Example 33: The use
of the introductory motif in the Finale
Walker
also believes that one of Chopin's chief contributions to sonata form is the
intense compression of his recapitulations.
In this regard he discusses the omission of the first subject from the reprise
of the first movement, which, in his opinion, is not a "structural weakness,"
as perpetuated by conventional wisdom, but "a salutary lesson in how not to
compose." Furthermore, he regards this structural compression as an
"unconscious function of creative mastery."
Walker's
comments on the sonata on a general level are particularly interesting and
relate directly to Chopin's opus 35. He calls the sonata "a story of musical
form from Bach's E Major Violin Concerto to Schoenberg's First Chamber
Symphony."
He explains that the divisions between movements gradually collapsed under the
creative pressure of geniuses ranging from Bach to Schoenberg. What began as a
multi-movement form, with each movement having its own character, developed
into a greatly compressed form two hundred years later. This manifested itself
in expositions and recapitulations becoming ever more developmental, separate
movements being linked and penetrating one another, and the assembly of every
possible character under the name "sonata." He concludes by stating that sonata
form has always been "on the move," and that Chopin was one of those who helped
it along.
Having surveyed a rather in-depth thematic analysis by Walker, other analytical
writings on Chopin's opus 35 sonata will now be reviewed. In an article largely
based on the work of Réti, Rudolf Klein makes note of Chopin's invention of
very
