Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2
Feb 28th, 2008 by bkr
Chopin’s third waltz has been called a “piece full of melancholy, gloom and grief, expressed in mournful simplicity.”
Though, according to the Vancouver Chopin Society,
The composer Stephen Heller related that Chopin called this slow (Lento) waltz his favorite. When Heller told the Pole that he, too, loved it best, Chopin immediately invited him for lunch at a fashionable cafe. Frederick Niecks wrote of this piece, “The composer evidently found pleasure in giving way to this delicious languor, in indulging in these melancholy thoughts full of sweetest, tenderest loving and longing.”
Hear pianist Polina Khatsko play this poignant Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 in a Chopin Project live performance at the University of Michigan’s Britton Recital Hall.
- Listen toWaltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin
- Download sheetmusic for Waltz in A minor, Op. 34, No. 2 by Fryderyk Chopin
Well, this is my favourite of the Chopin Waltzes, but no one plays it the way I hear it. I’m not a musician, I should say, but in my head I hear this played more slowly – Polina Khasko’s playing is very nice, and is getting on towards what I hear. But I want it to be played even more slowly, indeed very slowly, for all its melancholy to be delivered, for the trills of the opening melody to be indulged, hung onto, to bring out the meaning I feel. Even so, it always works, when played by a fine pianist, as here and elsewhere, and I never leave the music disappointed; but I know I could be mor pleased than I ever have been by, what is for me, the right performance.
Best
Patrick Noakes