Mazurkas, nocturnes, waltzes and polonaises constitute the core of Chopin’s expressive world. However, he also moved comfortably beyond such genre cycles, and pieces of this sort are brought together in this “Klavierstücke” book, in which we find lesser-known works (two Variation cycles, three Ecossaises) from Chopin’s earlier creative period along with rousing dance movements (Bolero and Tarantelle) and, to finish, the orchestrally conceived Allegro de concert. This forms the introduction to a sequence of three great individual works from Chopin’s middle and later creative periods: the Fantasie op. 49, the Berceuse op. 57, and the Barcarolle op. 60 – the finest Chopin, available in Henle paperback, cloth-bound, and study editions.
Content/Details
- Level of difficulty (Explanation)
- Other titles with this level of difficulty
- Variations brillantes B flat major op. 12
- Piano 7 difficult
ABRSM: Piano DipABRSM
- Fantasy f minor op. 49
- Piano 8 difficult
ABRSM: Piano LRSM (recommended)
- Berceuse D flat major op. 57
- Piano 7 difficult
ABRSM: Piano DipABRSM
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Preface
Chopin’s output for piano falls in the majority of cases into specific categories: mazurkas, polonaises, nocturnes etc. There are in fact very few pieces that defy such classification. The more important of them, though varying in character, have been combined to form this present volume. Those works published during Chopin’s lifetime are arranged according to opus numbers. … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer

Frédéric Chopin
Pianist and composer. His work is concentrated around piano music that enjoys extraordinary popularity and has become an integral part of the concert repertoire. His music influenced subsequent generations in France (Franck, Saint-Saëns, Fauré, Debussy) as well as Smetana, Dvořák, Balakirev, Grieg, Albéniz.
1810 | Born in Żelazowa Wola near Warsaw on March 1. First compositions at age seven, his first public performance at eight. |
1822 | Private instruction in composition. |
1825 | Rondo in C minor, Op. 1, his first published work. |
1826–29 | Studies at the Institute of Music in Warsaw. |
1829 | “Fantaisie sur des airs nationaux polonaise” in A major, Op. 13; Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 8. Travels to Vienna, where he gives two concerts of his compositions and improvisations. |
1829–33 and 1835–37 | Etudes, Opp. 10 and 25 -- a new type of virtuosic etude that also makes aesthetic demands. |
1830 | Premieres in Warsaw of his two piano concerti, Op. 21 in F minor and Op. 11 in E minor. |
1831 | Unable to return to Warsaw due to the Polish uprising, he goes to Paris, where he will remain until the end of his life. |
1832 | Debut concert in Paris to great acclaim. |
1835/38 | “Trois valses brillantes,” Op. 34. |
1836/39 | “24 Preludes,” Op. 28, in a cyclic succession: compactly-designed short pieces. |
1835/39 | Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, Op. 35, with the funeral march. |
1842/43 | Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52; “Grande Polonaise brillante” in A-flat major, Op. 53; Scherzo No. 4 in E major, Op. 54. |
1844 | Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 |
1849 | Completion of the mazurkas in G minor and F minor. Death in Paris on October 17. |