Chopin's waltzes: history, content, interesting facts, listen

Waltzes chopin

He was called the Warsaw Mozart, and the music written by him was compared with Pushkin's poetry. The name of this brilliant musician is Frédéric Chopin. He did not compose either operas or ballets, and symphonic music did not particularly appeal to him. Being an excellent pianist, the maestro wrote almost all his works for piano. These are ballads, nocturnes, impromptu, etudes, preludes, polonaises, mazurkas and, undoubtedly, waltzes - masterpieces of elegance, nobility and sophistication. Initially, in classical music, the most outstanding examples of this genre were Chopin waltzes.

The story of Frederic Chopin's Waltzes and many interesting facts can be found on our page.

History of creation

Frederic Chopin lived a short life, but wrote many wonderful works, among which waltzes are not the last. The composer composed his first creation in this genre at the age of fourteen, and the last two years before his premature death. Unfortunately, today no one can say exactly what waltz heritage Chopin, but there is an assumption that it has more than twenty works. During his lifetime, the composer published only eight waltzes, the other nine, included in the complete works, were published only after Chopin's death.

The waltz was especially popular in the first decade of the XIX century: he conquered everyone with his flying, circling movements. Frederic Chopin was also not indifferent to this dance, and he composed the compositions of this genre to the ladies of his heart.

The first girl to whom Frederick experienced real feelings was Constantia Gladkovskaya. This beautiful woman, having a beautiful voice, studied at the Warsaw Conservatory and dreamed of performing on the opera stage. Chopin in love, suffering from love for six months, hesitated to even speak to her. The image of Constance followed the young man everywhere and the reflections about her inspired the young composer to create four magnificent waltzes: refined D-major, poetic and sad b-mory, light and graceful-mi-minor and virtuoso E-major. Frederic finished it in Paris, then calling it the Great Brilliant Waltz. ”Unfortunately, the fervent romantic relationship between Chopin and Constance ended sadly: when Frederick left for a tour of the cities of Europe, his beloved married another.

After some time, Chopin met another girl who captivated the heart of a talented composer. It was Maria Vodzinsky - the sister of the lyceum friend of the composer. The charming young lady was able to once again resurrect Frederick's wonderful exciting feeling, prompting him to create such beautiful masterpieces as “Waltz in A flat major” and “Waltz in D-dor minor”. However, Mary also broke the heart of the unfortunate composer. Being engaged to Frederick, she terminated the engagement to link her life with the son of an influential Polish nobleman, Józef Skarbek.

Undoubtedly, the love story of Chopin and the French writer George Sand cannot be ignored. Ten years continued the romantic relationship that inspired the composer to compose beautiful works, including "Waltz in F Major", "Waltz in A-Flat Major" and "Waltz in F Minor". Alas, but this novel was very sad for Chopin. Frederick took a break with his beloved to heart and even painfully remembered her on his deathbed.

There is another woman who inspired Chopin to create beautiful works - this is the Countess Delphine Pototskaya. With her young composer met in 1831 in Paris. The hostess of the fashionable music salon, the beauty, the owner of many talents, subsequently became Chopin a kind and loyal friend. Frederic dedicated the Countess to an elegant D-flat Major Waltz "Minute". This composer, light in nature, was constantly included in the program of his concerts.

Interesting Facts

• According to the results of medical research, the music of Frederic Chopin's waltzes, which has healing energy, calms the nervous system and normalizes the mental state of a person. In addition, it improves memory, improves mental performance and even reduces muscle tension.
• His famous D-flat major waltz, known as the Minute Waltz, Chopin wrote as a reward for a kiss. The woman’s beloved composer, writer George Sand, had a small dog in the estate who loved to chase her own tail. It was like a funny dog ​​dance, to which George Sand asked Frederick to write music. The composer who did not like to give titles to his works himself titled him as "Waltz of the Little Dog".
• The life of Constanta Gladkovsky, after she married the count Jozef Grabowski, was unfortunate. The husband immediately forbade a talented singer to perform on the operatic stage, about which she so dreamed, and at the age of thirty she suffered a blindness. Having lived for seventy-nine years, Constance kept the letters of Chopin all the time, but she burned them before death.
• Frederic Chopin's music has always inspired people of art. So in 1994 compatriot compatriot director Waldemar Shaikovsky made a wonderful animated film “Frederic Chopin. Waltz in B Minor,” telling about Chopin and Gladkovskaya's sad story that ended in love.

