Scherzo No.2, Op.31
Scherzo · in B♭ minor · Op. 31
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
B♭ minor
Key
Scherzo
Form
Presto
Tempo
Op. 31
Catalogue
Score
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Themes & character
Question and answer·Soaring lyricism·Dramatic theatre·Best loved scherzo
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 31
- Key
- B♭ minor
- Tempo / character
- Presto
- Form
- Scherzo
About the piece
The most popular of Chopin's four scherzi, composed in 1837 and dedicated to his student Countess Adele Furstenstein. It opens with a famous whispered triplet question that is answered each time by a thunderous chord, a piece of pure theatre.
From that gesture it moves between dramatic urgency and a broad, soaring middle section, one of Chopin's most generous melodies, before racing to a brilliant close.
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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