Scherzo No.1, Op.20
Scherzo · in B minor · Op. 20
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
B minor
Key
Scherzo
Form
Presto con fuoco
Tempo
Op. 20
Catalogue
Score
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Themes & character
Fierce energy·Polish carol interlude·Stark contrast·Youthful fury
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 20
- Key
- B minor
- Tempo / character
- Presto con fuoco
- Form
- Scherzo
About the piece
The first of Chopin's four scherzi, composed around 1831 to 1832 while news reached him in Vienna of the crushing of the Warsaw Uprising, and dedicated to his friend Thomas Albrecht. It is fierce and driven, its outer sections all restless motion and biting harmony.
At its heart sits a moment of sudden tenderness, a quiet section built on the old Polish Christmas carol Lulajze Jezuniu, before the fury returns to close the piece.
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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