Chopin, Frdric - Theme And Variations On A Theme By Rossini Written by Alexa Still Chopin, Frdric - Theme And Variations

On A Theme By Rossini This piece is available on line, for free, at http://imslp.org/wiki/Variations_in_E_major_for_Flute_and_Piano,_B.9_(Chopin,_Frederic) It is listed along with the works without opus numbers published after Chopins death, under this more detailed title: Op. A 1 No. 5, Variations in E major for flute and piano on the air "Non piu mesta" from the opera "La Cenerentola" (1824) This is a cute, bright little piece that is invaluable for intermediate to advanced flutists looking for a demonstrative but short piece for contests, auditions or concert opportunities and actually some ambitious less advanced players might also do very well with this piece by dropping a variation or two. The fact that the composers involved (Chopin and Rossini) have recognizable names can be quite an advantage in some situations, and this year is the 200th anniversary celebration of Chopins birthday! Rossinis tune is lovely, a very simple operatic melody - from, as the more complete title suggests, La Cenerentola. Rossini was just 25 years old and basking in the success of his The Barber of Seville written the year before. La Cenerentola is based on the story of Cinderella. And thanks again to the wonderful resources of the internet age, the staged version of this aria as sung by the super star singer Cecilia Bartolli, can be viewed on Youtube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVZNx39xYiA Chopin gives this tune a very simple but charming setting, with his distinctive melancholy and delicate melodic style emerging only in the slow variation number 2. Here follows a very brief guide to some pointers, tricks and suggestions: Theme: there are lots of staccato Es, a note that just really likes to crack or become some sort of a multiphonic when played short. So, practice playing a long, good sounding E, and repeat the note, making it progressively shorter until you can control it better. This is mostly about discovering just how much to focus the embouchure combined with learning the best shape to have inside the mouth and the right amount of air pressure (you might also realize that moving your lips a lot to articulate makes short notes much harder to do). A quick listen to the sung version gives a good idea of tempo and demonstrates some good rubato possibilities. It is pretty standard to do some wonderful stretching in the 7th measure. In the 4th measure, you could also try having a slightly too big rest and then compressing the run so it leads into measure 5 with a bit more flair. One musical suggestion with this sort of music in general is that the stress really belongs on downbeats, that the hierarchy of beats within the measure is important. Most of the time, the phrasing is pretty obvious and happens easily, but in measures 10 and 12, this might take more of concerted effort; The B needs to be the stressed rather than the E at the top of the run, so a diminuendo from the B going up to the E is a good solution. Variation 1: This variation has some tricky leaps, but if you take the theme at a slow enough tempo, then this variation can stay at the same speed or maybe go just a little faster, and is quite manageable. However, Ive seen diverse (hard!) articulations suggested in different editions. In this

sort of repertoire, it is perfectly reasonable to change articulations to suit, so dont struggle with something that is too difficult just because it is printed on the page. Often slurs can be broken up a little to make leaps a little easier. For instance, a common articulation in the first measure is a tenuto on the first G#, and then a slur over the following 5 notes. Some students will find the drop from E to G# quite difficult. Articulating the G# will help and doesnt detract much from the general idea of separating out the main melody note. Generally, in this style of piece, the theme is quite discernable throughout all variations. Here, you can help the audience understand or remember the theme by playing the measures that are in between phrases (4 and 12) at a lesser dynamic and/or with more rubato. The high Es in the last measure of each section might be a good candidate for the more stabile fingering of no pinky (right hand little finger), especially if your flute does not have a split E or donut insert to specially stabilize that note. And remember that the phrasing will be most pleasing if the loudest note in those measures is the lowest one, on the downbeat. Variation 2: Here we get a taste of Chopin! I like to go very slowly in this minor-key variation, to make the most of the opportunity for shaping phrases and exploring different colours and vibrato. Try to keep the ornaments expressive too - rapid fire trills can be almost disturbing in a slow movement! For smaller students, this variation is surprisingly adaptable. There are some very good possibilities for breaking up these phrases (breaking slurs in some cases) into manageable comma-type breaths without losing music sense. For example: first measure- breath after both Gs second measure- breath after C and first B third measure- breath after both Gs fourth measure- breath after B fifth measure- breath after first G sixth measure- breath after C and B seventh measure- breath after G and then again at the end of the trill before the turn resolves to G, if needed. Also, for less advanced players, the ornamentation can readily be simplified or even removed. I like to think about the last two measures of this variation being especially free, almost like a cadenza. This is the last chance for expressive rubatos before a virtuosic finish! Variation 3: This variation is back into E major and an up-tempo character, but be careful not to go too fast (save some fireworks for the final variation!). You also want to be able to execute the trills of measures 7 and 9 without having to slow down Slowing down conveys difficulty, exactly NOT what we want in a show-off piece like this!

