Chopin's Waltz for piano in E major, B. 44 is one of a handful of waltzes he wrote in the late 1820s and 1830s that were not published until after his death, and then not included in the earliest batches of posthumous publications. Understandably then, it is not among the better-known Chopin waltzes or even among the better-known of those late to be published (Waltz No. 14 in E minor, also without opus number, for instance, is far better known and loved). But the Waltz in E major is a real charmer. It sparkles at least as much as any of the other early waltzes (written in 1829 and 1830, when Chopin was 19 or 20), and the second of its rondo-type digressions (a fleeting thought in A major) is flush with the delicate, bob-and-weave finger finesse that is so characteristic of the more mature Chopin. Although usually listed as Waltz No. 15 in the composer's catalogue, the Waltz in E major, B. 44 was actually just the third or fourth of the surviving waltzes to be composed.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.