Frédéric Chopin - Mazurkas
19 videos • 113,934 views • by Chopinist Over the years 1825–1849, Frédéric Chopin wrote at least 59 mazurkas for piano, based on the traditional Polish dance: - 58 have been published - 45 during Chopin's lifetime, of which 41 have opus numbers - 13 posthumously, of which 8 have posthumous opus numbers - 11 further mazurkas are known whose manuscripts are either in private hands (2) or untraced (at least 9). The serial numbering of the 58 published mazurkas normally goes only up to 51. The remaining 7 are referred to by their key or catalogue number. Chopin's composition of these mazurkas signaled new ideas of nationalism. Origins Chopin based his mazurkas on the traditional Polish folk dance, also called the mazurka (or "mazur" in Polish). However, while he used the traditional mazurka as his model, he was able to transform his mazurkas into an entirely new genre, one that became known as a "Chopin genre".