Grande valse brillante, Op.18
Waltz · in E♭ major · Op. 18
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
E♭ major
Key
Waltz
Form
Vivo
Tempo
Op. 18
Catalogue
Score
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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
First published waltz·Genuine ballroom brilliance·Extended chain of themes·Composed 1833
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 18
- Key
- E♭ major
- Tempo / character
- Vivo
- Form
- Waltz
About the piece
The first waltz Chopin published, appearing in 1834, and the piece that established his reputation in the genre. Unlike many of the later waltzes, which are private and often melancholy, this one is genuinely festive, written in the spirit of a real ballroom.
It strings together a long chain of contrasting themes, building to a brilliant coda, and was popular enough to be used decades later in the ballet Les Sylphides, which set choreography to Chopin's piano music.
The composer
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation".
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