• Frederic Chopin all his life kept the message from Maria Vodzinskaya. When, after death, the composer's papers were dismantled, a packet was found on which was written “my sadness”. In the last message, the girl frankly explained to Frederica why she had acted so cruelly with him. Maria believed that the gray days of family life would impede the inspiration of a talented composer, and for creativity he needed passionate love.
• Delphine Pototskaya is a talented and highly educated woman, with whom Chopin had a four-year passionate romance. After the end of the relationship, they parted as good friends, and even before his death, the composer asked Delphine to sing his favorite songs.
• Frederic Chopin's waltzes are spectacular concert pieces that are not intended for dance accompaniment, but nevertheless choreographer Mikhail Fokin could not resist the expressive sadness of Waltz in C sharp minor and asked the composer Alexander Glazunov to orchestrate this piece to include it in his ballet spectacle "Chopeniana", set to music by the brilliant Polish maestro. This choreographic production entitled" Sulphides "is very popular all over the world today.

The content of Chopin's waltzes

Frederic Chopin's waltzes are expressive and elegant concert works, beautiful examples of romantic miniatures, a kind of inspired musical poems. Deep in musical content and brilliant, with a wide use of the rich arsenal of virtuoso pianistic technique, they are spectacular pieces for concert performances. Chopin adorns his waltz compositions with swift gamma-like passages, various chord and octave techniques, as well as an abundance of interesting figurations, presenting the listener with a graceful and elegant style.

Chopin's waltzes can be divided into two types. Some of them are bright, enchanting and impetuous, picturesquely displaying pompous balls. Others are lyrical, dreamy and melancholic, immersing romantic atmosphere in the atmosphere.

In their structure, Chopin's waltzes are different, but most of them have a three-part form. Basically they consist of several sections and the first one, as in rondo, periodically repeats.

• Waltz number 7 in C sharp minor is one of the most popular works of the composer of this genre. This miniature imbued with the elegiac mood he wrote in an unusual three-part form: ab - cb - ab. Waltz begins with an emotional and melancholic theme, which is then replaced by a dizzying fascinating passage, which has the name of a rudimentary, because in the piece he as the chorus is constantly repeated. In the design of the work, it is marked with the letter b. The nature of music in the third theme is changing again: it becomes delicate and dreamy.
• The next work of the composer deserving special attention is Waltz number 10 in B minor (op. 69, No. 2). A gentle, full of sad languor composition, sounding like a poetic work, written in three-part form: II: a: II: ba: II - c - aba. An elegant sad theme, marked with the letter "a", as can be seen from the scheme, is repeated six times. Other bright major characters "b" and "c" add a rainbow tint to the work, but upon their completion the music is again painted in gloomy tones.
• Can not be left without attention Waltz in D flat major (Des-dur, o 64 No. 1). This work of Chopin, who did not like to give titles to his compositions, he himself referred to as "The Waltz of the Little Dog." At the present time, the miniature is very popular under the heading "Minute". The composer concluded a spectacular, sparkling play, like most of his works of this genre, in a three-part form with a peculiar structure: aII: b: II - c - ab. The first and, respectively, the last part of the work is based on the unceasing spiral-like, rapid movement of the eighth notes, which give the work a character of incredible flight. The middle section of the waltz differs from its extreme parts in its calm temperament. Smooth and sensitive melodic line fills the music with tenderness and lyricism.

Frederic Chopin styled musical aristocrat, and his waltzes are called poetic works, in which each emotion is expressed in the most exquisite language. A clear expression of musical thoughts, enclosed in a refined, slim form, is an integral quality of the works of the composer of this genre. This makes them perfect creations that occupy a worthy place in the golden fund of world music literature.