| Synopsis: |
The first movement of the B flat minor Sonata is for me something mighty - like a sculpture in rock. It can only be compared perhaps with the first movement of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. This section of Chopin's work is-to my mind - on a par with the loftiest heights reached by such composers as Beethoven. (Lutoslawski) Chopin's sonatas occupy an exceptional place in the history of nineteenth-century music, alongside the most magnificent works of Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt and Brahms. Chopin composed four sonatas, given below in the order they were written: Sonata in C minor, Op. 4 (composed 1827-1828, first published 1851) Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 35 (Funeral March 1837, whole work 1839, published 1840) Sonata in B minor, Op. 58 (1844, published 1845) Sonata in G minor for piano and cello, Op. 65 (1846-1847, published 1847) |