Question

Chopin was one of the greatest piano composers of all time. His famous works include ballades, études, mazurkas, nocturnes, polonaises, preludes, waltzes, and many more. Listen to Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9, No. 2 and Étude Op. 10, No. 12. Compare and contrast the uniqueness of each of the following pieces:

Chopin: Nocturne Eb major Opus 9, number 2 from The Al Goldstein collection (CC By-SA 2.0)
Chopin: Etudes, Op.10 by Martha Goldstein from The Al Goldstein Archive (Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0).

Answer 1

Answer:

Étude

makes use of dissonant chords to build a tense emotion

uses dotted rhythms to build tension

ends with a powerful chord

Nocturne

slow, lyrical, and has a calming sense rapid passages and dramatic outbursst

notable use of arpeggios to create a songlike melody

uses counterpoint to build tension

ends calmly