Abstract
Pianists in the twenty-first century are confronted by numerous editions of Chopin's works; this was noted by Edward T. Cone, and elaborated in detail by Jeffrey Kallberg who refers to this as “the Chopin Problem” . Among a plethora of editions where editorial adjustments to the text were manifold including, among others, adjustments to agogic markings, pedalling and fingerings, there are also a significant number of arrangements of Chopin’s compositions for a selection of instruments, as well as simplified and more complex versions of his pieces. These musical adaptations can broadly be divided in two groups, since there is a clear differentiation between arrangements which are technically more complex than original pieces, aimed at virtuoso musicians in order to enhance or showcase their skills, and those arrangements which are simplified, aimed at amateur musicians and beginners.
The central theme of this essay is those simplified versions of Chopin’s compositions. The essay starts with presentation of arrangements published in Germany, France, Britain and USA, comparing them to a selection of first editions in order to establish editorial changes to Chopin’s music. The second part of the essay draws our attention to the underlaying socio-cultural context behind these simplified editions taking, as an example, amateur piano playing in nineteenth-century Britain. As noted by a several authors , Great Britain occupies a unique position in Chopin’s reception history: it was one of the three locations for the publication of the first editions, but it also produced highly polarized reactions to Chopin’s music, greatly influencing the reception and performances of his works after his death. There are multiple ways in which the public encountered Chopin's music, and these have been well-documented in the existing literature on his reception. Amateur musicianship was always present in the cultural life of the nineteenth-century Britain, however, even though it is highly influential, this type of musicianship has often been under the radar. Guided by the notion of amateur music making, this essay concludes by examining a number of different contexts that allowed the public to access Chopin’s compositions, and presents some of the numerous subtexts underlying the respective positions of amateur piano playing.