ABSTRACT 
 
 
 
Title of Dissertation:  SELECTED CHARACTER PIECES OF  
FR?D?RIC CHOPIN (1810-1849), FRANZ 
LISZT (1811-1886) AND JOHANNES 
BRAHMS (1833-1897) 
                           Sun Ho Son, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2010  
Dissertation directed by:    Professor Cleveland Page 
                           Piano Division, School of Music  
 
     During the 19th century, Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810-1849), Franz Liszt (1811-
 1886), and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) were among the most recognized 
composers of character pieces. Their compositions have been considered a 
significant milestone in piano literature. 
Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810-1849) did not give descriptive titles to his 
character pieces. He grouped them into several genres such as Mazurkas, 
Polonaises. His Mazurkas and Polonaises are influenced by Polish dance music 
and inspired by the polish national idiom. Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was 
influenced in many ways by Chopin, and adopted Chopin?s lyricism, melodic 
style, and tempo rubato. However, Liszt frequently drew on non-musical 
subjects (e.g., art, literature) for inspiration. ?Harmonies po?tiques et 
religieuses? and ?Ann?es de p?lerinage? are especially representative of 
character pieces in which poetic and pictorial imagination are reflected. 
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) was a conservative traditionalist, synthesizing 
Romantic expression and Classical tradition remarkably well. Like Chopin, 
Brahms avoided using programmatic titles for his works. The titles of Brahms? 
short character pieces are often taken from traditional lyrical or dramatic genres 
such as ballade, rhapsody and scherzo. Because of his conservatism, Brahms 
was considered the main rival of Liszt in the Romantic Period. Brahms 
character pieces in his third period (e.g., Scherzo Op.4, Ballades of Op.10, and 
Rhapsodies of Op.79) are concise and focused. The form of Brahms? character 
pieces is mostly simple ternary (ABA), and his style is introspective and lyrical.  
     Through this recording project, I was able to get a better understanding of 
the styles of Chopin, Brahms and Liszt through their character pieces.            
     This recording dissertation consists of two CDs recorded in the 
Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland, College Park. These 
recordings are documented on compact disc recordings that are housed within 
the University of Maryland Library System.  
 
 
 
 
SELECTED CHARACTER PIECES OF FR?D?RIC CHOPIN 
(1810-1849), FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) AND JOHANNES 
BRAHMS (1833-1897) 
 
 
by 
Sun Ho Son 
 
 
Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the  
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment  
of the requirements for the degree of  
Doctor of Musical Arts 
2010 
 
 
 
Advisory Committee: 
Professor Dr. Cleveland Page 
Professor Dr. James Fry 
Professor Larissa Dedova 
Professor Mikhail Volchok 
Professor Sung Won Lee 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
?Copyright by 
Sun Ho Son 
2010 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Recording Program I ??..??.??????July 15 & November 13, 2009 
Dekelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center 
 
 
 
Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810 - 1849) 
      Track 
Mazurka Op.50, No.3 .................................................................................... 1 
Mazurka Op.59, No.3 .................................................................................... 2 
Mazurka Op.63, No.2 .................................................................................... 3 
Mazurka Op.63, No.3 .................................................................................... 4 
Scherzo No.1 in B minor, Op.20 ................................................................... 5 
Scherzo No.2 in B-flat minor, Op.31 ............................................................. 6 
Polonaise No.5 in F-sharp minor, Op.44 ....................................................... 7 
 
 
 
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) 
 
Scherzo in E-flat minor, Op.4 ........................................................................ 8 
Rhapsodies Op.79, No.2 ................................................................................ 9 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Recording Program ? ???????.???.....May 27 & October 23, 2010 
Dekelboum Concert Hall, Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center 
 
 
 
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)                            Track 
 
Ballade Op.10, No.1 in D minor .................................................................... 1 
 
 
Fr?d?ric Chopin (1810 - 1849) 
 
Ballade No.1, Op.23 ...................................................................................... 2 
Ballade No.2, Op.38 ...................................................................................... 3 
 
 
 
Franz Liszt (1811 ? 1886) 
 
Ballade No.2 in B minor ................................................................................ 4 
Harmonies po?tiques et religieuses No.7 ?Fun?railles? ................................ 5 
Ann?es de p?lerinage : Premi?re ann?e  No.4 ?Au bord d?une source? ........ 6 
Ann?es de p?lerinage : Deuxi?me  ann?e No.1 ?Sposalizio? ......................... 7