The playing of
Chopin is a challenge for many
piano students.
From the time Chopin discovered he could never get the LOUD sounds others could, he explored the soft, or piano end of the dynamic, or loudness, spectrum of the instrument--the Italian word piano defines the soft end, and the Italian forte defines the loud. This control is not something that just happens, and must be struggled for through specific exercises, including playing, but not making a sound--that is, moving the muscles of the fingers, but not depressing the keys: executing the finger action, but not the key action.
The physics of the piano militate against soft playing of the left hand, especially on the grand piano: bass strings are the longest in the instrument; long strings, all other things being equal, are louder than short strings. Consequently, the left hand must be played lighter than the right--not an easy task even for the left-handed, and most pianists, like most people, are right-handed.
He also explored an immense velocity--his, so-called, waltzes are not the easy dancing pieces beginner ballroom dancers crave.
The playing at any speed, in any composer, requires the notes be learned at a tempo slow enough to play all of them correctly; then gradually, evenly increasing the speed to that asked by Chopin.
But speaking of the left hand, this is one of the truly revolutionary aspects of Chopin's composition: the various alterations of the harmony, some not unknown in work before his time, have become integral to the melodic development of the work, and permit more interesting melodies than previously.
The attempt to analyse his chords, necessitates a terminology more akin to jazz notation, than classical music. This subtlety is often missed, because its color is imbeded in the soft playing of the left hand--except where the left hand takes the melody.
In closing, I can only echo Ryouga's apt observation.
Editor's note: Ryouga's entry has been removed. It was, in whole: "Chopin is the poet of the piano. His music is the most painstaking, most intricately wrought, and all modern pianists are inspired by his work."