About this Piece

The waltz has some strict but simple parameters—parameters that Frédéric Chopin toyed with, broadened, and sometimes ignored. Chopin’s waltzes are some of the best places to find his trademarks: inventive rhythm, lush melodies, and unrestrained rubato. While the term “rubato” (which translates to “stolen time”) doesn’t appear in his manuscripts, if you listen to any recording, watch any performer, you’ll hear it—a heartbeat that can’t steady itself. Four consecutive measures of trills? A 13-note phrase misaligned with two pianissimo bass notes? Chopin composed not for the dancer, but for the listener.  

Born near Warsaw in 1810, Chopin showed an early knack for composition and piano performance. At 19, he fled the Russian occupation of Poland and arrived in Vienna. By this time, he had composed many pieces—including waltzes. In Austria, Chopin witnessed a major turning point for the form as Johann Strauss Sr. and Joseph Lanner’s waltzes were captivating the public. Chopin moved to Paris shortly thereafter and continued composing waltzes until his death in 1849.  

His waltzes are numbered in the order in which they were published, and tonight’s 14 are often presented as a set. The first eight were published by the composer. Waltzes 9 through 20 were published posthumously, despite Chopin’s wish that his unpublished work be destroyed after his death. A recently discovered Waltz in A minor, “Found in New York,” suggests the number may grow. Tonight, Seong-Jin Cho reorders the standard 14 pieces, starting with the last waltz published from the set and ending with the first.

Waltz No. 14 sounds like the beginning of a great tale. Turning from a breathless vivace to a gentle grazioso, the waltz daintily prances. With the left hand keeping triple time above middle C, the piece exudes delicacy.

Waltz No. 4 in F major picks up the pace as it traipses across the keys. All seems cordial until the very end—a swift diminution that summons an explosion.

Chopin shows off his trills in a decathlon for the right hand in Waltz No. 6. Nicknamed “Minute” Waltz for its speed and brevity, the piece requires a dexterous pianist. This was one of Chopin’s later waltzes, composed during his time with his romantic partner, writer George Sand, in France. Sand wrote of Chopin’s work: “His composing was spontaneous, miraculous. He found ideas without looking for them, without foreseeing them.”

Waltz No. 9, or “Valse de l’adieu,” is far less sprightly than many of its counterparts. Through disorienting tempo changes, a right hand struggling against its counterpart’s strict rhythm, and abrupt moments of quiet, it feels as if the piece is trying to break free from itself—an apt analogy for a sorrowful farewell.  

Waltz No. 7 is elegant, romantic, and at times downright glitzy. Again, the right hand seems to obstruct the left hand from its rhythmic duties. Returning to a major key, Waltz No. 11 comes bouncing. It finally settles and shimmers only to return to its almost comical whimsy.

Composed in 1829 in Warsaw, Waltz No. 10 is simple, lovely, at times reminiscent of a nocturne. Written two years later, after Chopin fled Poland, Waltz No. 3 is a somber, unflashy piece.  

Dating from 1847, Waltz No. 8 was the final waltz published during Chopin’s lifetime. In the elegant middle passage, the left hand takes the melody while the right hand peppers in the second and third beats.  

About Waltz No. 12, Chopin wrote to pianist Anna de Belleville, “I have had the pleasure of writing [it] for you, but please keep it for yourself. I should not like it to be made public.” Biographer Alan Walker demystifies Chopin’s note: “In fact, it was one of those pieces that Chopin copied out several times and circulated among his friends, ‘especially for them’—an economical way of flattering their vanity. There were at least eight manuscript copies of this Waltz in circulation during Chopin’s lifetime, most of them dedicated to women.”  

Chopin composed Waltz No. 13 at age 19. This waltz was written after he fell into a daze for the young singer Konstancja Gładkowska. Chopin sent the score and a note to his friend Tytus Woyciechowski: “It is perhaps my misfortune that I have already found my ideal, whom I have served faithfully for six months, though without saying a word to her about my feelings.”

Waltz No. 5 is a precursor of the ragtime “stride” technique, in which the left hand quickly leaps from the bass to a higher chord. This is the waltz that led Robert Schumann to declare “if it were played for dancers…at least half of the ladies should be young countesses,” pointing to Chopin’s aristocratic sensibilities. Waltz No. 2, the fourth of tonight’s waltzes in A-flat major, was even dedicated to a countess—Josefina von Thun-Hohenstein.

Waltz No. 1 was composed during Chopin’s stay in Vienna. Longer and feistier than many of the other waltzes, the piece, titled “Grande Valse brillante,” underscores the composer’s early style and grace.

—Tess Carges