STUDY OF COMPOSERS WHO INFLUENCED CHOPIN AND WHO WERE INFLUENCED BY CHOPIN

In the history of piano literature, there were many magnificent musicians who had succeeded as both pianists and as composers of the keyboard music such as J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, L.V. Beethoven, F. Chopin, F. Liszt and S. Rachmaninoff, etc. Among them, I believe that Chopin, "the poet of the piano", is considered the most significant composer of piano music. In fact, all his compositions included piano. He had composed two piano concertos and four other works for piano and orchestra; however, majority of his work was for solo piano: 60 mazurkas, 27 etudes, 26 preludes, 21 nocturnes, 20 waltzes, 16 polonaises, four ballades, four scherzos and three sonatas. For my dissertation recital, I have focused on mainly F. Chopin and four composes who have strong ties with Chopin: J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, A. Scriabin and S. Rachmaninoff. Although there were numerous great composers before Chopin, the two composers who had impacted him the most were J.S. Bach and W.A. Mozart. Many of Chopin's works are involved with reworking of forms, procedures and materials drawn from earlier masters, and especially from the Bach and Viennese Classical composer-Mozart. Chopin created his own unique musical style, often referred to as "Chopinesque". The bases of most Chopin's melodies come from the dance or song, and his most important elements in his melody is chromaticism. After Chopin's death, his influence was felt all over. Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Rachmaninoff were major composers, who followed Chopin's footstep in Russian School. Through my dissertation project, I explored the works of the five most important pianists and composers in the music history, and I took the musical journey from Baroque to late Romantic period. I believe that with these recitals, I have contributed to the knowledge of Chopin's place in the evolution of piano repertoires