Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58: Late Style, Formal Ambiguity, and Performance Considerations by Adam Zukiewicz A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto © Copyright by Adam Zukiewicz 2012 Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58: Late Style, Formal Ambiguity, and Performance Considerations Adam Zukiewicz Doctor of Musical Arts Graduate Department of Music University of Toronto 2012 Abstract Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58, is the largest solo work of his late period. Chopin’s successful combination of the Classical and the Romantic aesthetic, which is explored in Chapter 1, results in an effective balancing of structural integrity and emotional fulfillment. Every movement of Op. 58 possesses qualities of movements in a traditional sonata cycle; however, the tendency to blend structural elements, the expansion of thematic material, and the postponement of climaxes contribute to Chopin’s distinctive treatment of the sonata genre. The issue of late style in Chopin’s output has recently garnered considerable attention. Most writers focus on particular compositional techniques such as the blending of musical genres and the increasing importance of counterpoint and chromaticism. New expressive elements include manifestations of a dandified aesthetic as well as emotional lassitude. These discussions are primarily related to works in Chopin’s original genres, neglecting somewhat the Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58. The second chapter of this dissertation examines the elements of Chopin’s late style present in Op. 58, emphasizing the sonata’s first three movements. These aspects of late ii style include blurring of genres, complex use of chromaticism, intricacy of counterpoint, textural and thematic variety, dandified impertinence, emotional lassitude and polyvalence. The employment of late stylistic features within the sonata model results in formal ambiguities, which are particularly manifest in the first movement. Chapter 3 reconsiders the movement’s thematic boundaries and especially evaluates the juncture between development and recapitulation. In Chapter 4, the last movement’s indebtedness to Chopin’s balladic model is examined. The gradual intensification of the primary theme together with the presence of a characterizing theme and dancelike episode suggest a merging of Chopin’s balladic practice with rondo form to create an end-directed hybrid structure. This study not only encourages further research into the implications of Chopin’s late style for his larger forms but also increases the variety of interpretative choices available to performers through awareness of Chopin’s stylistic features. The final chapter suggests how insights into musical structure, style, and genre might inform performances of this sonata and how these possibilities relate to a selection of recorded performances. iii Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to Profs. Ryan McClelland and James Parker for their continuous guidance and support throughout the process of writing this dissertation. I would also like to thank Prof. Marietta Orlov for the inspiration to rethink the established interpretative practices of Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58, and Prof. Henri-Paul Sicsic for his stimulating ideas and remarks. Finally, I would like to thank my family, whose everlasting encouragement helped me immensely to achieve this stage of doctoral studies. iv Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………...ii Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………………..iv List of Examples…………..……………………………………………………………………..vii Chapter 1. Chopin and the Balance of Romantic and Classical Aesthetics……………………….1 Influence of educational background on Chopin’s compositional aesthetic……………...2 Role of the piano, piano music and sonata genre in Paris in 1800-1850……………….....4 Theoretical and analytical approaches to Sonata studies………………………………...10 Chopin and Sonatas..……………………………………………………………………..20 Evolution of the Sonata model……………………………………………..............20 Reception and criticisms of the Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58………………………....24 Significance of the Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58………….…………….....................27 Summary………………………………………………………………………………....32 Chapter 2. Musical language of Chopin’s late style and its manifestations in the Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58…………………………………………………………………………...35 New Compositional Techniques.………………………………………………………..37 Blend of genres………………………………………………………....................37 Chromaticism……………………………………………………………………..50 Texture…………………………………………………………………...............53 Elements of dandified aesthetic in Op. 58……………………………………………….58 Evolution of expression in the late style: Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58…………………..64 Summary…………………………………………………………………………………76 v Chapter 3. Structural ambiguities in the first movement of Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58……………………………………………………………………………..................78 Ambiguities in the first movement of Chopin’s Op. 58.