This is Chopin's first surviving Mazurka, heading the vast group of more than sixty. His lifelong devotion to this Polish dance form suggests not necessarily an overwhelming attraction to its style but certainly a clinging to his Polish roots, especially in his years of exile in France. Still, he was fond of this triple-meter form and, as this example confirms, fully grasped its musical elements when still only a child.

That said, this is not exactly a masterpiece. Moreover, one cannot hear much of the mature Chopin's style in this piece of attractive juvenilia. Yet, there are more than a few traces of it: that Chopinesque elegance may seem to stumble in its rhythmic aspects at the outset, but its chords often have the ring of Chopin and the subdued middle section displays considerable subtlety in its deft nonchalance. The piece ends abruptly, and if some listeners are left with a sense the composer ran out of musical ideas and simply stopped writing notes, they will at least find the reprise more appealing than the expository section for its lighter, sweeter manner. In sum, this is an attractive piece that is a remarkable accomplishment for such a young composer—Chopin was likely around ten when he wrote this minute-and-a-half piece.

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