Chopin wrote at least six surviving waltzes before leaving Warsaw at the age of 20. These early waltzes were likely for domestic music-making and remained unpublished. The Waltz in E minor, KK IVa/15 is the finest, opening with a flourish and closing with a brief dramatic coda. In between, all four themes invite our curiosity and avoid any feeling of the foursquare structure found in other Warsaw waltzes. At this time, Chopin would often note down his latest ideas for performance of a piece as they evolved. This is what he did on the five surviving manuscripts of the Waltz in F minor, also written in Warsaw and published posthumously as Op. 70 No. 2.

Chopin’s personal favorite among his mature waltzes remained the Waltz in A minor, Op. 34 No. 2. This tells a melancholy tale, growing incrementally into a brief, joyous central episode, only to recede gradually back to its dark A minor starting point. It contrasts with its sequel, the sparkling, almost fleeting Waltz in F, Op. 34 No. 3 which introduces an improvisatory element. Its mercurial quality is reflected in its occasional nickname as the ‘Cat Waltz.’ 

The three Op. 64 waltzes, which Chopin wrote and polished over several years but only published two years before his death, are independent creations and a fastidiously refined high point in the collection. The first is the so-called ‘Minute’ waltz—though ‘90 to 100 seconds’ would be a more accurate nickname for the literal-minded and even longer with the rubato that Chopin’s graceful music demands. In it, a perpetuum mobile figure in the right hand creates a giddy feeling of forward momentum, which continues through the syncopations of the central trio section. Then, proving that a nickname is not essential to popularity, the Waltz in C-sharp minor, Op. 64 No. 2, one of the gems of Chopin’s output, carefully wraps graceful, bittersweet outer sections around a nocturnal D-flat center. Less familiar and, perhaps, curiously distinctive, the Waltz in A-flat, Op. 64 No. 3 follows the simple three-part structure of the ‘Minute’ waltz, with unpredictable melodic writing and startling modulations along the way, building to an increasingly animated cascade of eighth notes as the piece ends. Taken together, the three Op. 64 waltzes reveal Chopin at his most urbane, bringing to a popular dance all the sophistication, creativity and attention to detail that echo the same qualities that Bach brought to his allemandes, courantes, sarabandes and gigues – the popular dances of his day. The influence of Bach’s polyphonic writing is present throughout Chopin’s music, including the waltzes.

Opening with a trill, the Waltz in A-flat, Op. 42 presents a dazzling sequence of waltz themes, five in all, led by a teasing cross-play of the expected triple time and unexpected duple time between the hands. Some seemingly whimsical changes of direction increase the intensity of this forward-driven waltz, culminating in a brusquely compressed version of the theme that has unified the piece from the start.

— All program notes copyright © 2024 Keith Horner. Comments welcomed: khnotes@sympatico.ca