Chopin's Etude in A Minor, Op.10 No.2: A Schenkerian–Schoenbergian Analysis

Abstract

This analysis of Chopin's Etude in A Minor, Op.10 No. 2, consists of two interrelated parts. First, I discuss the voice-leading structure from a Schenkerian perspective, citing previous analyses by Schenker and Laufer and showing how they can be improved by a careful consideration of the work's design, in combination with meter and dissonance treatment. I also entertain some more general ideas about the compositional expression and analytical derivation of Schenkerian structures. The second part takes its cue from Carl Schachter's observation about a characteris tic dissonance between the chromatic figuration and the A-minor accompaniment – a Schoenbergian rather than Schenkerian consideration. Following Schoenberg, I analyze the "idea of the composition" as being based on the problem posed by such dissonances and its subsequent elaboration and solution. In the middle section, the problem is elabo rated by giving the disruptive chromatic notes competing roles in harmony; the solution is ultimately achieved by integrating them into two augmented sixths that decisively re solve to IV and V. The two approaches are interrelated, as the Schenkerian voice-leading analysis reveals motivic enlargements of the opening chromatic figures, which inform the elaboration of the "Schoenbergian" problem; this concept, in turn, illuminates the compositional moti vation behind the voice-leading progressions.