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Huneker, James, 1860-1921

"Chopin : the Man and His Music"

And his only apparatus a keyboard. As
Schumann wrote: "Chopin did not make his appearance by an
orchestral army, as a great genius is accustomed to do; he only
possesses a small cohort, but every soul belongs to him to the
last hero."
Eight lines is this dance, yet its meanings are almost endless.
No. 2, in B minor, is called The Cuckoo by Kleczynski. It is
sprightly and with the lilt, notwithstanding its subtle
progressions, of Mazovia. No. 3 in D flat is all animation,
brightness and a determination to stay out the dance. The
alternate major-minor of the theme is truly Polish. The graceful
trio and canorous brilliancy of this dance make it a favored
number. The ending is epigrammatic. It comes so suddenly upon us,
our cortical cells pealing with the minor, that its very
abruptness is witty. One can see Chopin making a mocking moue as
he wrote it. Tschaikowsky borrowed the effect for the conclusion
of the Chinoise in a miniature orchestral suite. The fourth of
this opus is in C sharp minor. Again I feel like letting loose
the dogs of enthusiasm.


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