Chopin Preludes Op. 28, Op. 45

Frédéric Chopin wrote several preludes for solo piano, most famously his Preludes, Opus 28, originally published in 1839. These are a set of twenty-four pieces, one in each of the twenty-four keys.

Although the term "prelude" is generally used to describe an introduction, Chopin's preludes stand as self-contained units, each conveying a specific idea or emotion. Brief and with no apparent formal structure, each of these works is a highly-concentrated poetic masterpiece.

The Prelude in C major, Opus 28, No. 1, (called Reunion) is marked "agitato" and has a triplet-semi-quaver figuration.

One of his most popular pieces, Prelude in E Minor, Opus 28, No. 4, (called Suffocation) is marked "largo" and was played at Chopin's funeral. It has a slow melody in the right hand and repeated block chords in the left hand.

Also played at Chopin's funeral, his Prelude in B Minor, Opus 28, No. 6, (called Tolling Bells) is marked "lento assai" and features a melancholy melody primarily in the left hand.

His Prelude in A Major, Opus 28, No. 7, (called The Polish Dancer) is marked "andantino" and is written in the style of a mazurka, in 3/4 time. It is the basis of Federico Mompou's Variations on a Theme of Chopin.

The Prelude in F-sharp minor, Opus 28, No. 8, (called Desperation) is marked "molto agitato" and is considered one of the most difficult to play.

The Prelude in E major, Opus 28, No. 9, (called Vision) is marked "largo". It is a harmonically dense piece with a low "plodding" bass line, and has just 12 bars.

The Prelude in G-sharp minor, Opus 28, No. 12, (called The Duel) is marked "presto" and presents a technical challenge with its rapid hold-and-release in the right hand.

The Prelude in F sharp major, Opus 28, No. 13, (called Loss) is marked "lento". It has an A–B–A structure with continuous single-note quaver movement in the left hand and chords and a nocturne-like melody in the right.

The Prelude in C-sharp minor, Opus 28, No. 15, (called Raindrop) is marked "molto allegro" and is usually performed in five to seven minutes. It sounds like raindrops to many listeners.

The Prelude in B-flat minor, Opus 28, No. 16, (called Vision) is marked "Presto con fuoco". The pianist Vladimir de Pachmann (1838-1933) said of it, "The sixteenth is my great favorite! It is le plus grand tour de force in Chopin. It is the most difficult of all the preludes technically, possibly excepting the nineteenth.

The Prelude in A-flat major, Opus 28, No. 17, (called Scene on the Place de Notre-Dame de Paris) is marked "Allegretto".

It was the favorite of Clara Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn wrote: "I love it! I cannot tell you how much or why; except perhaps that it is something which I could never at all have written."

The Prelude in C minor, Opus 28, No. 20, (called Funeral march) is marked "largo" and is a famous piece that is sometimes called the Chord.

The Prelude in G minor, Opus 28, No. 22, (called Impatience) is marked "Molto agitato". It is a harmonically dense piece with a low "plodding" bass line, and has just 12 bars. It begins with a characteristic dotted rhythm that Scriabin was later to adopt in his early Chopin-esque preludes.

The Prelude in D minor, Opus 28, No. 24, (called The Storm) is marked "allegro appassionato". The piece is used at the conclusion of a movie about the 1944 Warsaw Uprising at the Warsaw Uprising Museum.

The Prelude in C-sharp minor, Opus 45 (sometimes listed as Prelude Number 25), contains widely extending basses and highly expressive and effective chromatic modulations over a rather uniform thematic basis.

Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849), who wrote mostly for solo piano, is generally considered to be one of the great masters of Romantic music. His work, often sounding like spontaneous improvisation, is characterized by beautiful rhythmic melodies expressive of heart-felt emotion.