Waltzes, Op. 70 (Chopin)

The three Waltzes, Op. 70, were composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1829 and 1842 and were posthumously published by Julian Fontana in 1855, six years after the composer's death. Waltz No. 1 is in G-flat major, No. 2 in F minor and No. 3 in D-flat major.[1][2] Each of the three waltzes lasts less than three minutes to perform in typical performances.[3]

Watercolour of Chopin by Maria Wodzińska, 1835

No. 1

The Waltz Op. 70, No. 1, in G-flat major was composed in 1832.[4] It is written in the "brilliant style". According to Jeffrey Kallberg, "the unpublished waltzes also capture the joyfulness and glitter of the dance hall and salon, as we can hear in the waltzes in E major, A-flat major [KK IVa/13] (Chopin's only waltz notated in three-eighth metre), and, especially, in G-flat major, Op. 70, No 1."[1][4]

No. 2

Anna Caroline Oury, the dedicatee of La Valse mélancolique, Op. 70, No. 2

The waltz Op. 70, No. 2, in F minor was composed in 1842.[4] In December 1842 in Paris, Chopin wrote to Anna Caroline Oury about Op. 70, No. 2: "As for the little waltz which I have had the pleasure of writing you, I beg you, keep it for yourself: I should not like it to live in public."[1] Chopin, however, dedicated manuscript copies of some of his waltzes to different women dedicatees: in the case of this F minor waltz, there are five different autograph manuscripts.[5][4]

The Chopin commentator Wilhelm von Lenz wrote: "Although he never had the waltzes [of Op. 70] published, Chopin valued them highly, at least the one in F minor. I often heard him play it, and how incomparably! This nostalgic piece could be entitled Melanconia."[1]

No. 3

Chopin composed the Waltz Op. 70, No. 3 in D-flat major in 1829[4] and sent it together with a accompanying letter of 3 October 1829 to his intimate friend Tytus Woyciechowski.[6][7] Jeffrey Kallberg writes: "Two of the waltzes offer unusual, personal testimony of Chopin's amorous sentiments toward women."[4] He continues, "The Waltz in D-flat major, Op. 70, No. 3, dates from Chopin's Warsaw period, and it indexes his nascent romantic life. In a letter to a friend, Chopin confided that the low melody that begins its trio was inspired by his (alas unrequited) crush on the young singer, Konstancja Gładkowska." (The second waltz mentioned by Kallberg was the initial version of the Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 69, No. 1, intended by Chopin as a present for Maria Wodzińska.)[4] Jean-Jacques Eigeldinger gives another account of the same letter, in which Chopin wrote to Woyciechowski: "In the trio, the bass melody must dominate until the violin's E-flat in the fifth bar,

but I don't need to tell you, because you'll feel it anyway."[1][7]

References
  1. Eigeldinger, Jean-Jacques (1988). Chopin: Pianist and Teacher: As Seen by his Pupils. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-521-36709-7.
  2. Chopin, Frédéric (1978). Zimmermann, Ewald (ed.). Waltzer. Fingering by Hans-Martin Theopold. Henle. ISMN 979-0-2018-0131-5.
  3. Cummings, Robert. Waltzes (3) for piano, Op. 70, CT. 217–219 at AllMusic. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  4. Kallberg, Jeffrey, ed. (2011). Frédéric Chopin: The Complete Waltzes (liner notes). Stephen Hough. Hyperion. Retrieved 23 January 2021. Booklet
  5. Grabowski, Christophe (2015). The Complete Chopin - Waltzes. London: Edition Peters. pp. 137–138.
  6. "Letter by Chopin to Tytus Woyciechowski, 3.10.1829". chopin.nifc.pl (Narodowy Instytut Fryderyka Chopina). Retrieved 2021-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Part III. 3 October 1829 – 12 October 1830". Chopin's Polish Letters. Translated by David Frick. The Fryderyk Chopin Institute. 2021. pp. 138–140, 155–158.
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