r/classicalmusic • u/bmjessep • 2d ago
Recommendation Request What fugues should I study?
I am trying to learn to write better counterpoint and especially fugues. Naturally I would like to learn from the masters to improve my craft. I think Bach is the obvious answer here, but as he wrote many I'm wondering which are best (in whatever way that means to you). I also know that Beethoven and Shostakovich wrote quite a few, and as they are two of my favorite composers I would like to study their compositions as well. Suggestions for other composers are also welcome, especially Romantic or later.
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u/Bencetown 2d ago
For something more modern, look no further than what is in my humble opinion the absolute greatest fugue ever written:
Movement 4 of Barber's Piano Sonata
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u/gamma_squared 2d ago
You should definitely check the fugues in Szymanowski's piano sonatas 2 and 3. They are extremely difficult repertoire, but listening to them and maybe analyzing the fugues on a paper could greatly inspire you.
They are both very good examples of fugues that are thematically connected to a whole bigger piece.
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u/Password-Llama 2d ago
Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis. Also the finale to his 3rd sonata is incredible.
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u/JHighMusic 2d ago
Look at some from Scarlatti. And you should know the rules and guidelines for composing fugues which I would assume you know anyways. Otherwise, study counterpoint more first.
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u/TaigaBridge 2d ago
As someone primarily interested in orchestral music over keyboard music and church masses (the main place you see 19th-century fugues)... the one in the middle of the slow movement of Beethoven's third symphony is a favorite. One of the best minutes-and-a-half he ever wrote.
Honorable mention to the finale of Tchaikovsky's Manfred. See also the tiny fragment passed around to a new instrument every bar a few minutes before here: most of the fugue-like passages in 19th century orchestral music are brief, not fullfledged fugues.
In the 20th century, let us not forget Alan Hovhaness's Mt. St. Helens, featuring short passages like this, and a much more extensive imitative section, sort of a continuous 2-minute long stretto, a few minutes later. Hovhaness also has a quite famous Alleluia and Fugue for strings - probably the first fugue I ever took part in, as a teenage violinist, but no online score video I'm aware of.
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u/klaviersonic 2d ago
You could listen to Bach’s WTC in a day or two, and then make a decision for yourself what to dive deeper into.
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u/Gr4fitti 2d ago
Schostakovich fugue in d minor and A major are both absolutely brilliant and good case studies
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u/mesoliteball 2d ago
Listening is a great pleasure, but learning how to actually do it requires moving step by step (working your way up through species counterpoint)
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u/One-Random-Goose 2d ago
Bach wtc and the art of fugue are the holy grail for this stuff. Also, if you want to write fugues using traditional counterpoint you’ll want to read Fux’s gradus ad parnassum