Prélude 16
Prelude · in B♭ minor · Op. 28, No. 16
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
B♭ minor
Key
Prelude
Form
Presto con fuoco
Tempo
Op. 28, No. 16
Catalogue
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Difficulty
Our estimate Virtuoso
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Themes & character
Hardest of the 24·Furious downward scales·Marked with fire·From the 24 Preludes
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 28, No. 16
- Key
- B♭ minor
- Tempo / character
- Presto con fuoco
- Form
- Prelude
About the piece
Generally reckoned the most difficult of all twenty four preludes. After a handful of hammered opening chords, the right hand is launched into a torrent of scales at breakneck speed over a galloping left-hand accompaniment.
Marked presto con fuoco, fast and with fire, it has acquired the informal nickname Hades among pianists. Sustaining its velocity cleanly to the end is one of the genuine tests in the Chopin repertoire.
The composer
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation".
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