Henry Theophilus Finck's Books

Why has the world been so slow in recognizing that Chopin stands in the very front rank of creative musicians?Had he, like Richard Wagner, attacked everybody, right and left, who stood in the way of the general recognition of his genius, his cause would have doubtless assumed greater prominence in the eyes of the public." There is hardly a composer concerning whom so many erroneous notions are current as concerning Chopin. One of the most absurd of the misconceptions is that Chopin's genius was born in full armor, and that it did not pass through several stages of development, like that of other composers. Chopin did display remarkable originality at the very beginning, but the apparent maturity of his first published works is due to the fact that he destroyed his earliest efforts and disowned those works which are known as posthumous, and which may have created confusion in some minds by having received a higher "opus" number than his last works. Another misconception regarding Chopin is that his latest works are morbid and unintelligible. The same charge was brought by philistines against the best works of Beethoven, Schumann, and Wagner. The fact is that these last works are of an almost matchless harmonic depth and originality, as superior to his earlier works as Wagner's last music dramas are to his first operas. I make this comparison with Wagner advisedly because, although I have the most exalted notions of Wagner's grandeur and importance, I do not for a moment hesitate to say that in his own sphere Chopin is quite as original and has been almost as revolutionary and epoch-making as Wagner. Schumann was the first to recognize the revolutionary significance of Chopin's style. "Chopin's works," he says, "are cannons buried in flowers;" and in another place he declares that he can see in "Chopin's G minor Nocturne a terrible declaration of war against a whole musical past." I. CHOPIN, THE GREATEST GENIUS OF THE PIANOFORTE, II. HOW COMPOSERS WORK, III. SCHUMANN, AS MIRRORED IN HIS LETTERS, IV. MUSIC AND MORALS, V. ITALIAN AND GERMAN VOCAL STYLES, VI. GERMAN OPERA IN NEW YORK

Book's by Henry Theophilus Finck

Chopin and Other Musical Essays

Chopin and Other Musical Essays

Wagner and His Works: The Story of His Life with Critical Comments (Volume One)

Wagner and His Works: The Story of His Life with Critical Comments (Volume One)

The Mentor, the Ring of the Nibelung

The Mentor, the Ring of the Nibelung

Chapters of Opera

Chapters of Opera

The Market in Birds

The Market in Birds

Username

Password

Username

Password

Password again

Birthday

Email