They invite a guest artist to a patron's home, and do a small recital.
Today's guest, Benjamin Pasternack, played the piano in an all Chopin concert.
He said it was hard to pick which pieces to put on the program.
(He could play Chopin for hours.)
So like a course meal, he picked a piece from each section of the menu. :)
Ballade in G Minor, Op. 23
Chopin started the ballade for piano music.
It is basically a piece with a story, like program music and tone poems.
This piece has a tragic ending.
Waltz in C-sharp Minor, Op. 64 no. 2
Chopin did not invent the waltz, but he changed it in his own way.
It was never meant to be danced to, but he kept the dancing spirit from French, German, and Polish origins.
Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62 no. 2
Chopin did not invent the nocturne, either, but he added the "mystery" element, which later composers pick up.
Scherzo in B-flat Minor, Op. 31
Scherzo means "joke", Haydn and Beethoven used it to relax the seriousness of classical music.
Chopin kept the contrast in the format, and added virtuosic piano work.
This piece starts in a minor key, and ends in a major key.
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