Mazurkas, Op. 33 (Chopin)

Mazurkas, Op. 33 are a set of four Mazurkas for piano by Frédéric Chopin, composed and published in 1838.

Chopin, 1835

The autograph manuscript of the mazurkas is preserved in the National Library of Poland.

Analysis

Mazurka in G♯ minor, Op. 33, No. 1

Mazurka in G-sharp minor, Op. 33, No. 1, the opening mazurka of the set, has a marking of Mesto. This mazurka has an emotional melody, accompanied in the left hand with a waltz pattern. This mazurka has a total of 48 bars, the dynamic marking forte only appeared twice. It should be played with a deep and rounded sound, instead of a sharp and loud one. The mood changes many times throughout the piece. This intimate piece is occasionally considered less complicated than many of Chopin's other mazurkas.

Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2

Mazurka in D major, Op. 33, No. 2, the second piece of the collection, is one of the most popular mazurkas. It has a fast tempo and strong irregular accents.

The piece begins with the happy and joyful main theme, decorated with ornaments. After a second theme is introduced, the main theme is repeated for a second time. The mazurka concludes with a separate coda section that introduces a new theme, this concludes with a melody ascending high into the upper register.

An average performance of this mazurka lasts around 3 minutes.

Mazurka in C major, Op. 33, No. 3

Mazurka in C major, Op. 33, No. 3, the third of the set, has an expression marking of semplice (see:Tempo#Italian tempo markings). This miniature is simple and warm, showing a different approach to the mazurka genre. Slightly accented second beats are used to keep the mazurka characteristics.

Mazurka in B minor, Op. 33, No. 4

Mazurka in B minor, Op. 33, No. 4, the final mazurka of the set, is one of the longest mazurkas at nearly 5 minutes in length. The piece is written in an ABABCA structure, similar to a rondo form.

The piece begins with a captivating main melody, decorated with grace notes and trills. This melody is repeated a total of eight times throughout the piece; between it, different melodies appear, but the main melody always returns. A B♭ major section follows the theme, which is the B section. The C section is in B major, which is the parallel key to B minor.

External links

• Autograph manuscript of the work|https://polona.pl/item-view/3005beda-1e03-4456-a14b-620d45c9584d?page=2
• Mazurkas Op. 33 at Allmusic
• Mazurkas, Op.33: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project