Chopin Meets the Devil: Polonaise in F# minor Op. 44

0:42 Overview
1:44 Expansion of the Polonaise form
3:23 Thematic and gestural analysis
7:15 Performance of the complete piece
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[@da__lang]

This is one of my favorite Chopin pieces. Every time I hear it, I like it more and more.

[@rishidesai9755]

What a great performance and analysis! The idea of this Polonaise having the seeds of primitivism never occurred to me. Thank you!

[@grahamtwist]

WOW! What a mesmerising performance! Such exuberant virtuosity! Just magnificent! Thank you so much for your introductory comments to this masterpiece by Chopin as the context you provided added significantly to the enjoyment of the performance. I can only share my reaction to what you presented, not that it adds anything of note. Firstly, I was struck by how this composition is so perfectly pianistic. I cannot imagine it working so effectively in any sort of transcription. To me, it exemplified Chopin and the piano becoming one entity and the music was the extraordinary voice of that fusion. Secondly, I love how you tease us with language evoking the 'devil' and notions of 'malevolence'. Good clickbait! I don't sense anything demonic at all. For me, the music is an expression of pure, explosive passion as well as great tenderness with episodes suggesting struggle and tragedy and triumph. It is all of life at its most intense, expressed in music in the most amazing way. Finally, for the music to achieve its maximum impact, the listener has to sense that the performer has not just succeeded in taming the score into submission. The performer has to make us believe . . . and, Cole, you made me believe. Chopin met Anderson and perfection was achieved. BRAVO!

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you Graham! I’m getting better with my titles, no? Of course the mephistophelian angle is only one possibility-that is the beauty of absolute music of course. I enjoyed your ideas for the piece very much as well!

[@handofjustice2008]

It's amazing to listen to a piece and understand why it sounds like this and understand what it really means! Amazing work, in the explanation and in the amazing performance!

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you! What an honor to receive such a positive review from Beethoven’s greatest student. :-)

[@licoricestic]

Bleak as it gets! If not known as the Tragic polonaise, it should as it sounds like a later polonaise except it's Heroic. The intro sounds like Liszt. A great example of the harmonic minor too.

[@popadopalis4480]

Thank you so much Cole. I have loved this piece for a while, and I appreciate your desire to bring lesser known but equally as great pieces by the composer giants to the forefront. Quick suggestion: I am curious to your setup for recording including devices used, piano, recording equipment. Would it be possible to list those things in the description? Also, I think an Amazon wishlist could be a great way to support your channel as well for future equipment/music that could help us help support you. Thanks

[@popadopalis4480]

not sure, but if I were to guess, it is one of the Yamaha Arius series pianos

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you! Great ideas, all. I’ll probably do a video soon to go over the equipment-the keyboard itself is the Kawai VPC1.

[@JeanneGrunert]

This is my favorite Chopin piece of all and your interpretation of it is magnificent. I even worked this piece as a theme (and clue!) into one of the mystery novels I wrote. I loved watching your video - it reminded me of taking music theory many, many years ago, and reading scores, and working with my teachers to truly understand the pieces. Thank you for making this video and for interpreting Chopin so beautifully.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thanks for your lovely comment! I'm quite intrigued that you say this piece featured in one of your novels-what is the title?

[@zamyrabyrd]

This Polonaise was also one of my fave adolescent discoveries. Arthur Rubinstein, I believe, played it in Moskow with great aplomb. I am not sure about the rhythmic (drums?) "Trio No. 1". I need to think about that more. Usually, a Trio is well defined as with its own A major Mazurka.

[@arielhirschfeld2286]

Thank you for your intriguing interpretation! your idea about the connection between the beautiful 2nd trio and the "malevolent" theme of the polonaise is especially interesting.

[@gergelykiss]

Thank you for a wonderful performance! I agree with your observation regarding the mazurka theme and the opening figurations - but I wouldn't characterize the opening as the "source" of the mazurka, I feel it's the other way around: the opening is probably retro-engineered from the mazurka material. Which might well be what you meant in the first place, and I just misinterpreted it. :) Either way it is one of those strokes of genius from Chopin he unfalteringly delivers.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you for the comment! That is a very interesting thought. I think I referred to it as the source since it comes first in the actual piece, but he absolutely may have written the Mazurka first. I haven’t seen any sketches for this piece, but that would be an interesting thing to research.

