![]() ![]() Some Chopin scholars have heard a certain measure of restlessness or discontent in this piece, focusing on the mixture of church modes and other tonalities in the work, and consequently interpreting them to reflect indecision and uncertainty. The main theme is sprightly and full of life, with the middle section of the same character but divulging a more muscular sound. Marked Allegro non troppo, it achieves an effective contrast with the preceding item and evokes the mazurka's folk-dance ancestry in its rhythmic vitality and playfulness. The second mazurka, in C major, is bright and joyous. The main theme returns to reinforce the reflective mood from the opening. ![]() The middle section is brighter and more colorful, but does not quite dispel the overall dark feelings. That first mazurka, marked Lento, begins with a wistful theme, a typical Chopin creation in its elegance and overtones of sadness and longing. A performance of the group lasts perhaps 12 or 13 minutes. The four cover a wide range of moods and keyboard colors, their variety supposedly prompting the composer to play them differently every time he performed them. These four mazurkas are among his better efforts from that period, and at least the first of them, in G minor, is one of his more popular, not least because of its relative ease of execution and melodic appeal. By the mid-1830s, Chopin was enjoying success with the publication of his music and had also been widely praised as a performer. ![]()
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