"The Mad Chase" Section in Chopin

The Chopin nocturne I am working on has a section that I refer to as "The Mad Chase." This nocturne is a mix of relatively easy passages (i.e., the first sections) and several different, more challenging passages. "The Mad Chase" is one of the harder ones, mainly due to hand stretches (and chord changes) in the left hand, and, to a lesser degree, the brief counterpoint in the right hand.

It took me several weeks to start feeling confident that I even had the notes worked out. I experimented with the fingering, trying one for a few days before trying another, and then another. I'm still not confident that I've worked out the best fingering. Here is where I am as of this past weekend--I still have some work to do, but this section has come along a lot in the past few days.

Yes, there are a few missed notes, and yes, I started the big climactic section of The Mad Chase and decided not to go through with it, but ... a big milestone is that this section has started to feel more comfortable. I'm able to play it at a decent tempo, and I'm able to think about bringing the alto voice out in the RH counterpoint. I'm also able to think about just how I want the LH to sound: agressive and pursuing? thoughtful and tentative? a threatening rumble?

I think I have settled on the threatening rumble. I originally envisioned a chase going on, with the LH the murderous pursuer, and the right hand the victim who is growing increasingly panicked. The falling alto voice is a kind of indication of the fact that, no matter how fast she runs, she's not going to get away.

But now? It's more that she senses a rumbling, or maybe she hears, from far off, the sound of the black horse of death racing in her direction.

Here's how Rubinstein plays it. Here's how Horowitz plays it. I think Horowitz has more of a threatening rumble; Rubinstein's notes are more clear, less rumbly But both are beautiful!

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