Like the scherzo, the trio is also repeated and upon its close leads into a transitory passage, built upon the prior F-sharp minor tune, and soon the return of the Scherzo. The triplet flourishes that underlie this theme eventually lead the music to a beautiful and graceful passage of arpeggios over a descending bass line in E major. A somber tune in F-sharp minor follows the sustained opening and becomes the centerpiece of the trio. In sharp contrast, the trio begins with sostenuto chords with the faint reminiscent sounds of the Scherzo’s melody hidden within. For this reason, it is better to consider D-flat major, instead of B-flat minor, as the key of the Scherzo.
As is typical of Chopin, the introduction and melody are repeated again with variation.įollowing a flourishing close in D-flat major, the trio section shifts to the key of A major. The melody gradually unfolds over a lush harmonic accompaniment in the left hand. Establishing firmly the key of D-flat major as the prevailing tonic, elegant passagework leads to the Scherzo’s beautiful con anima melody. This introductory passage, vacillating between the keys of B-flat minor, D-flat major and F minor, and ending in the latter, breaks off in anticipation of the arrival of the scherzo’s main theme. Colossal fortissimo chords then sound in resounding response.
It begins with a short motif based around the notes of the B-flat minor triad ending questioningly on its fifth. After many years as Director of Publications and Archives for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Orrin Howard continues to contribute to the program book.Chopin composed his second of four scherzos for the piano in 1837. It is no wonder that this is the most popular of the Scherzos. This is brilliant, big-boned Chopin, muscular music handled with structural integrity. The modulations are heady, the filigree and the passage work dazzling, and the intensity gripping, the latter particularly as Chopin sets the final pages ablaze with an unbridled passion that is the antithesis of the pale Chopin whose reputation is for some based on moon-drenched nocturnes and tender waltzes. From this point on the musical incidents accumulate. Then there are some toss-away ascending and descending single notes that prepare for the first lyric idea.īut there is still tension in this lyricism by way of the melody’s impetuosity and the accompaniment’s wonderfully buoyant cushion that provides a kind of breathless momentum. The extended opening section ends with a set of trills that act as a trajectory throwing the right hand up to the top of the keyboard for a swath of descending notes. The opening four notes return (three-longs-and-a-short, a famous enough rhythmic combination by 1837), and they become a kind of key which throughout the piece opens the door to a floodgate of tension and drama, as well as some pulsating Chopin poetics. After a pause, a very loud B-flat is followed by a long-held chord and in turn by four emphatic chords. Following a long-held B-flat, three soft and quick ascending notes lead to a longer note this is immediately repeated. In the present piece, the very opening gesture informs us that a drama is about to unfold. It is big and brawny, filled with magical harmonic coloration and huge pianistic flair it is also a little wordy (redundancy is one of the small flaws of each of the Scherzos), but that is a small price to pay for the boldness of spirit portrayed.
The B-flat-minor Scherzo, the second of that genre’s four, was composed in 1837 and bears the full imprint of the composer’s unique creative qualities. Several of Chopin’s large works came in fours, though not composed consecutively: there are four Impromptus, four Ballades, and the same number of Scherzos.