RE: GG: and the Romantics

[Thayer A <A.Thayer@rhbnc.ac.uk>]

> even if chopin was fond of bach, i dont think we can say that his use of
> sixteenth notes reflect any link between their music. indeed, their music
> is structually as different as possible.
> 
I agree completely. I hate the way scholars today refer to Chopin's music as
if he was an all-time master of counterpoint:- just because he liked Bach.
Look at Chopin's fugues for christ's sake:- for anyone who doesn't know them
I can assure you that they're crap (if anybody knows of a worse fugue by a
mainstream composer I'd like to know who wrote it). It's as simple as this:
Chopin is not as appalling (neither structurally nor in terms of
counterpoint) as people used to think but he is certainly NOT some kind of
contrapuntal genius, nor is counterpoint a big issue in his music. As for
Rosen's idea of 'coloristic counterpoint' I've never heard anything more
ridiculous (though I understand what he is getting at). It sounds to me that
he's simply apologising for the lack of real counterpoint.  I can only think
of two Chopin studies (just off the top of my head) which can be seriously
regarded as contrapuntal:- the op. 25 C sharp minor and the middle section
of the octave study. 

PS I do actually like Chopin very much:- I simply hate it when people praise
him for the all the wrong reasons.