The extended opening section ends with a set of trills that act as a trajectory throwing the right hand up to the top of the keyboard for a swath of descending notes. The opening four notes return (three-longs-and-a-short, a famous enough rhythmic combination by 1837), and they become a kind of key which throughout the piece opens the door to a floodgate of tension and drama, as well as some pulsating Chopin poetics. After a pause, a very loud B-flat is followed by a long-held chord and in turn by four emphatic chords. Following a long-held B-flat, three soft and quick ascending notes lead to a longer note this is immediately repeated. In the present piece, the very opening gesture informs us that a drama is about to unfold. It is big and brawny, filled with magical harmonic coloration and huge pianistic flair it is also a little wordy (redundancy is one of the small flaws of each of the Scherzos), but that is a small price to pay for the boldness of spirit portrayed. The B-flat-minor Scherzo, the second of that genre’s four, was composed in 1837 and bears the full imprint of the composer’s unique creative qualities. Several of Chopin’s large works came in fours, though not composed consecutively: there are four Impromptus, four Ballades, and the same number of Scherzos.
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