From Schumann's 'Chopin' to... Mozart

Video, theorizing and keyboards by Michael Koch.
This time an extremely nerdy video on a modulation pattern that I'm tracing from Schumann's "Chopin" (Carnaval, No. 12) to Chopin, to Mozart and eventually to the Rule of the Octave. Sheets are available on my Patreon site:

[JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Wait - Bee Gees how deep is your love?

[jaurisova]

I love this - so much connection between Chopin and Mozart! My personal favorite example of this type of sequence is from Chopin’s F# minor prelude. It’s basically a hulked-out figuration prelude built primarily from this motion.

[CarlosRosalesRoca]

Two days ago I just started studying this topic and its melody caught my attention... I heard it on the subway and I couldn't get it out of my head... I found the score and I started studying it... I have no studies piano... I study everything on my own, looking at YouTube I found your video... I am very grateful for all the explanation you share. Subscribed.

[MusicaAngela]

Excellent work and discoveries, Michael!
And your fantasy at the end is so beautiful! Bravo!

[FalcoPaul]

Fantastic video. Have a question though. From a 'harmony perspective', it seems like these are a 'sort of' II-V-I (chord) progressions? I could be wrong but looking at the C to D-minor example (at 11:30 in the video), then an interpretation would be as follows: starting from C (tonic and basic I chord) the next bar moves to the 6th degree of Dm (B-flat) with a 3-4-6 (= figured bass notation) chord. This is enharmonically equaivallent to an E-minor seventh flat five chord. The Em7-flat 5 is actually the II chord of Dm, albeit with an added seventh, and enharmonic to the 3-4-6 chord on B-flat (both in D natural minor and D harmonic minor). Obviously the 3-4-6 on the 6th of Dm has a B-flat in the bass, but another interpretation would be to view this as an inverted Dm II chord (with added 7th). After that, a Dm-V (harmonic Dm, that is) and a Dm-I chord. Is this interpretation 'legit' or am I completely off here?

[timothyj.bowlby]

VERY interesting. Thanks. BTW... did you know that "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" modulates to the supertonic degree and then back? It would make sense for it to do so since, in baseball, the idea is essentially to move from home to 2nd to home again. I'm sure the composer consciously designed the music to do just that... and for that reason.

[musicjotter]

Beautiful modulations! I love the classical and romantic eras, so this video resonated well with me. I may have to dig deeper into Schumann's music.

[thetrembleclef]

Rachmaninoff uses these chords progression a lot actually

[pseudotonal]

Such quality work. I need to see this again. There is much for me to learn here.

[Poeme]

This gorgeous piece was ubiquitous in films from the 40’s and 50’s. Very interesting video—thx!👍

[lerippletoe]

We had discussed in comments Schumann's Morning Songs #1 earlier. That and this specific movement are the 2 Schumann things I had printed out because I was fascinated and wanted to figure them out. (Well I also looked some at Symphonic Etudes maybe you also like his little block chord canon thing haha.) It is such a beautiful little eureka type moment I hope Chopin could have taken it as well-intended even if he didn't like Schumann's music at all.

Wouldn't Mozart himself have inherited this from the Italian baroque direction, not only the technical fact of its use, but the whole ship of Theseus that would become his style? The Mozart example I know of is piano concerto 20, movement 1, about 7 minutes in, after a solo piano section when the orchestra is returning. He does it for 3 steps and there are also flat 9s on the dominants. I guess it is tonicized down 3 up 4 with an intervening predominant. The part that seems most novel to me in the Schumann movement and his generation in general is that developmental sequences are being used as "first things". You think the first harmony is a tonic harmony but it is retrospectively made as if it were degree 5 and so the melody note the 5th of the chord is scale degree 2, and degree 3 is ambiguous until it pleasingly decides to be a the flat option which I guess is the only one that works for the rhyme being set up AND as a dominant b9 idiom, if you approach a major 9 from below it probably just sounds wrong.

I feel like the real pro move Schumann makes that made me love this, is that when he repeats the sequence having Bb minor go to F minor over Ab the same way Ab major went to Eb minor over Gb, you cut off the rest and move from F minor to Db/F and you have a ^6 ^7 ^1 in Ab major, finally giving the Ab major the sense of home it was deprived of! Also the fact that the same melody line is repeated sequentially but the 2nd time it is a more consonant option somehow arriving home whilst the idea set in motion was departing. Also C Db being ^2 ^3 in Bb minor and the final part ending with Db C being ^4 ^3 in Ab major, this music is evidently so much focused on what I saw some theorists call the double agent complex where a note's different role in different harmonies becomes the hinge of a phrase. Not only are there "double agents" at a note level there but the whole melody pulls something akin to it when it repeats up a step.

I absolutely love these microstudy vids, finding those short examples that fascinate me "what did they do there" is one of my biggest motivators

That Fantasia by Wolfie is pretty fantastic (🥁), not gonna lie. Also, love the Emperor's comment! 🤣

[thekeyoflifepiano]

It's always so surprisising how much romantic composers "took" from the classical/galant era.

Video idea: A video about Scarlatti style fugato where the theme is a direct repetition an octave down.

[carmee]

Schumann is my favorite for many years so this video touches me deeply, thank you 🙏

[aidansuskic]

What score is used in the video? I am looking for carnival with fingering notated.

[ClaireODonnell]

*Sigh*Swoon* oh the 6-5 gets me every time

[PaPa-kryt]

Hey Stevie Wonder - Sir duke? It's a little twist, doing same b6-5 but do not resolve to 1, but going to its tritone, creating nice loop and chromatic vibe.

[fredhoupt]

I just discovered you through this video. Really enjoyable and the variations on the theme was a pure delight. I thought that I heard textures pointing towards Rachmaninoff! That particular Schumann piece is a favorite and is so beautiful. I look forward to hearing more of your podcasts.

[juanmanueltellechea]

I've just discovered a beautiful Schumann piece 😍.
Although there's a thing I don't understand. Why are you calling Eb minor first inversion 6th degree of Bb minor? Isn't it just a 4th degree on his first inversion?
Btw thx for your very nerdy interesting material

[JanCarlComposer]

Great video, very instructive content. Thank you.