Waltz in A-flat major, Op.42

Waltz · in A♭ major · Op. 42

Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
A♭ major
Key
Waltz
Form
Vivace
Tempo
Op. 42
Catalogue
Score
First page of Waltz in A-flat major, Op.42

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Difficulty
Our estimate Intermediate
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Themes & character
Two against three·Concert waltz·Whirling motion·Sustained trill opening

At a glance

Catalogue
Op. 42
Key
A♭ major
Tempo / character
Vivace
Form
Waltz

About the piece

One of Chopin's grand concert waltzes rather than a dance for the ballroom, composed in 1840. It opens with a long sustained trill, then sets a two beat melody spinning against the underlying three beat pulse. That rhythmic tug gives the whole waltz a whirling, slightly giddy character, and it is often counted among the finest he wrote.

The composer

Frédéric Chopin
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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