Fantaisie-Impromptu

Fantaisie-Impromptu in C# minor, Op. 66

Composer: Frédéric Chopin

Date of Publication: 1855

Although Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu for the piano was completed in 1834, long before Chopin’s death in 1849, it was only published posthumously in 1855 by Julian Fontana (alongside Chopin's Op. 69 and Op. 70). The reason why Chopin never published his work remains unclear, but the common consensus after 1960 — when Arthur Rubenstein acquired Chopin's “Album of the Baroness d'Este” (a collection of Chopin's autographs) — was that Chopin simply wasn't able to, since he technically didn’t own it. He had been commissioned by Augusta Emma Wilde, and as such it was technically her private property. Since Chopin's autographical version was only released in 1960, most people have grown accustomed to using Fontana's edited version instead of Chopin's original handwritten score, and even prefer it because Fontana’s includes many pedal markings, whereas Chopin's autographical version only included three.

Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu draws heavily from Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata's 3rd Movement, which happens to also be in C# minor, by including many similar melodies and climactic chords, and even the same run of 16th notes, just an octave higher. For these reasons, Chopin's Op. 66 is sometimes referred to as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata's cadenza (A virtuous solo passage at the end of a movement or piece that is quite often improvised). Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu also employs many cross rhythms of right-handed 16th notes and left-handed triplets and starts off in an allegro agitato, which transitions into a largo and later, a moderato cantabile, marking the transition of the piece into Db major. Finally, it concludes in a presto in C# minor, but ends with the left hand replaying the first few notes of the moderato section and resolving in a C# major chord.