Chopin - Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4 - Hélène Grimaud, Piano

Mazurka Op. 17 No. 4 in A Minor is the last one from Op. 17, a set of four mazurkas composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1832 and 1833. It is a real masterpiece, in the form of a dance poem. Written in A minor, it is in 3/4 and is marked Lento, ma non troppo. It is one of the more popular mazurkas. The Mazurka has caused monographers and Chopin scholars quite some difficulty on account of the legend that surrounds it. The work’s origins were linked with certain passages in letters sent by the fourteen-year-old Chopin from Szafarnia, in which he gave accounts of the impression he made when playing a dance that he called ‘Żydek’ [The little Jew]. – Hélène Grimaud