A Short Guide to Chopin's Musical Genres

Chopin was a prolific writer over his 39 years on earth, penning at least 4 ballades, 27 etudes, 4 impromptus, 51 mazurkas, 21 nocturnes, 16 polonaises, 25 preludes, 4 scherzos, 3 piano sonatas, 18 waltzes, two piano concertos, and numerous other miscellaneous piano works including such masterpieces as his Barcarole, Berceuse and Fantasy in F minor.

Some of these genres are common and self-explanatory, especially his piano sonatas and piano concertos modeled after classical form. But most of Chopin's forms were unusual, original or at minimum redefined by Chopin.

Dvořák - Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88

Antonin Dvorak is most well-known for his exquisite Symphony No.9 ("From a New World") - a masterpiece of such depth and other-worldliness that it has truly earned its place in the pantheon of the greatest works for symphony orchestra.

Yet as sublime as No.9 is - and I would count it as one of my two or three favorite works for orchestra - its towering reputation sometimes causes the rest of Dvorak's symphonies - all eight of them - to be overlooked or ignored.

While none of the other eight quite reaches the heights that No.9 achieved, they are a formidable corpus and Nos. 7 and 8 in particular are worthy of deep study. This blog explores Dvorak's Symphony No.8 in G major - quite possibly the "best of the rest."

Chronological Account of the 150 Greatest Symphonies

The Classical Music forum TalkClassical.com conducted a poll of its members to determine the top 150 symphonies ever written. While such polls are clearly not scientific, show huge bias, and have sundry other limitations, I am always fascinated by them.

I was working my blog on Dvorak's 8th Symphony and discussing how he was influenced by Beethoven and Brahms when I realized that I usually sort composers by birth year or genre, but I rarely do the same for individual pieces. 

From a distance, Brahms and Dvorak were very close in timing but, by virtue of his earlier birth year and connection with earlier composers (in this case, Robert and Clara Schumann), I always considered Brahms as a predecessor of Dvorak. 

In reality, while Brahms certainly achieved celebrity status quicker, Dvorak had composed six complete symphonies before Brahms had even completed his third. Or, in terms of percentage (since Dvorak wrote nine symphonies and Brahms only four), Dvorak had written 67% of his symphonies while Brahms had only written 50%.

This realization made me revisit the TalkClassical.com poll to group symphonies according to the date on which they were completed. This opened my eyes to some interesting trends. For more, see below.

Schumann - Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.54

Robert Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor - the only one he completed - has long been considered a staple of modern piano repertoire. 

In many ways, it serves as a bridge between the forms and styles used by Beethoven and Brahms. Although demanding for the pianist, it is distinct from the "virtuoso concerto" style embraced by Hummel, Chopin, and Liszt (and Paganini, on violin). Instead, it relies on lyricism and mood and treats both the soloist and orchestra as equal partners in bringing the thematic material to life.