………………………………...83 Variety of formal readings of the exposition………………………………………...83 Thematic boundaries of the P and T areas and harmonic ambiguities of the exposition………………………………………………………………………...91 Ambivalence of the entry of the recapitulation……………………………………...98 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..112 Chapter 4. Formal hybridization of the Finale of Chopin’s Third Piano Sonata, Op. 58………114 Diversity of formal interpretations of the Finale……………………………………….118 Balladic aspects of the Finale of Chopin’s Op. 58....…………………………………..141 Thematic intensification………………………………………….........................141 Thematic relations…………………………………………………….................147 Summary………………………………………………………………………………..162 Chapter 5. Some Performance Considerations…………………………………………………164 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………183 Discography…………………………………………………………………………………….188 vi List of Examples Example Page 1.1. “La grande coupe binaire,” of Anton Reicha …………………………………………......12 2.1. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 41-42……………………………………………………...39 2.2. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 56-58……………………………………………………...39 2.3. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 76-77……………………………………………………...40 2.4. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 13-18……………………………………………………...43 2.5. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 53-76……………………………………………………...46 2.6. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 76-93……………………………………………………...47 2.7. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 130-138…………………………………………………...49 2.8. Chopin’s Ballade in F minor, Op. 52, mm. 135-147……………………………………....49 2.9. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 22-24……………………………………………………....51 2.10. Chromatic build up in S area, Mvt. 1, mm. 72-73………………………………………..52 2.11. Descending chromatic lines of melody and bass, Mvt. 4, mm. 25-27…………………....52 2.12. Chromatic release used in the melody of K material, Mvt. 1, mm. 84-87………………..53 2.13. Chromatically descending bass line, Mvt. 3, mm. 110-112. ……………………………..53 2.14. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 28-30……………………………………………………..54 2.15. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 14-24……………………………………………………..56 2.16a. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 41-42…………………………………………………….56 2.16b. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 56-57…………………………………………………….56 2.16c. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, m. 66…………………………………………………………..57 2.16d. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 76-77……………………………………………………..57 2.17. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 94-97………………………………………………………57 2.18. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 17-18………………………………………………………60 2.19. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 29-30………………………………………………………61 2.20. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 2, mm. 1-4…………………………………………………………63 2.21. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 2, mm. 61-67………………………………………………………63 2.22. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 56-58………………………………………………………67 2.23. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 72-74………………………………………………………68 2.24. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 1-5…………………………………………………………71 vii 2.25. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 18-21………………………………………………………72 2.26. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 36-37………………………………………………………72 2.27. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 42-45………………………………………………………73 2.28. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 62-68………………………………………………………73 2.29. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 95-99………………………………………………………74 2.30. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 112-114……………………………………………………74 2.31. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 3, mm. 89-91………………………………………………………76 3.1. Leikin’s model of the exposition in the first movement of Chopin’s Op. 58……………….85 3.2. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 1-19…………………………………………………………87 3.3. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 16-40………………………………………………………..89 3.4. Dhuvabhark’s formal outline of the first movement of Chopin’s Op. 58…………………...90 3.5. Sumono’s model of the exposition of the first movement of Chopin’s Op. 58……………..91 3.6. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 12-16………………………………………………………..95 3.7. Opening of Chopin’s First Piano Sonata, Op. 4, mm. 1-4…………………………………..96 3.8. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 63-71………………………………………………………..99 3.9. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 130-138……………………………………………………103 3.10. Chopin’s Op. 58, Mvt. 1, mm. 136-154…………………………………………………..105 3.11. Prolonged dominant preparation in the retransition and start of the recapitulation with the S area in Chopin’s Second Sonata, Op. 35, Mvt. 1, mm. 157-173…………………………107 3.12. Preparation of the secondary theme in Chopin’s Op. 65, Mvt. 1, mm. 60-73...………….108 3.13. Retransition into recapitulation in Chopin’s Op. 65, Mvt. 1, mm. 175- 187……………………………………………………………………………………………...108 3.14. Helman’s model of Chopin’s mature sonata forms……………………………………....110 3.15. Suggested structural model of the first movement of Chopin’s Op. 58 incorporating elements of Chopin’s late style…………………………………………………………………112