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Frederic Chopin
TWO WALTZES in Em and Am Op.Posth. arr.Lawson
Goodmusic Concert Classics GMCL234

Catalogue Number: GMCL234

Difficulty level: D What's this?

ISMN: 9790222332263

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Two Waltzes in Em+Am  Pack image
Orchestration: Flute, Piccolo, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets in A+Bb or Bb, 2 Bassoons
4 Horns in F (3 & 4 optional), 2 Trumpets in Bb, 3 Trombones, Tuba
Timpani, Percussion [4 players: Triangle, Snare Drum, Cymbals, Tambourine, Bass Drum, Glock.]
Strings (Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Cello, Bass)

The Waltz in E minor was the first of Chopin’s posthumously published works not to be assigned with an Opus number and was first published in May 1851, nineteen months after his death. No manuscript copy has survived today, but it dates from 1830, just before he left Poland for the final time, bound for Paris. This waltz is notable for its dramatic contrasts of the heroic mood, in its stormy opening and conclusion, with the charm and grace of the central section in E major, though the latter briefly revisits the gothic mood of the opening in a violent outburst in G sharp minor. The simple little waltz in A minor originally appeared in an 1860 publication by Jacques Maho, as number three of ‘Four Pieces for Piano’ by Charlotte de Rothschild. The Rothschild family, many years later, donated various manuscripts in Chopin’s hand to the Paris Conservatoire. Two of these were the Waltz in A minor and a Nocturne in C minor. The two pieces were finally attributed to Chopin, the Waltz in 1955, though the Rothschild Archive suggests that these may be misattributions. Chopin had taught piano to Charlotte de Rothschild, from 1841. It is possible that Charlotte had shown Chopin sketches of a waltz she had written and that he had elaborated on them or ‘tidied’ them for her in his own hand as a gift, maybe for her wedding in 1842 or for the birth of her daughter the following year. Some think the piece dates from between 1847 and Chopin’s death in 1849. There are certainly a few places, such as in the sunnier A major section just before the return to the wistfully sad opening idea, which are noticeably Chopin-like. If the piece is a ‘hybrid’ of Charlotte de Rothschild and Chopin or ‘pure’ Chopin, we shall probably never know, but this hauntingly charming piece at least deserves a voice and a life of its own! Peter Lawson

A PACK includes a full score plus a full set of wind, brass and percussion parts plus strings 4/4/3/4/2.
Duration 5½ minutes

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