The Waltzes of Chopin have little in common with those by Schubert or those by the Strauss circle – he even wrote home from Vienna pouring scorn on the waltz, horrified by the fact that “they actually call waltzes works”. But perhaps with the intention of raising it to a higher level, he went on to make continuous efforts in the genre himself, producing music that has never lost its attraction for pianists or the public.
Urtext sheet music and recordings are now available from our sheet music library for three of the Waltzes:
Waltz – op 64 no 1 in D-flat Major (”Minute Waltz”)
Waltz – op 64 no 2 in C-sharp Minor
Waltz opus posth. in A Minor
The most famous of these is probably the “Minute Waltz”.
Chopin firstly named this brilliant and playful waltz “Petit chien” (Little Dog) since he was trying to depict a dog chasing its tail. However, it later got its nickname from Chopin’s publisher who coined the nickname, intended the “minute” to mean “small”.
/henrik
September 28th, 2009 at 5:03
The c-sharp is perhaps my most favorite of his.
September 29th, 2009 at 10:46
I have just dicovered the “Waltz opus posth. in A Minor”, it is absolutely wonderful! I love it!