Chopin’s Waltz No 9 in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1, is called The Farewell Waltz or Valse de l’adieu. The waltz was originally written as a farewell piece to Maria Wodzińska, to whom Frédéric Chopin was once engaged.
Sergei Prokofiev’s Piano Sonata No 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 (1942) (occasionally called the “Stalingrad”) is the second of the three “War Sonatas”. The sonata was first performed on 18 January …
Carmen Variations are a set of variations composed and performed by the Russian-American pianist Vladimir Horowitz. They are based on the Gypsy Dance from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen.
Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No 3 in C major, Op 26, was completed in 1921. Sergei Prokofiev began his work on the concerto as early as 1913 when he wrote a theme with variations which he then set aside.
Franz Liszt‘s Transcendental Etude No. 4 in D minor, Mazeppa, is the fourth Transcendental Étude, published in 1852. This complex and virtuosic staple of the Romantic Era repertoire was inspired by Victor Hugo‘s …
Two videos of Maurizio Pollini playing Frédéric Chopin’s last and dramatic Prelude No 24 in D minor. The first video is from 2002, Pollini is 60 years old, the second seems to be around 1960.
The Turkish March is the third movement from Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major (but the Turkish March is in A minor). It is often heard on its own and is one of Mozart’s best-known piano pieces.
Rachmaninov’s Prelude No. 5 in G Minor, Op. 23, was completed in 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes, despite having been written two years …
Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C Major, Op. 3, is a composition for cello and piano by Frédéric Chopin. It was one of Chopin’s first published compositions.
