Mazurka

Frédéric Chopin wrote music almost exclusively for ‘his own’ instrument, the piano. This Polish composer, who later took on French nationality, devoted particular attention to smaller forms such as the Ballade, Waltz, Impromptu, Berceuse and created an enduring musical tribute to the dances of his native Poland, including the Polonaise, Mazurka and Krakowiak. With few chamber works by Chopin written for string instruments, it is hardly surprising that arrangers such as Friedrich Hermann chose to make his music available for violin with piano accompaniment such as this setting of the Mazurka in Bb major, a stately dance with resolute opening and characteristic dotted notes on the first beat of the 3/4 bar. Plate no. 02427, published in about 1913.