Frederic Chopin (1810-1849)• Polish pianist and composer• Relationship with novelist “George Sand” (Aurore Dudevant)• Personal Style

– Preferred salon performances– Short pieces that would often

evoke either a mood or a dance• Polish dance forms (based on the meter and dance

feel, not melodies)• Mood music: nocturnes, preludes, etudes, etc.

– Characterized by either grace and elegance, or explosions of virtuosity

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Chopin-Prelude_8.PNG

Franz Liszt (1811-1886)• Hungarian pianist and composer• Teens- moved to Paris to perform

– Age 19 – witnessed Paganini and became a recluse

– Worked on technique to become the “Paganini of the piano”

• A new type of virtuoso – overwhelming talent, wowed audiences, one of the first musical “sex symbols”– My 10 fingers have the power to reproduce

harmonies created by 100 performers”– His compositions were intense, loud, thick, and

often considered vulgar

Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

• Led Bach revival– St. Matthew’s Passion

• Violin Concerto– One of the most commonly

performed– Reversed and altered

‘double exposition’– Cadenza-like passages

through-out