Chopin’s Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, composed by Frédéric Chopin, dating from 1841, is dedicated to Pauline de Noailles. The inspiration for this Ballade is usually claimed to be Adam Mickiewicz’s poem Undine, also known as Świtezianka.
Waltz Posthumous in A Minor, often designated as Waltz No. 19, was written sometime between 1843 and 1848, but was not published until 1860, after Frédéric Chopin’s death.
Chopin’s Prelude No 16 in B-Flat Minor, Presto con fuoco, is certainly the most difficult of the set. Chopin’s 24 Preludes Op. 28, are a set of short pieces for the piano, one in each of the twenty-four keys, originally published in 1839.
Liszt’s Third Consolation in D-Flat Major is the most popular of the six Consolations and also a favorite encore piece. Its style is similar to the Chopin Nocturnes, in particular, it seems to have been inspired by Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2.
Chopin Scherzo No 2 in B-Flat minor, op. 31, was composed and published in 1837, and was dedicated to Countess Adèle Fürstenstein. Schumann compared this scherzo from Frédéric Chopin to a Byronic poem.
Written in October 1849 in response to the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 by the Habsburgs, Funérailles is the 7th and one of the most famous pieces in Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (Poetic and Religious Harmonies).
The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse.
Rachmaninoff’s Sonata for Cello and Piano in G Minor, Op. 19 was completed in November 1901 and published a year later. Sergei Rachmaninoff regarded the role of the piano as not just an accompaniment but equal to the cello.
The Sonata in A Major for Violin and Piano by César Franck is one of his best-known compositions, and is considered one of the finest sonatas for violin and piano ever written.
