Frédéric Chopin: piano pieces, easiest first
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849) was born near Warsaw, in Poland, and left for Paris in his early twenties, where he spent the rest of his short life. He was a celebrated pianist, though he preferred small gatherings to concert halls, and he wrote almost all of his music for the piano: nocturnes, preludes, études, waltzes, mazurkas and polonaises, ballades and sonatas. The dances of Poland stayed in his music all his life.
Chopin's music asks for a singing tone, a free, breathing sense of time and a subtle use of the pedal, but several of his pieces are within reach of an intermediate player.
Chopin in Octotune
- Six Preludes from Op. 28, including the slow E minor and A major preludes that are the usual first Chopin, and the Raindrop. See the Preludes collection.
- The Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9 No. 2, one of his most famous pieces.
- The Waltz in B minor, Op. 69 No. 2, written as a young man.
They are listed below, easiest first.