Intertextuality Étude: A Study of Connections between Felix Blumenfeld’s Piano Études Op. 3 No. 1, Op. 4, and Op. 14 and the Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin

Abstract

The piano music of Felix Mikhailovich Blumenfeld (1863–1931), a key figure of the St Petersburg music scene during the latter half of the nineteenth century, is mostly unfamiliar to performers today. Despite his multi-faceted artistic ingenuity as a pianist, composer, teacher and conductor, Blumenfeld’s legacy has been neglected over the course of time.

While many scholarly and non-scholarly sources have acknowledged a connection between Chopin’s music and Blumenfeld’s etudes, there are limited studies substantiating this notion. Furthermore, there is a significant amount of research surrounding the piano etude genre and Chopin’s music, but no existing studies on Blumenfeld’s piano etudes.

This thesis therefore aims to contribute to the available range of scholarly literature, by analysing intertextuality between the piano writing of Blumenfeld and Chopin, using three of Blumenfeld’s etudes and a selection of miniatures by Chopin as case studies. In doing so, it aims to promote awareness of Blumenfeld’s piano etudes as valid contributions to modern concert repertory and the technical development of pianists.