desire on Chopins part to separate each element of its
composition into components. It can be separated into something like a conventional 4-
part piece typical of Bachs chorale writing with the soprano predominating whilst the
other parts provide a strictly harmonic framework. This demands of the performer a
highly developed polyphonic playing ability to which each component can be ascertained
in a listening. This is further supported by the details given in the bass in the form of
elongated notes and accents in the tenor syncopated notes. This provides a recognisable
ostinato figuration which Leopold Godowsky in his arrangements of these tudes also
makes a special point of including. The right hand is where the highest challenge lies, one
must control the hand in such a way that each melodic inflection can be heard whilst the
semiquaver accompaniment figure remains sustained but fundamentally an
accompaniment in nature. The nature of the inflections given to the top line also suggest
that Chopin conceived this melody existing as itself rather than bound to the metrics
surrounding it. That is the emphases alternate from the first beat of the bar and graduate
towards the second beat of the bar coupled with dynamic instructions such as in bar 3
which defy the intuitive desire to emphasise the first beat of the bar as is the case with
many of other etudes. This dense technically demanding writing is reminiscent of Bach
and given that Chopin wrote Preludes inspired by Bachs model there can be no doubt
that for the etudes he developed ideas found within Bachs WTC.

Bibliography

Newman, The Sonata Since Beethoven, University of North Carolina Press, 1983
Tovey, Companion to Beethovens Pianoforte Sonatas, Associated Board, London, 1935
Ledbetter, David, Bachs Well-Tempered Clavier (Yale University Press, USA, 2002)
Cortot, Alfred. Frdric Chopin. 12 tudes, op.10. dition de travail des oeuvres de
Chopin. Paris: ditions Salabert, 1915
Cortot In Search of Chopin Nevill, 1951

Discography
Sviatoslav Richter, Das Wohltempierte Klavier, RCA
Emil Gilels, Beethoven Sonatas, Deutsche Grammaphon
Maurizio Pollini, Chopin Etudes, Deutsche Grammaphon