Impromptu in A-flat, Op. 29 No. 1

Today the Chopin Project spotlight falls on Russian-born Michigan pianist Olga Kleiankina, performing the First Impromptu (in A-flat, Op. 29, No. 1) by Chopin. By its very title “Impromptu” is supposed to mean just that — just a perky, playful little ditty that Fryderyk would dash off at the keyboard without a lot of [...]

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Variations in A Major, “Souvenir de Paganini” KK 1203

This rare bit of Chopiniana was supposedly written after violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini came through Warsaw in the summer of 1829, a concert we know that Chopin attended. A month later he graduated from the Higher School of Music in Warsaw, where a teacher wrote, “Chopin, Fryderyk: third-year student, amazing capabilities, musical genius.”

 

 
 

CLICK ON THE [...]

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Waltz in C-sharp Minor, Op. 64, No. 2

Chopin once wrote, “When one does a thing, it appears good, otherwise one would not write it. Only later comes reflection, and one discards or accepts the thing. Time is the best censor, and patience a most excellent teacher.”Upon further reflection, Chopin must have realized that this Waltz was an all-time keeper, a favorite of [...]

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Étude in A minor, Op. 10, No. 2

The world of music had never before known any études as original, as musical, or as difficult. – Frank Cooper

This is one of the best-known (and arguably, the most difficult!) of the set of twelve études Chopin dedicated to Franz Liszt. The Études were published in a single volume in 1833, when Chopin was 23, although [...]

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Waltz in F minor, Op. 70, No. 2 (1842)

Why are Chopin’s Waltzes so perennially appealing to pianists? The folks at the boutique label Brana Records offer a clue: nicely: “They incorporate a range of moods from melancholy to effervescent but retain an air of sophistication suited to aristocratic salons.”
This Waltz in F minor, in fact, steps right out of a Parisian [...]

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Ballade in G minor, Op. 23 (1836)

In the previous post we discussed an all-time Chopin favorite, the Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2. What then, is left to say about another Chopin classic – this Ballade in G minor?Plenty, it would appear. There’s an extremely technical description in the La Folia online music reveiew by Beth Levin:
…..A rhythm of [...]

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Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2 (w/additional cadenzas)

Arthur Greene:
“Today’s entry takes us into far more familiar Chopin territory. The Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2 comes from around 1830, -after Chopin had left Warsaw forever. But the version I’m playing here has a bit of a twist. There are some scores of Chopin’s [...]

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Rondo in C minor, Op. 1 – Chopin’s First Published Piece

 

Arthur Greene:
By the time he was 15, Chopin had developed has piano technique considerably, and he was writing pieces that were firmly in the virtuoso tradition of the early Romantic period. Now, the general aesthetic at the time was not particularly deep or profound — it was more about varied and pretty effects. [...]

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Barcarolle in F-sharp minor, Op. 60

 
This is one of the last pieces that Chopin played in public. The excellent notes from the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s website sets the stage:
When in 1846 Frederic Chopin (1810-1849) completed the Barcarolle, the last work of its relatively large size to come from his pen, [...]

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What does the “KK” Mean?

As you look through the entries and listings of Chopin’s keyboard works on these pages, you may run into this funny “KK” designation, particularly in the early recitals.   It stands for the Kobylanska Katalog, and it’s assigned to works by Chopin that don’t have opus numbers.    It’s named after Polish musicologist (and former Curator of [...]

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