Vignettes

by Steven Lagerberg

CHOPIN'S MAZURKAS

Frédéric Chopin enjoyed composing mazurkas throughout his life, writing his first at the age of fifteen and completing his last only days before his death in 1849. Dance miniatures, they comprise the largest collection of all of Chopin’s varied works, totaling at least fifty-nine, forty-one of them published during his lifetime. With them, Chopin created the most unequalled repertoire of a country’s authentic folk music ever attempted, an unforgettable set of small-scale pianistic masterpieces. An expatriate for half of his life, he kept the flame of Poland alive in himself by writing music that echoed his country’s nationalistic soul. Reflecting his own mixed feelings after leaving Poland for Paris, these mazurkas, from joyful to melancholic, exhibit a strikingly wide emotional spectrum.

Chopin’s mazurkas were his most privately cherished pieces, very personal and innovative musical utterances, essentially displaying a lyrical memoire of his life. A reserved man, he rarely performed them in public, preferring to play them only at private Parisian soirees for intimate gatherings surrounded by his adoring friends. His mazurkas are expressive jewels of inexhaustible melodic invention. Their varied harmonies, filled with flowing melodies and unusual tonalities, must have evoked in him tender memories of his Polish childhood. Nowadays, the mazurkas are among Chopin’s most beloved and frequently performed piano compositions.

Although it is possible to find similarities between his mazurkas and authentic Polish folk tunes, Chopin never explicitly quoted from any of them. Instead, he created a kaleidoscopic synthesis of the many elements of their unusual harmonic, rhythmic and expressive nuances. The composer drew his inspiration for his mazurkas from three Polish folk dances, the mazur, the kujawiak and the oberek, stylistic forms he knew well from his many childhood travels to the Polish countryside. All three of these forms are written in triple time and have a characteristic rhythm and temperament. Although Chopin’s mazurkas are written in a dance form, they are undanceable, being works to be appreciated esthetically for their unique style and individuality.

Non-Polish pianists have often avoided playing these mazurkas, their tricky rhythms, stretched chromaticism and irregular accents being difficult to grasp for those unfamiliar with Polish folk music. Similarly, they have rarely been performed at the annual Chopin Northwest Festivals. Now, in order to draw more attention to these unusual pieces, the 2026 Chopin Festival has established a separate prizewinning Mazurka Division. It is hoped that a growing familiarity with these diminutive compositions will encourage a better understanding of this singular musical genre and with it a greater admiration for Chopin’s extraordinary musical genius.

ARCHIVES:
NEW!!! Chopin’s Castoff Compositions
The Origins of Chopin’s Melancholy
Sophisticated Restraint
The Scent of the Lily
The Piano Capitol of the World
Chopin in the Time of Cholera and COVID
Recognition
What Motivated Chopin
An Educated Guess
A Personal Challenge
Emotional Music
The Long Suffering
Of Hands and Heart
Why Do We Have a Chopin Festival
A Fateful Journey
Chopin's Pianos
What's Not to Like About Chopin's Music
To Compete or Not Compete

Dr. Steven Lagerberg is retired as a practicing physician from Kaiser Permanente and is the founder of the NW Council of the Chopin Foundation. Steven is the author of: Chopin's Heart: The Quest to Identify the Mysterious Illness of the World's Most Beloved Composer and Essays on Chopin.

Copyright 2020-21. Steven Lagerberg. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher.