The Waltz in E minor is a

waltz The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the w ...

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. It was composed circa 1830 and published in May 1851. It was the first of Chopin's posthumously published

waltzes The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...

not to be given an

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among composit ...

. It appears in Brown's catalogue as B. 56, in Kobylańska's catalogue as KK IVa/15, in Chomiński's as P1/15, and in the

Chopin National Edition ), commonly referred to as the Chopin National Edition or the Polish National Edition, is an urtext edition of the complete works by Frédéric Chopin, aiming to present his output in its authentic form. Started by Jan Ekier in 1959, the entirety ...

as WN 29. It was composed shortly before Chopin left Poland at the age of 20. Although this is the final (fourteenth) waltz in the older editions of Chopin (other waltzes being included in more recent editions), it is believed to have been composed before any of the waltzes published in Chopin's lifetime. In a typical performance, this waltz lasts just under three minutes. In 1956,

Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...

choreographed his ballet '' The Concert (or, The Perils of Everybody)'' which uses, among other works by Chopin, the Waltz in E minor for the portion known as the "Mistake Waltz"."Dance; Such Serious Music, So Why Not Have Fun?"
by Jack Anderson, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', 7 April 2002. Accessed March 18, 2021.

Structure

This

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

waltz is in a modified

rondo form The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period. Etymology The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round". Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...

as "Introduction–A–B–A–B–A–C–A'– coda". The "C" is in E major with temporary modulations to

G-sharp minor G-sharp minor is a minor scale based on G, consisting of the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative major is B major. Its parallel major, G-sharp major, is usually replaced by its enharmonic equi ...

References

External links

* * , Iskra Mantcheva * {{Authority control Waltzes by Frédéric Chopin 1830 compositions Compositions in E minor Compositions by Frédéric Chopin published posthumously