Hey everyone! Today’s blog is about Chopin’s three sonatas.
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist in the Romantic Era. He composed primarily piano solo works. Chopin grew up in Warsaw, and settled in Paris at age 21. In 1836, Chopin met the French writer with the pen name George Sand (real name Aurora Dudevant) in Paris. Two years later, they became lovers and spent most of the summers between 1839-1846 in Sand’s estate in Nohant (22 miles southwest of Châteauroux in France). Chopin was able to concentrate on composing and wrote many works during these times.
Chopin composed three piano sonatas, two being published in his lifetime, and one posthumously. Each of the sonatas has 4 movements.
Sonata No. 1 in c minor, Op. posthumous 4, was written at age 18, when Chopin was at the Warsaw Conservatory studying with the Polish composer Józef Elsner, whom this sonata was dedicated to. This sonata is generally thought to be one of his least successful compositions as there are no reviews or reports of it ever having been played in the nineteenth century. Today it is still among Chopin’s least performed works.
Vladimir Ashkenazy plays Chopin Sonata No. 1, 1st movement
The Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35 is popularly known as ‘The Funeral March’ and was completed in 1839 at Nohant. The work was published a year later in 1840.
However, the third movement ‘funeral march’ had been composed as early as 1837. It has become very well known and was used at the state funerals of John F. Kennedy, Sir Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher and those of Soviet leaders, including Brezhnev. It was also played at the graveside during Chopin's own burial at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.
Seong-jin Cho plays Chopin Piano Sonata No. 2, 3rd movement
The third Chopin sonata, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58, is the last of his piano sonatas. Completed in 1844 and dedicated to Countess Émilie de Perthuis, the work is considered one of Chopin's most difficult compositions, both technically and musically.
This performance usually lasts about 25-30 minutes and unlike the 1st and 2nd sonatas, it ends in a major key. The second movement, Scherzo, is in E-flat major and composed in ternary form.
Overall, each sonata reflects his musical development and how his style changed drastically.
Martha Argerich plays Chopin Sonata No. 3
Thank you for reading and see you next time!