Frédéric Chopin; Andante Spianato & Polonaise in G/Eb, (arr. Xaver Scharwenka)

[Darrel Hoffman]

This might almost be borderline off-topic, as there are few composers as "sung" as Chopin, but though you've probably all heard this piece before, you've likely not heard this version, arranged by Xaver Scharwenka:

Right off the bat, the Andante is now orchestrated, where in Chopin's version it was a piano solo until the beginning of the Polonaise.  There's also more for the orchestra to do during the Polonaise, whereas in Chopin's original it was relegated to mostly backing chords and the occasional fanfare in between the piano parts.

[terry martyn]

"Hat's off,gentlemen!  A moustache on the Mona Lisa!"

[John Boyer]

I wouldn't call it a mustache, as there is no Duchampian intention of knocking the work down a few pegs. Rather, it's just another attempt at improvement, however unnecessary. Think of it more like a bit of eyeliner, some lipstick, and just a bit of shadow beneath the cheeks to create a greater sense of definition.  Oh, and that hair...oh dear...let's try for a bit more body, darling.

One of the problems with these "improvements" is that sometimes they actually replace the original work. For example, we almost never hear this composers's "Introduction and Polonaise Brillante" in its original form. Rather, it is almost always performed in the arrangement by Leonard Rose, in which the cello part is greatly enhanced and a number of cuts are made. On YouTube, most of the performances of Schumann's "Fantasie in C, Op. 131" are in the recomposed version by Fritz Kreisler.  In both cases, the originals are much to be preferred.  And Tchaikovky's "Rococo Variations" was pretty much re-written by Wilhelm Fitzenhagen.  Despite the composer's disgust at the result, he never insisted on his original being restored, so it is Fitzenhagen we hear to this day, with few exceptions.

Has anyone ever heard Mahler's re-orchestrations of the four Schumann symphonies? Even now, 30 years later, I am still shocked that Mahler, a master of the orchestra, could have made such a mess of things. They're dreadful.

[terry martyn]

Not the "intention", I agree, but, I reckon, the effect.
,
Scharwenka gives you the Prussian take on gossamer.  Heavy-handed to the point of banality.  A real shocker.

[Darrel Hoffman]

Well, I think there's little danger of this version supplanting Chopin's original in any case, and you can always listen to the dozens of recordings of it that have been made over the years if this one offends you.  In general, I do like the addition of orchestra to the originally-solo Andante section, but I could take or leave the changes to the Polonaise.  Anyhow, it was a viewer request, and it's probably the only chance I'll get to feature Chopin on the channel.  He's long been among my favorite composers, but everything he wrote has been done to death already.  I thought it was at least interesting to look at another composer's take on this familiar piece.

[John Boyer]

Well, I think there's little danger of this version supplanting Chopin's original in any case...

Don't count Scharwenka out quite so easily.  You never know.  As I mentioned, Leonard Rose's "Introduction and Polonaise Brillante" has almost completely supplanted Chopin's original.  Chopin's minimal orchestration has been the target of tinkering for years, and it was never more minimal than in his Op. 22, so much so that many pianists just play the 1838 revision, which dispenses with the orchestra altogether.  It's clear Chopin's heart was not in the project as far as the orchestra was concerned -- he never wrote for the orchestra again, issuing the first movement of the abortive 3rd Concerto as a solo piece, and arguably his least loved at that -- so Scharwenka is not to be too faulted for trying to fix what he saw as a deficiency. 

It was just what they did in those days.  When Mendelssohn revived Bach's oratorios, he did so providing them with new Romantic orchestrations, and I am old enough to remember when Handel was performed using Hamilton Hardly's grand modern orchestrations.

No one would dare do this today, but the spectre of Chopin a la Rose makes me think Scharwenka just might have a chance.

[Darrel Hoffman]

I wouldn't say no one would dare - there've been plenty of orchestrations and reorchestrations of much Chopin's work, both contemporary and recent and everything in between.  I saw a version of the Fantasie-Impromptu just orchestrated just last year.  How much these revised editions get played is maybe questionable.  That 3rd concerto you mentioned has been reconstructed at least twice (both using the Op.19 Bolero as the 3rd movement, and other different pieces as the 2nd), and its Allegro has been orchestrated no less than 8 times.

It's true for other composers as well - I myself just finished orchestrating one of Schubert's sonatas into a concerto as an exercise.  (It'll be going public in a few weeks.)  I'd done one of Beethoven's before, but that was an earlier work I'm not all that proud of, so I won't be letting anyone hear that any time soon.  (Another composer recently did a concertification of the same sonata, which is far better than mine, so I'll let him keep that one.)  I also previously reworked a Viotti violin concerto as a piano concerto (after having featured 4 other composers' piano versions of Viotti concerti on the channel).  I consider it to be practice in orchestration and arrangement as I work my way up towards writing an original concerto (that will take some time - I've got the main themes worked out but it's a monumental task to put it all together.)

Anyhow, I'm not counting out Scharwenka; he was certainly a talented composer in his own right (if not a super-star like Chopin), and I enjoyed his 4 original concerti well enough.  I just don't think it's likely that people would ever abandon Chopin's original version in favor of this one as in those other cases you brought up.

[eschiss1]

is "Hamilton Hardly" autoincorrect being given its head or a critical commentary?

[John Boyer]

is "Hamilton Hardly" autoincorrect being given its head or a critical commentary?

It appears that another thing upon which you may be relied, in addition to your admirable command of sources, is your close reading of a text.

I assure you, that was no intentional slight upon Mr. Hardy. Rather, it was another example of the evils of AI AutoCorrect during dictation. How many times have you dictated something, seeing the words transcribed correctly into the text box, only to find after hitting the send button that half those words have been changed to utter absurdities after they passed out of view as you continued dictating the paragraph? I know it's just bad code, but part of me wants to believe it's intentional.

I wish I were clever enough to come up with a put down like "Hamilton Hardly", but no, credit must go to Siri or some other projection from Borges's circular ruins.

Good call!