[@tomowenpianochannel]

Excellent analysis. Chopin's F# minor Polonaise shares the same character traits of his B minor etude 'Octave' and 1st Scherzo, also in B minor. All are full of a hellish inspiration and rival similar works by Liszt in this vein (Mephisto, Galop, Scherzo etc). These are savage, angry, bitter (with sweet, tender centres), brutal and terrifying in effect. Yet they are some of Chopin's most powerful and moving works of all. Also interesting that you think of the 2nd part (the repeated martellatos) as a precursor to Stravinsky and modernist composers. Again, this recurs frequently in later Liszt works (ostinatos, jagged rhythms, bare harmonies). One of Chopin's greatest structures, with a performance to match your illuminating comments.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Yes I completely agree with you. Who knows in which direction the influences were flowing between Liszt and Chopin-perhaps both ways!

[@mmaximk]

Beautiful. Thank you.

[@sumikot5448]

I found your channel when I was searching different renditions of Chopin’s Op 44, and I came back to this one today. This polonaise is one of my favourites but somehow it’s so difficult to find a recording I like. It’s not like I studied the score so this is just my feeling but I found many of them are overly powerful in the beginning or too fast or too slow. So thank you very much for your superb performance which I really like! Can I ask your favourite recording of this piece?

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thanks Sumiko! I'm not sure if I have one favorite recording, but aside from the usual suspects (Horowitz, Rubinstein) my other favorite might be Piotr Anderszewski. It is a really well planned and imaginative veresion, all around a really interesting and beautiful performance. There are other good ones also-I remember Lazar Berman being quite interesting, as well as Samson François and Guiomar Novaes.

[@sumikot5448]

@@TheIndependentPianist thank you for sharing your favourites, Cole! I am listening Piotr Anderszewski and it’s great!

[@anthonyc6017]

i hear how u won performances with that playing!

[@pianobar-bartoszsobczynski1321]

I've a question that may not be related strictly to what you're talking about. What is the name of the painting in the right-had corner at the top, and who painted it? It's beautiful. Thanks for the answer. Greetings from the composer's homeland. I also play Chopin on my channel. Feel invited.

[@NSKS52]

It's "Springtime" by Claude Monet, very beautiful, indeed.

[@Bigblackpiano]

Excellent playing of this piece. I only for hands so big as it's a real handicap for op 44 to not have all these fingering options you take advantage of :(((

[@einberteinbert]

Chopin😍

[@willcrisp4948]

Great performance! What’s the name of the piece in the intro?

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Earl Wild’s Etude after Gershwin’s Liza. Thank you!

[@itsjudystube7439]

I used to love,playing this…except for the trio section. Now it might make me a Philistine, but I used to grind to a halt out of boredom at that section. 😂😱 So I would miss it out for my own pleasure. Now I understand that I was not “getting” the interpretation. I just did not understand it. Maybe I will try again when I am back in practice.

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Yes, I could perfectly understand that! That part is confusing and very easy to get bogged down. Maybe it will be "refreshed" next time you try it.

[@Bigblackpiano]

He added way too many iterations in there

[@xuan.-.3449]

Hi where can I get the score?

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Imslp is the place to go!

[@elsaesteves]

Love this polonaise, but I don't think Chopin was romantic at all. Me and some thousands of people know this polonaise by heart, it was played for weeks, everyday from 10 to 20h in the Chopin competition last October. Chopin was sarcastic, his left hand is always forgotten as well as every single note he wrote, you have to go note by note and try to decipher what Chopin wants, so far only Blechacz is near. Anyway congrats on your rendition it was wonderful, bravooooo

[@TheIndependentPianist]

Thank you very much! Chopin may not have considered himself a romantic, but it was the age he lived through and ended up representing. Blechacz is a wonderful artist of course, but I think there are many others who have found some of Chopin’s elusive essence. The greatest for me are Cortot, Friedman and Rachmaninoff-but there are many more in my opinion. Thank you so much for your comment!

[@elsaesteves]

@@TheIndependentPianist yes the Romantic period 👍 I was referring to nowadays pianists, the ones you mentioned are dead, I forgot Kissin omg, Kissin is fabulous, his rendition of Andante Spianato /grand polonaise brillante is the best I've ever heard. Most pianists nowadays are robots, everyone plays the same way, no feelings, no soul.. Chopin is constantly butchered 😑 I don't like Argerich aggressive way of playing, seems she's always angry with the world, but I do love Pires, I am trying to go to her house for an interview but she's never there, always touring Europe 😕

[@andrzejnowak7]

During his last radio interview before his death, William Kapell was asked if Chopin was a Romantic. Kapell's answer was: Chopin is first and foremost a purist.

[@broundothisrightneow]

gershwin-wild liza in the intro mmmmm

[@broundothisrightneow]

i just started looking at that piece a few days ago T_T