Over the years 1824–1849, Frédéric Chopin wrote at least 58 compositions for piano called Mazurkas, making it the most extensive of his genres. Of the 58 that have been published: 45 were during Chopin's lifetime, of which 41 have opus numbers (with the remaining four works being two early mazurkas from 1826 and the "Notre Temps" and "Émile Gaillard" mazurkas that were published individually in 1841)

13 are posthumous, of which 8 have posthumous opus numbers (specifically, Opp. 67 & 68)

Besides these (and some miscellaneous compositions containing elements of a mazurka), 11 further mazurkas are known whose manuscripts are either doubtful (2, one of which is in private hands) or untraced (at least 9).

The serial numbering of the 58 published mazurkas normally goes up to only 51. The remaining 7 are referred to by their key or catalogue number.

Chopin's composition of these mazurkas signaled new ideas of nationalism.

Origin and Musical style Chopin derived the mazurka form from one of the traditional Polish dances while transforming them into an entirely new genre, one that became known as a "Chopin genre".Michałowski, Kornel and Jim Samson. "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek". Grove Music Online, edited by L. Macy (accessed October 31, 2006) (subscription access) Some characteristics of the genre remain the same in his interpretation. For example, both the traditional mazurka and Chopin's version contain a great deal of repetition. This can mean repetition of a single measure or small group of measures, a theme, or even an entire section, most common in traditional mazurka dancing.Kallberg, Jeffrey. "The Problem of Repeat and Repetition in Chopin's Mazurkas (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1988). Even though Chopin did not compose his mazurkas so they could be danced to,Samson, Jim, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Chopin (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1992.) it is clear Chopin kept the original form in mind. Furthermore, many of the rhythmic patterns of the traditional mazurka also appear in Chopin's, conveying the idea of a dance, yet as a more "self-contained, stylized dance piece."Samson, Jim. The Music of Chopin (Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985). In keeping with this idea, Chopin did try to make his mazurkas more technically interesting by furthering their chromaticism and harmony, along with using classical techniques, most notably chorales and elements of counterpoint including fugues and canons.Rosen, Charles. The Romantic Generation (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press, 1988). In fact, Chopin used more classical techniques in his mazurkas than in any of his other genres.

Influences While it is known that Chopin's mazurkas are connected to the traditional dance, throughout the years there has been much scholarly debate as to how exactly they are connected. The main subject of this debate is whether Chopin had an actual direct connection to Polish folk music, or whether he heard Polish national music in urban areas that inspired him to compose his mazurkas.

In 1852, three years after Chopin's death, Franz Liszt published a piece about Chopin's mazurkas, saying that Chopin had been directly influenced by Polish national music to compose them. Liszt also provided descriptions of specific dance scenes, which were not completely accurate, but were "a way to raise the status of these [mazurkas]."Barbara Milewski, "Chopin's Mazurkas and the Myth of Folk," 19th Century Music 23.2 (1999): 114. While Liszt's claim was inaccurate, the actions of scholars who read his writing proved to be more disastrous. When reading Liszt's work, scholars interpreted the word "national" as "folk," creating the "longest standing myth in Chopin criticism—the myth that Chopin's mazurkas are national works rooted in an authentic Polish-folk music tradition." In fact, the most likely explanation for Chopin's influence is the national music he was hearing as a young man in urban areas of Poland, such as Warsaw.Milewski 1999

Arrangements

The soprano and composer Pauline Viardot was a close friend of Chopin and his lover George Sand. She made a number of arrangements of his mazurkas as songs, with his full agreement. He gave Viardot expert advice on these arrangements, as well as on her piano playing and her other vocal compositions. Chopin in turn derived from her some firsthand knowledge about Spanish music.Rachel Harris, The Music Salon of Pauline Viardot

Several arrangements were made for piano and cello by Auguste Franchomme, a friend of Chopin who collaborated with him to compose the Grand Duo concertant, and was also the dedicatee of his Cello Sonata.

The violinist Fritz Kreisler arranged the Mazurka No. 45 in A minor, Op. 67 No. 4, for violin and piano.

