Chopin and the Ninth: comparison of the original with a new orchestral version of the Prelude op.45

Abstract

This chapter appears in Volume 2 of a collection of essays published by the Narodowy Institut Fryderyka Chopina (Fryderyk Chopin National Institute) in Warsaw. The essays originated as invited contributions to the 2010 Chopin Congress in Warsaw (Feb-March 2010) celebrating the bi-centenary of Chopin's birth. This chapter explains in detail the process for producing a new orchestral version of Chopin's Prelude in C sharp minor op.45. The new orchestral version (Chopin / orch. Bodman Rae) received its world premiere as the opening work of the first concert of the 75th anniversary season of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra on 1 October 2010, conducted by Jacek Kasprzyk. The chapter explains editorial and creative decisions made in the process of translating this remarkable piece from the small 'canvas' of a solo piano piece to the large 'canvas' of an expansive work for full symphonic orchestra. The central proposition of this exercise was to demonstrate that Chopin's harmony and chromatic voice-leading anticipated the later musical developments associated with Wagner (Tristan and Isolde) and Mahler.