Travelling to Paris in September 1831, Frédéric Chopin received word of Imperial Russia’s suppression of the uprising in his native Poland that had been taking place since November of the previous year. Anguished over this news and fearing for the safety of his family, Chopin’s emotions were given immediate expression in a personal journal he kept in which he wrote down his fears, cursed the French for not coming to the aid of his countrymen and even accused God of being a Russian. Musically, Chopin’s turmoil found utterance in two works written during the remainder of that year—the “Revolutionary” Etude in C minor and the Scherzo No. 1 in B minor.
Dark and full of passionate energy, the Scherzo opens with a great six-four chord sounded fortissimo and then moving through a dominant seventh harmony prior to launching into the scherzo proper. The Scherzo’s main idea surges upward by leaps and bounds and with great agility through the middle and upper ranges of the piano. Running contrary to the energetic eighth-note idea is a brief poignant motif which closes the first section of the scherzo and returns multiple times throughout. The eight-note rhythm returns, assuming the character of a moto perpetuo, though with a new melodic pattern and ultimately leading to a return of the original idea.
The Trio section of the Scherzo shifts to the key of B major and slackens in tempo. Marked sotto voce (“small voice”), Chopin quotes a Polish Christmas carol as the tune of the Trio. One can imagine the reiterated F-sharps above the melody as the distant chiming of church bells. However, the peaceful scene of the Trio slowly comes to end and the return of the Scherzo is heralded by the thunderous chords with which the piece opened. At the conclusion of this reprise, Chopin alludes to the transitional bars that before led to the Trio. However, this time the transitory chords lead to a spirited and virtuosic coda. The coda comes to a climax with full-voiced diminished seventh harmonies in both hands and then falls down through the notes of the tonic triad. Surging upward once again via a chromatic scale in both hands, the final chords are reached and the piece concludes with an altered form of the plagal cadence. Joseph DuBose
Classical Music | Piano Music
Frédéric Chopin
Scherzo No. 1 in b minor, Op. 20 Play
Recorded on 08/02/2011, uploaded on 08/02/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Travelling to Paris in September 1831, Frédéric Chopin received word of Imperial Russia’s suppression of the uprising in his native Poland that had been taking place since November of the previous year. Anguished over this news and fearing for the safety of his family, Chopin’s emotions were given immediate expression in a personal journal he kept in which he wrote down his fears, cursed the French for not coming to the aid of his countrymen and even accused God of being a Russian. Musically, Chopin’s turmoil found utterance in two works written during the remainder of that year—the “Revolutionary” Etude in C minor and the Scherzo No. 1 in B minor.
Dark and full of passionate energy, the Scherzo opens with a great six-four chord sounded fortissimo and then moving through a dominant seventh harmony prior to launching into the scherzo proper. The Scherzo’s main idea surges upward by leaps and bounds and with great agility through the middle and upper ranges of the piano. Running contrary to the energetic eighth-note idea is a brief poignant motif which closes the first section of the scherzo and returns multiple times throughout. The eight-note rhythm returns, assuming the character of a moto perpetuo, though with a new melodic pattern and ultimately leading to a return of the original idea.
The Trio section of the Scherzo shifts to the key of B major and slackens in tempo. Marked sotto voce (“small voice”), Chopin quotes a Polish Christmas carol as the tune of the Trio. One can imagine the reiterated F-sharps above the melody as the distant chiming of church bells. However, the peaceful scene of the Trio slowly comes to end and the return of the Scherzo is heralded by the thunderous chords with which the piece opened. At the conclusion of this reprise, Chopin alludes to the transitional bars that before led to the Trio. However, this time the transitory chords lead to a spirited and virtuosic coda. The coda comes to a climax with full-voiced diminished seventh harmonies in both hands and then falls down through the notes of the tonic triad. Surging upward once again via a chromatic scale in both hands, the final chords are reached and the piece concludes with an altered form of the plagal cadence. Joseph DuBose
Chopin Scherzo no.1 Op.20 Pianist David-Michael Dunbar.
Recorded in Kitchener, Ontario, CANADA August.2.2011
More music by Frédéric Chopin
Mazurka Op. 33 No. 1 in g-sharp minor
Waltz Op 34 N° 2
Mazurka Op 67 N° 4
Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
Prelude in F major, Op. 28, No. 23, Moderato
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor, Op. 66
Impromptu no. 3 in G-flat major, op. 51
Barcarolle in F-sharp Major, Op. 60
Mazurka Op 63 N° 2
Fantasy, Op. 49
Performances by same musician(s)
Etude Opus 10 no.5 in G Flat major "Black Key Etude"
Etude Op. 10, No. 1 in C Major
Prelude Op.34 no.5
Etude Op. 299 no.12
32 variations in C minor Wo0 80 original
Flight of the Bumble Bee (arr. Sergei Rachmaninov)
"Caprice Espagnol" Opus 37
Etude Op. 299 no.16 in G major
Prelude Op. 23 no. 2 in B Flat Major
Etude Op. 25, No. 11 in a minor
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