Many composers of the early 1800s believed that bigger was better: bigger orchestras, longer symphonies, and larger audiences meant more people marveling in more music by these larger-than-life personalities. French composer Hector Berlioz, for instance, spoke of the pleasure he experienced when his body vibrated to the walls of sound emanating from his record-sized orchestras. Too bad he isn't alive today to experience the joys of arena Rock 'n' Roll!
In contrast, Frederic Chopin subscribed to the "small is beautiful" musical philosophy. He lacked the temperament and intestinal fortitude required to be a virtuoso-composer-superstar like Liszt or Paganini. Nevertheless, he had quite a reputation as a performer and composer, hanging out with the beautiful people of Paris and making good money as piano tutor to the rich and famous. He composed for the piano only, miniatures suited to his favorite performing venues: private homes and salons.
One feature of Chopin's piano playing was rubato, a giving and taking of the musical pulse without sacrificing the basic meter. Rubato represents the urgings and surgings of the impulsive Romantic spirit. Chopin heaped hearty doses of rubato onto his performances, to the point that even experienced musicians occasionally mistook his 3/4 time for 2/4 time. They were simply unaccustomed to the Chopin style, wherein the left hand keeps strict time, like a conductor, while the right hand is free to dart forward or hold back, according to taste. One young Parisian wrote of Chopin's playing that his fingers "...sing and bring tears to your eyes, making anybody who is sensitive tremble with emotion. His delicate and slender hands cover wide stretches and skips with a fabulous lightness, and his finger agility is so marvelous that I am ready to believe the amusing story that he has been seen to put his foot around his neck!"
Chopin wrote his waltzes during the waltz craze of the mid-1800s (see J. Strauss' "The Blue Danube"). The Waltz is a German specialty but Polish Chopin stamped his own personality on the form. He added depth to the lilting cheeriness of the Viennese variety with touches of melancholy introspection and rubato. Comparing his C# Minor Waltz to Strauss' "The Blue Danube" tells the whole story.
