The Scherzo No. 3, Op. 39, in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

. He began composing it 1838 in the abandoned monastery of

Valldemossa Valldemossa is a village and municipality on the island of Majorca, part of the Spanish autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. It is famous for one landmark: the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th cent ...

on the Balearic island of

Majorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest island in the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain and located in the Mediterranean. The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Bal ...

, Spain, and completed it back in France by the end of 1839. This is the most terse, ironic, and tightly constructed of the four scherzi, with an almost

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

ian grandeur. Frédéric Chopin dedicated this composition to one of his closest pupils,

Adolphe Gutmann Adolphe Gutmann (originally Wilhelm Adolf Gutmann) (12 January 1819 – 27 October 1882) was a German people, German pianist and composer who was a pupil and friend of Frédéric Chopin and Franz Liszt. Life Gutmann was born in Heidelberg. He cam ...

Structure

The piece begins in the key of C minor, then moves to

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, and returns to C minor, concluding with a

Picardy third A Picardy third, (; french: tierce picarde) also known as a Picardy cadence or Tierce de Picardie, is a major chord of the tonic at the end of a musical section that is either modal or in a minor key. This is achieved by raising the third of the ...

. The composition opens with an almost Lisztian introduction, leading to a subject in octaves of pent-up energy. The key changes to D major, with a chorale-like subject, interspersed with delicate falling arpeggios.

Louis Kentner Louis Philip Kentner (19 July 190523 September 1987) was a Hungarian, later British, pianist who excelled in the works of Chopin and Liszt, as well as the Hungarian repertoire. Life and career He was born Lajos Kentner in Karwin in Austrian S ...

thinks of it as "a Wagnerian melody of astonishing beauty, recalling the sound of tubas, harps and all the apocalyptic orchestra of Valhalla." It begins with an introduction progressing into the fierce main theme. This is particularly difficult to perform, due to the technique needed to accurately and quickly execute the running octave patterns. The scherzo then moves into a transition section that leads back to the main theme. The following, singing style (cantabile) section is in D major. The main theme and its sequences begin with strong chords that hold the melody followed by a downward flutter of notes. There follows a brief section consisting of a series of arpeggi. The elements of this lyrical section repeat themselves a few times and the piece then moves back into the main theme.

References

External links

* Compositions by Frédéric Chopin Compositions for solo piano 1839 compositions Compositions in C-sharp minor {{classical-composition-stub