Mazurkas, Op. 59 are a set of three Mazurkas for solo

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

by Frédéric Chopin. The set was composed and published in 1845.

Analysis

Mazurka in A minor, Op. 59, No. 1

''Mazurka in A minor'' is the opening

piece Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * ...

of the set. This highly chromatic Mazurka conveys a warm and comforting portrait, and concludes with an ascending melody. ''Mazurkas Op. 59'' at Allmusic/ref>

Mazurka in A-flat major, Op. 59, No. 2

''Mazurka in A-flat major'' is the second and shortest of the Op. 59 mazurkas, with a typical performance lasting around 2 and a half minutes. The piece begins with a memorable main theme that Chopin varies from time to time to maintain the piece's interest. The trio section of the piece is very similar to the main

theme Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...

, providing little contrast. The piece concludes with an interesting coda, full of accidentals and chromatic harmonies and finishing on a tonic chord, repeated 4 times. ''Mazurka in A-flat major, Op. 59, No. 2'' at Allmusic/ref>

Mazurka in F-sharp minor, Op. 59, No. 3

''Mazurka in F-sharp minor'', the final piece of the set, is referring to an

oberek The oberek, also called ''obertas'' or ''ober'', is a lively Polish dance. Its name is derived from the Polish ''obracać się'' ("to spin"). It consists of many dance lifts and jumps. It is performed at a much quicker pace than the Polish waltz ...

, a national Polish dance much faster than a mazurka. The piece begins with a memorable and powerful melody, the second theme is somewhat more joyful than the first. The left hand accompaniment of the piece experiments with descending chromatic harmonies, although this does not affect the melody which remains defined throughout the piece. An autograph manuscript housed at the Morgan Library & Museum in New York contains a complete draft of this Mazurka written in the key of

G minor G minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative major is B-flat major and its parallel major is G major. According to Paolo Pietropaolo, it is the con ...

, dedicated to Ferdinand Hiller.

References

External links

*[ ''Mazurkas Op. 59'' at Allmusic] *
Chopin Institute – Op.59 No.1Chopin Institute – Op.59 No.2

Chopin Institute – Op.59 No.3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazurkas, Chopin59 1845 compositions Mazurkas by Frédéric Chopin Stefan Zweig Collection Compositions in A minor Compositions in A-flat major Compositions in F-sharp minor