No. 20 C minor
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No. 21 B-flat major
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No. 22 G minor
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No. 23 F major
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No. 24 D minor
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The mysterious Preludes (published in 1839) are a set of 24 miniatures which contrary to what the name implies are not an introduction to any other composition. What they are is a vault of ingenuity balanced between lyricism and tragic drama. In this work Chopin achieved the highest possible condensation of expression: each of the Preludes, in some cases only several bars long, portrays more and tells more than many great symphonies.
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“What is music? An expression of thought. What is music? An expression of feelings. What is music? An expression of impressions” – this way Chopin began his unfinished piano book. Chopin’s music tells a story, it is a narrative of thoughts, feelings and impressions. The four Ballads are a direct embodiment of this idea (No. 1, published in 1836); they owe their name to fantastic ballads by Romantic poets. The essence here is to involve listeners in the story which the pianist needs to recite or sing, rather than play.
No. 6 G-sharp minor
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Two sets of Chopin’s Etudes (op. 10, published in 1833 and op. 25, published in 1837) with which piano music took a new, Romantic course. Chopin found the means to express extreme emotions by portraying them with new shades and captivating virtuosity. At the same time each piece contains a purely technical difficulty: spinning disturbing chromatisms the G-sharp minor Etude is an exercise in pronounced but light and melodious play of thirds.
No. 12 C minor
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Etudes, musical pieces designed for developing particular finger skills, thanks to Chopin became individual musical drama pieces: small in size but grand in expression. Both sets end in mighty pieces: the first with what is known as The Revolutionary Etude, the latter with C minor Etude in which the masses of sounds roll over as waves of a stormy ocean.
