Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,was a Polish composer and
virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era, who wrote
primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has
maintained renown worldwide as one of the leading
musicians of his era, whose "poetic genius was based on
a professional technique that was without equal in his
generation." Chopin was born in what was then the Duchy
of Warsaw, and grew up in Warsaw, which after 1815
became part of Congress Poland. A child prodigy, he
completed his musical education...(+)
Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin,was a Polish composer and
virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era, who wrote
primarily for the solo piano. He gained and has
maintained renown worldwide as one of the leading
musicians of his era, whose "poetic genius was based on
a professional technique that was without equal in his
generation." Chopin was born in what was then the Duchy
of Warsaw, and grew up in Warsaw, which after 1815
became part of Congress Poland. A child prodigy, he
completed his musical education and composed many of
his works in Warsaw before leaving Poland at the age of
20, less than a month before the outbreak of the
November 1830 Uprising.
The Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1, is a waltz
composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1835. It was
posthumously published by his friend Julian Fontana in
1855, six years after the composer’s death, together
with the earlier composed Waltz Op. 69, No. 2. It is
also called "The Farewell Waltz" or "Valse de l'adieu".
The waltz was originally written as a farewell piece to
Maria Wodzi?ska, to whom Chopin is said to have been
engaged. This autographed copy Pour Mlle Marie, given
to her in Dresden, Germany, in September 1835 is now
lost. Another autographed version of the piece he
dedicated in 1837 to Eliza Peruzzi. A third autograph,
held by the Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Chopin
dedicated 1842 to Mademoiselle Charlotte de Rothschild.
Various copies of this waltz exist, among them one
presented as the posthumous edition of Julian Fontana,
but it has not been substantiated by any known
autograph.
The waltz is in A-flat major, with a time signature of
3/4. The tempo is marked at tempo di valse, or a waltz
tempo. The beginning theme, marked con espressione, is
melancholic and nostalgic, and reaches a small high
point with a fast flourish. The second part is marked
sempre delicatissimo, or con anima in other versions.
It is somewhat more cheerful than the previous theme,
but soon gives way to the same first theme. After a
second rendition of the first theme is a third theme,
marked as dolce, the most playful theme. It leads to
another theme with a series of ascending double-stops.
This fourth theme is marked poco a poco crescendo, with
other editions adding ed appassionato. This leads back
to the third, playful theme, and returns to the
beginning with a da capo al fin.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltz_in_A-flat_major,_O
p._69,_No._1_(Chopin)).
Although composed for solo piano, I created this
Interpretation of the Waltz in Ab Major (Op. 69 No. 1)
for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
SHEET MUSIC