List of mazurkas Series numberKeyComposedPublishedOpus No.BrownKobylańskaChominskiDedicationNotes – G, B♭ 1826 1826 – B. 16 KK IIa/2-3 S. 1/2 Revised versions (original versions were published in 1875)1–4 f♯, c♯, E, e♭ 1830 1832 Op. 6 B. 60 C. 51–54 Countess Pauline Plater Jan Ekier's urtext edition places Op. 7 No. 5 as Op. 6 No. 55–9 B♭, a, f, A♭, C 1830–31 1832 Op. 7 B. 61 C. 55–59 M. Johns de la Nouvelle-Orléans Nos. 2 and 4 are revised versions (original versions are B. 45 and 7, respectively); the original version of No. 4 was published in 1902. No. 5, the only piece explicitly marked "senza fine" (without end) by Chopin, is listed as Op. 6 No. 5 in Jan Ekier's urtext edition along with performance notes for the finale10–13 B♭, e, A♭, a 1832–33 1834 Op. 17 B. 77 C. 60–63 Mlle. Lina Freppa No. 4 may exist in an earlier version from 1824 (B. 8)14–17 g, C, A♭, b♭ 1834–35 1836 Op. 24 B. 89 C. 64–67 Comte de Perthuis18–21 c, b, D♭, c♯ 1836–37 1837 Op. 30 B. 105 C. 65–71 Princess Maria Czartoryska de Württemberg22–25 g♯, D, C, b 1837–38 1838 Op. 33 B. 115 C. 72–75 Countess Roza Mostowska The mazurkas in C and D were listed as Nos. 2/3 in the first edition of the Mazurkas published by Maurice Schlesinger27 e 1838 (28 November) 1840 Op. 41/2 B. 122 C. 77 Étienne Witwicki26, 28, 29 c♯, B, A♭ 1839 (July) 1840 Op. 41/1, 3, 4 B. 126 C. 76, 78, 79 Some editions place no. 1 as no. 450 a 1840 (summer) 1841 – B. 134 KK IIb/4 S. 2/4 Notre temps; in "Six Morceaux de salon"51 a 1840 1841 – B. 140 KK IIb/5 S. 2/5 Émile Gaillard In "Album de pianistes polonais"30–32 G, A♭, c♯ 1841–42 1842 Op. 50 B. 145 C. 80–82 Leon Szmitkowski33–35 B, C, c 1843 1844 Op. 56 B. 153 C. 83–85 Catherine Maberly36–38 a, A♭, f♯ 1845 (June–July) 1846 Op. 59 B. 157 C. 86–8839–41 B, f, c♯ 1846 (early autumn) 1847 Op. 63 B. 162 C. 89–91 Countess Laura Czosnowska42, 44 G, C 1835 1855 Op. posth. 67/1, 3 B. 93 C. 92, 94 Anna Mlokosiewicz45 a 1846 1855 Op. posth. 67/4 B. 163 C. 9543 g 1849 (summer) 1855 Op. posth. 67/2 B. 167 C. 9347 a 1827 1855 B. 18 C. 9746 C 1829 1855 Op. posth. 68/1 B. 38 C. 9648 F 1829 1855 Op. posth. 68/3 B. 34 C. 98 Quotes the folk tune "Oj, Magdalino"49 f 1849 (summer) 1855; 1965 Op. posth. 68/4 B. 168 C. 99 "Chopin's last composition"; first published in an incomplete form 1855. Full version with rediscovered third section published 1965 – G 1829 (22 August) 1856, Warsaw – B. 39 KK IVa/9 P. 1/9 Song: "Which flowers" (Jakież kwiaty, jakie wianki). Setting of a poem by Ignac Maciejowski. While marked Mazur, usually catalogued as a song (voice part only) – C 1833 1870 – B. 82 KK IVb/3 P. 2/3 – D 1829 1875 – B. 31 KK IVa/7 P. 1/7 Heavily revised 1832 (see B. 71, KK IVb/2) – D 1832 1880 – B. 71 KK IVb/2 P. 2/2 A heavily revised version of B. 31, KK IVa/7 – B♭ 1832 (24 June) 1909 – B. 73 KK IVb/1 P. 2/1 Alexandrine Wołowska – D 1820 (?) 1910 (20 February) – B. 4 KK Anh. Ia/1 A. 1/1 "Mazurek"; doubtful. Available – A♭ 1834 (July) 1930 – B. 85 KK IVb/4 P. 2/4Found in the album of Maria Szymanowska – ? "early" – – – KK Vf "Several mazurkas"; lost – D 1826 (?) – – – KK Ve/5 Mentioned in literature; MS unknown – ? 1832 – – – KK Vc/2 Mentioned in a letter from Chopin dated 10 September 1832 – ? 1832 (14 September) – – – KK Ve/7 Listed in an auction party, Paris, 1906 – B♭ 1835 (2 September) – – – KK Ve/4 MS sold in Paris, 20 June 1977 (initially catalogued as lost, but has since surfaced). Based on Poland's (now) national anthem "Mazurek Dąbrowskiego" ("Poland Is Not Yet Lost"). Original autograph by Chopin contains only the refrain. Reconstruction of anthem's verse done by Mariusz Dubajhttps://polmic.pl/pl/encyklopedia/osobowe/d/dubaj-mariusz – ? 1846 (by December) – – – KK Vc/4 Mentioned in a letter from Chopin – A, d ? – – – KK VIIb/7-8 Allegretto and Mazurka (based on folk tunes); MS sold Paris 21 November 1974. Available – b♭ ? – – – KK Anh. Ib/1 (Anh. Ia/8 in earlier sources) Doubtful. Found in an album by Walerian Stopnicki held in Jan Tomasz Stopnicki's private collection in Warsaw, according to Krystyna Kobylańska's catalogue. Only an incipit seven measures long has been publishedFrédéric Chopin: Thematisch-Bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis; Henle, 1979 – ? ? – – – KK Ve/8 Mentioned in 1878 correspondence between Breitkopf & Härtel and Izabela Barciǹska – ? ? – – – KK Ve/6 Mme. Nicolai Mentioned in a note from Augener to C.A. Spina 21 May 1884

Notes

Sources

Downes, Stephen (2009). "Mazurka." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 17 November 2009. Michałowski, Kornel and Samson, Jim (2009). "Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 17 November 2009 (esp. section 6, “Formative Influences”) . Kallberg, Jeffrey (1988). “The problem of repetition and return in Chopin's mazurkas.” Chopin Styles, ed. Jim Samson. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press Kallberg, Jeffrey (1985). "Chopin's Last Style." Journal of the American Musicological Society 38.2: 264–315. Milewski, Barbara (1999). "Chopin's Mazurkas and the Myth of the Folk." 19th-Century Music 23.2: 113–35. Rosen, Charles (1995). The Romantic Generation. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press Winoker, Roselyn M. (1974) “Chopin and the Mazurka.” Diss. Sarah Lawrence College