Frédéric Chopin: Mazurka Op.17, No. 4 in A Minor

I was happy to be reacquainted with this piece while searching for examples to show my students! I'll explain below.

Chopin (1810-1849) was a Polish pianist and composer. His music represents the embodiment of the Romantic piano tradition and illustrates the expressive and technical capabilities of the instrument. Mazurka Op. 17, No. 4 was composed during his early years in Paris and demonstrates some prominent aspects of his musical style. For one, that melody. So improvisatory, so embellished, so French. Harmonically, the piece begins with an off-tonic introduction. The dominant is delayed until the end of the antecedent phrase (measure 12) and a strong tonic does not appear until the end of the consequent phrase in measure 20. Formally, Chopin had a tendency towards ternary designs, which is what brought me to the piece for use in my classroom.

Music professors, if you're looking for a super clear example of Composite Ternary form to show your students, this piece is for you! The overall form is, of course, ABA', and the first A section features a nicely embedded rounded binary (with periodic structures to talk about as well!). The change of key/mode to A major also makes for an indisputable, harmonically independent B section :)

Enjoy!

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