Chopin's Sonata No.2 in B flat minor, Op. 35

Frederic Chopin, 1810 to 1849, was a Polish composer and pianist during the Romantic era.  Many sources noted Chopin as Poland’s greatest composer.  Chopin’s father was employed as a tutor for aristocratic families in Warsaw.  His mother introduced him to music at an early age and by six years old he was playing and composing.  Chopin’s family recognized his skill and hired Wojciech Zywny for lessons. By 1818, Chopin was performing in salons and writing his own compositions. 1826 found him with several compositions for the piano and his parents enrolled him in Warsaw Conservatory of Music.  Chopin studied here for three years until his parents recognized the need for a broader musical experience.  He was sent to Vienna and had his performance debut in 1829.  During the next eighteen years he only gave around thirty performances and preferred to play in a quieter atmosphere of a salon.  He made a living by selling his compositions and teaching piano.  His style was technically demanding and quite successful. He befriended Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, and Vincenzo Bellini. Chopin engaged in a turbulent relationship with a woman that went by the name George Sand.  Some of his greatest compositions were produced during this period.  He died of tuberculosis at thirty-nine years old.  He requested that Mozart’s Requiem be played at his funeral and his funeral was delayed for two weeks as the church was still resisting female singers in the church.  The church eventually relented and Chopin was granted his request.  His body is buried in a cemetery in Paris but his heart is entombed in a pillar at a church in Warsaw.

Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor one of Chopin’s two successful sonatas.  With four movements, we see Chopin link them together as an organic whole.  The first movement is titled Grave – Doppio movimento. This movement is in B flat minor in modified sonata form.  The primary theme is absent in the recapitulation and the movement ends in B flat major. Movement two is titled Scherzo in E flat minor and in ternary form. This movement ends in G flat major.  The first and second movements are similar in their chromatic harmony and octaves.  Both movements have a similar mood of anguish and struggle.  Movement three is labeled Marche funebre: Lento.  Also in B flat minor, it ends surprisingly warmly in G flat major. Movement four, Presto, is quite strange as it is short, has no identifiable parts, and abrupt in its ending.  The third and fourth movements have a similar ternary movement with a lyrical melody surrounded by chordal sections.  The fourth movement is somewhat an extension of the third movement, known as the “Funeral March”.  The fourth movement is meant to portray the atmosphere of a deserted graveyard after the Funeral March.  Chopin paints a dark tale beginning with the struggle of life’s journey that ultimately ends in death. 

Sources: 

http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/music/sonata-no-2-b-flat-minor-op-35-funeral-march-frederic-chopin

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124039949

http://culture.pl/en/article/breaking-it-down-chopins-sonata-no-2

http://www.allmusic.com/composition/piano-sonata-no-2-in-b-flat-minor-op-35-ct-202-mc0002390967

http://www.biography.com/people/frederic-chopin-9247162