Suggestions for easing up on the difficulties here include: 1)making a special note of the missing note in the chromatic scale that your fingers will want to assume in measure 4 (there is no F natural) 2)mentally re-write the rhythm of the second, third and fourth beats of measure 7 to include the trill notes as real ones: for example beat two would become four 32nd notes or demi-semi-quavers (C#D#-C#-B) followed by two 16ths or semiquavers (A-G#). The fast fingerings along here are: C#-D#: finger C# and trill second or both trill keys, F#-G#: finger F# and trill the G# lever, B-C#: C# trill if you have one. Otherwise, unfortunately, this one is plain normal fingerings (hard!). If you can then concentrate on the second half of the beat (the 16ths or semiquavers) being in the right place, this is surprisingly easy to get through and sounds amazing! 3)Similarly, mentally re-write the trills in measure 9 and 11 to two 16ths or semi-quavers (F#-B) and then four 32nd notes or demi-semi-quavers (C#-D#-C#-B). And, perhaps most helpful, use either the one trill key closest to the footjoint, or both trill keys (this may feel easier) to get a D# from the C# fingering. Variation 4: Here, we definitely want to turn up the tempo as a wind up to the finish. Id suggest working backwards though; whatever speed seems good for variation 4 dictates the (deliberately slower) speed of variation 3. Clearly this variation is a double-tonguing demonstration par excellence; taken at any variety of speeds to suit the player, this variation sounds very, very impressive for really not that much effort. For students not quite comfortable with the double tonguing, I think either the whole piece can either finish quite well with variation 3, or a bunch of slurs can be added to this variation. That wont be as impressive, but we still get the general idea. But where does one breathe? This obviously depends on the speed; if the performance is fast enough, breaths can be left to the second to last measure of each half, on what would have been the last 16th or semi-quaver of the second and fourth beats. As tempos go progressively slower, there are still many opportunities that can be created by dropping less important notes: for example in the second, fourth, sixth measures: dropping any of the second 16ths/semi-quavers or very last in the measure will not disrupt the music and is certainly a much better idea than adding a space, which would interrupt the flow. In the fourth measure, some might also change the low D# of the first beat to an F# for ease of younger players, as a low note can be hard to sound at speed. At the end, some sort of triumphant sounding slowing down is called for, just to make sure everyone knows youve reached THE end. This may be the shortest theme and variations ever but it is a tremendous little piece, and an extremely helpful repertoire choice for the right occasion. Have fun with this, and try to find a

performance opportunity this year, to join everyone in celebrating Chopins birthday! This set of variations on a popular Rossini aria is charming, fluent, and not lacking in imagination. It is in a typical variation form for the period, with each of the four variations a decorated version of the original tune. The first makes the aria more florid by adding triplet figurations. The second is in the florid bel canto singing style, with embellishments to the theme. The third has rapid downward arpeggios, and the fourth is a staccato perpetual motion that requires good breath control on the part of the player. The occasion for Chopin's writing this piece, at the age of 14, is not known, but it was most likely written for the composer's father (an amateur flute player) or one of the other flute players the elder Chopin knew and often played with. It is fortunate that the work survived. It appears that there was only one manuscript copy, and that it was kept by Jozef Nowakowski, one of the composer's friends. The work did not appear in print until 1953. It is a seven-minute piece and bears few, if any, stylistic traits that identify it as Chopin's. It is not an extraordinary piece; Chopin was not a Mozart, Mendelssohn, or Britten, in his development. Instead, it could be by virtually any young composer with potential of the time who was at the beginning of his creative activities. Thus, it is of interest mainly in light of what the composer would become.