Frederic Chopin

Mazurkas

​

Chopin was Polish. With his extraordinary set of over 50 Mazurkas he encapsulates the essence of what it is to be a native of that country. While he echoes the dance forms, rhythms and timbres of Polish folk music, he never actually quotes or "borrows" any actual themes from the folklore.  Everything he has written is original.  Yet much of it seems as if it must have already existed in some form, so true is Chopin's deep understanding and relationship with the patterns and history of Polish dance forms. 

​

Chopin continued to write and publish Mazurkas throughout his entire composing life (with some examples being discovered and published posthumously). As a pianist I can relate to that because I too have studied and played his Mazurkas on and off throughout my life.  The very first one I played is #5 - the Opus 7 No. 1 in Bb major. This used be known as "Chopin's Mazurka" in various albums of popular piano classics when perhaps this very famous example betrayed the fact that there are at least 50 more of them! 

​

I have played all 51 Mazurkas (as numbered in the Peters edition - but there could be further posthumous examples) at various times and have continued to discover and rediscover their qualities as pianistic gems. I thoroughly recommend a detailed study of at least a portion of these mini masterpieces for all aspiring pianists.  They will certainly help you to understand the essence of Chopin and prepare you well for his other works.  I can sense some Mazurka in nearly everything he wrote. I made the commitment in 2020 to record them all and commenced a fresh study of the complete set.  I am currently working through the actual recordings and publishing them regularly on this site.  As at July 2023 I have only about 12 remaining and will be accelerating to the finish!