Waltz in A-flat, Op. 69, No. 1 “L’Adieu”

Is this indeed Chopin’s “farewell” to his Polish fiancee Marie Wodzińska?  The autographed manuscript has the inscription “Pour Mlle Marie.”  We’ll let the “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing” blog pick up the story…with a tip of the hat…

#1 — In 1835, while in Dresden trying to find a cure or some relief for [...]

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Waltz in A-flat, Op. 42: The “Most Perfect Waltz”??

Chopinmusic calls it “the most ambitious and substantial of all Chopin’s waltzes.”
The Vancouver Chopin Society goes even further, quoting David Dubal in suggesting that this “Grand Valse” is the essence of Chopin:
A case may be made for the Op. 42 as Chopin’s most perfect valse. After the first measures of trill, a call to the [...]

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Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2

Chopin’s third waltz has been called a “piece full of melancholy, gloom and grief, expressed in mournful simplicity.”
Though, according to the Vancouver Chopin Society,
The composer Stephen Heller related that Chopin called this slow (Lento) waltz his favorite. When Heller told the Pole that he, too, loved it best, Chopin immediately invited him for lunch [...]

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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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