Frederic Chopin

Chopin's twenty-four preludes make a complete collection of brief pieces in all major and minor keys. Each establishes its own concentrated texture or gesture rather than introducing a following fugue. The set...

Chopin's final ballade gives a recurring lyrical idea increasingly elaborate treatment. New textures, inner voices, and contrapuntal combinations transform the theme as the music develops, before a compressed and...

Chopin's two sets of twelve etudes make technical study inseparable from musical character. Different pieces concentrate on arpeggios, chromatic motion, double notes, wide spans, or the independence of the hands, yet...

Chopin developed the piano nocturne into a flexible form of lyrical expression, building on the example of John Field. Singing upper lines can be richly ornamented while the accompaniment shifts their harmonic...