Franz Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-Flat Major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes date from 1830, while the final version is dated 1849.
The Piano Sonata in B minor is a sonata for solo piano by Franz Liszt. It was completed in 1853 and published in 1854 with a dedication to Robert Schumann in return for his dedication of his Fantasie in C major, Op. 17 (published 1839) to Liszt.
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-Flat Major, Op. 83, by Johannes Brahms is separated by a gap of 22 years from his first piano concerto. Brahms began work on the piece in 1878 and completed it in 1881 while in Pressbaum near Vienna.
The Polonaise No 6 in A-flat major, Op. 53 was called Polonaise Héroïque (heroic) in french) by Frédéric Chopin’s French lover, the writer Georges Sand. This composition is one of Chopin’s most admired and has long been a favorite of the classical piano repertoire.
Nocturne No. 13 is part of Nocturnes, Op. 48, a set of two nocturnes written by Chopin in 1841 and published the following year in 1842. They are dedicated to Mlle. Laure Duperré.
Dance of the Blessed Spirits is a melody from Orpheus and Eurydice, an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi.
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, dates to sketches Chopin made in 1831 during his eight-month stay in Vienna. It was completed in 1835 after his move to Paris, where he dedicated it to Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France.
The two Nocturnes, Op 55 by Frédéric Chopin, the fifteenth and sixteenth of his nocturnes, were composed between 1842 and 1844, and published in August 1844.
Franz Schubert composed a number of works known as Ständchen (serenade). Franz Liszt’s transcription for piano solo is the fourth lied from Schwanengesang, a collection of songs written by Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously.
The Polonaise Fantaisie in A-flat major, Op. 61, from Frédéric Chopin, dedicated to Mme A. Veyret, was written and published in 1846. This work was slow to gain favor with musicians, due to its harmonic complexity and intricate form.
