Chopin Archive

Frederick Chopin composed his Preludes as short piano pieces written between 1834–39 and intended as explorations of the characters of various keys. The earlier examples of such works are those of  J. S. Bach appearing in …

Of the several types of character pieces Chopin favored, the nocturne was perhaps best suited the composer’s Romantic tendencies. Chopin cultivated this musical form throughout his career, though he did not invent the form. Nocturnes …

Frederick Chopin knew all of Bach’s Preludes by heart; he used them diligently in his own practice sessions and also as instructional material for his piano students. When Chopin decided to write some preludes of …

Frederick Chopin composed most of his nocturnes in groups of two or three pieces. The pair that comprises his Opus 27 dates from 1835. The second of these works, in D-flat major, provides a good …

Chopin’s music had been absent from David Fray’s active repertoire for some 15 years before he recorded this recital, which comprises seven of the composer’s nocturnes, three mazurkas, a polonaise, a waltz and an impromptu. …