Description
Written in 1826 when Chopin was sixteen, this variation set takes a German folk melody as its theme. Though it lacks an opus number and has the character of a student exercise, it already shows ornamental variation technique and a young composer's technical ambition. It offers an interesting glimpse of the style that would later mature into his celebrated voice, and runs close to eight minutes as its simple folk theme takes on increasingly varied guises.
Works written in theme-and-variations form, where a single melody is transformed in many different ways.
About the Composer
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Frederic Chopin was born in Poland and made his career in Paris, remaining unusual among great composers for writing almost exclusively for piano. He poured his longing for his homeland into mazurkas and polonaises, while his ballades and etudes combine poetic melody with harmonic innovation. This site includes 131 of his works, including the "Revolutionary" Etude, Op. 10, No. 12, and Ballades No. 1 and No. 4.
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