Week 1 Goal “Pick Your Piece!”
🎹 Week 1: Pick Your Piece!
(Starting September 15th!)
This week is all about choosing your Chopin repertoire. Whether you’re stepping into Chopin’s world for the very first time or you’ve played his music before, the goal is to select a piece that inspires you—and challenges you just enough.
We’ve curated a list to help guide your choice:
🎹 Beginner-Friendly Selections (Level 1–3)
Perfect for players new to Chopin. These works focus on melody, expression, and clarity of touch.
Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4
Waltz in A minor, B. 150 (Posthumous)
Prelude in B minor, Op. 28 No. 6
🎼 Intermediate Selections (Level 4–6)
For players ready to explore deeper expression, voicing, and rubato.
Nocturne in C♯ minor, Op. Posth.
Mazurka in A minor, Op. 67 No. 4
Waltz in C♯ minor, Op. 64 No. 2
Prelude in D-flat major, Op. 28 No. 15 “Raindrop”
🎶 Advanced Selections (Level 7–8+)
For seasoned players seeking to embrace Chopin’s full virtuosity and emotional range.
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
Scherzo No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 31
Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53 “Heroic”
Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
✅ Your Week 1 Task:
Pick your piece
Comment below with what you’ve chosen (and why, if you’d like!)
If you’re unsure, ask for recommendations—we’re here to help!
This week is all about inspiration and intention—no pressure to start practicing yet. Next week, we’ll dive into analysis and interpretation with Eloise Kim.
Let the journey into Chopin’s world begin!
12 replies
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Hi everyone. Signing up. Have chosen a Chopin mazurka: Op 67, no. 2. Was watching a YouTube video about the final days of Chopin’s life and this was mentioned as having been one of the last pieces he wrote, and an excerpt was played in the background. Had never heard it before but thought it was beautiful, so it’s good now to have the push to learn it!
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I’m going with the B major Nocturne Op 62 no 1. I worked on it probably 10 years ago but want to ‘bring it back’.
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I will choose Mazurka op17 no4. I haven’t played this for about a year so it will be good to bring it back with some practice.
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I'd like to sign up too, and might solicit some advice on which piece to choose...
I'm leaning toward the Heroic Polonaise, which I somewhat randomly started working on in mid-July. I've always loved it and never thought I'd be able to play it (well). It's going better than expected (memorized and stable under tempo), but I could definitely use at least another month on it to see how far I can take it with my current abilities.
The other option would be Scherzo 2, which I learned/performed - but never really mastered - decades ago in high school. It's longer (though repetitive) and super rusty at this point, no longer memorized at all. It is a piece that has been on the backburner to revisit.
For the intent/spirit of this challenge, would one be a better fit? Any thoughts would be welcome and appreciated!
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I'll learn (or start to learn) the Étude Op. 25 No. 12 in C minor. Why?
Shortly after I had started studying with my first professional piano teacher, I heard one of her students play it in the first student recital I ever attended. I was 15 and thought I had never heard anything so amazing in my life. I knew the piece, of course, from my parents' LP with the complete Chopin Études, performed by Adam Harasiewicz, but to hear and see a regular person, just a year or two older than me, play it live a few feet away was an unbelievable experience.Also: Sokolov
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Hello! I choose Waltz op.64 no 2. I have always loved the ritornello of the piece. I would love to master this piece!
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Hello! I’d like to sign up as well.
I’m thinking of exploring some pieces—maybe one of Mazurkas.
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Hi All! I'd like to join and play Prelude in E minor, Op. 28 No. 4, since we're doing that in the study group. 2 birds, one stone, as they say. 😄
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I'll play and try to make a decent video of the Étude Op. 10 Nº 5, "Black Keys". I've always found the phrase attributed to Arthur Rubinstein to be perfect: This étude sparkles like champagne. It's full of joy, elegance and finesse.
It also seems that Rubinstein gave important advice on how to approach it, a very demanding task to achieve: It must never sound like an exercise.
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In the spirit of participation, I would like to get Etude op 10 no 4 to a somewhat consistent delivery state at a decent tempo (i.e. going through the piece without stopping, though nowhere near the 20s per page!).
I have been working on it for 4 months now, slowly slowly cranking up the tempo. Though I would admit the effort put on it has not been consistent, so I would like to use the opportunity to motivate me to sort out my practise routine and at least able to record the piece without major hiccups.