Mazurka

The article that I was assigned for is called Chopin and Women Composers: Collaborations, Imitations, and Inspirations. It talks about that while many scholars and historians have closely studied Chopin’s life and receptions, his connections with women composers are almost completely left out of scholarly discussions. This article explores of 3 important women composers who had close connections with Chopin during his life and provides an interesting discussion of their interactions and…

“A real musical culture should not be a museum culture based on music of past ages... It should be the active embodiment in sound of the life of a community- of the everyday demands of people’s work and play and of their deepest spiritual needs.” (Wilfred Mellers, pg. 54). Music is always changing and adapting based on how people feel and what people like. Some people prefer to listen to choral works, while others are more interesting in instrumental music. Throughout history we have been able…

The Romantic period of music began in the late 18th century and it spanned until the early 20th century. It was heavily influenced by Romanticism, which was a European movement involving art and literature. Many of the famous early composers from these years were Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Berlioz, and others. The famous later composers include Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, and others. This period is recognized as being more emotionally expressive than past periods because it explores…

How is music created? Music is a very complicated piece of art in which it is composed of passion, emotion, and tension. During the eighteenth century, music became a great role in people’s social and academic lives. Frederic Chopin was a Romantic Era (eighteenth century) pianist, which meant that he not only composed music during the Romantic Era, but his music was influenced by that era as well. He set aside many hours working on each note, making sure it was perfect and it would not be…

Music, throughout history, has been the marker of each era. Every period of music with its own distinct style and execution showcasing the change in the style of that particular time. This is the reason you can listen to the multiple eras throughout the history of our world and hear a timeline of our pasts as musicians. As you listen through the baroque with great composers such as Bach and Vivaldi and on to the the Classical period with proteges like Mozart and Beethoven. Finally before…

Alexander Scriabin was a Russian post-romantic composer known for his ever-evolving compositional style. He composed mostly piano works, 177 piano pieces in all (including 10 piano sonatas, as well as many mazurkas, études, nocturnes, préludes, poèmes and more), however he did not shy away from orchestral works, composing 5 symphonies, a piano concerto, a symphonic poem in D minor, and the prefatory act to a work called “Mysterium”. Although his works were considered controversial for the time,…

Beginning on page 97 of A Hero of Our Time, a June 5th diary entry marks one of the sections in the chapter, “Princess Mary.” Throughout the novel, more information is uncovered about Pechorin and how he views himself in his society. This diary reveals much of his character especially well because in “Princess Mary” as a whole, it is written from Pechorin’s point-of-view. Within this singular diary entry, several clues are revealed to take apart Pechorin for who he really is. First, at an…

What does one call a female villain? Surely one can ascribe femininity to polarizing literary figures, as evidenced by the “heroine” and even occasionally the “femme fatale.” Yet, even in modern literature, there is no exclusive juxtaposition to a heroine; the term “villainess” is coined as slang by Merriam-Webster. Perhaps this can be seen as an offshoot to the meek roles women played, not only in society but in literature, for the majority of history. In the nineteenth-century, Ivan Goncharov…

She was a very mysterious woman, and suffered from severe depression, the reason was unknown. Though she suffered from depression, she attempted to be a requisite parent. She was an incredible cook, and always made perogies, golumpki, and blueberry mazurka. She was a courageous woman who was always willing to encourage her children. Her husband, Morris Rotenburg had mostly German roots. He was born in Chelsea, MA in June, 1907. Morris was the oldest child of three. He had to leave high school…

Once it was my turn I was so nervous. I got in my spot and got started. The only thing that I think I wasn’t exceptional at was my mazurkas. Once I was done I waited until my coach said to get off the ice and wait for the results, so I waited for almost an hour until they posted them. I remember my mom wanting to come with me to check the results, but I told her sit there and let me…