What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?: The Barcarolle to end all Barcarolles and the funeral march that ends all funerals

As one of Chopin’s last compositions (1846), this barcarolle is just a fantastic piece. This is one of Chopin's best works. I would put it above all the scherzi and at least two of the ballades. It is a very compact composition that is picturesque and tender in nature. Known to pianists for the double trill and sixths, technically it has several challenges. Chopin’s initial performance of this piece was during his final years and it is said that he could barely play over a pianissimo. This is quite interesting because, to me, I hear such a huge climax in the last couple minutes of the piece that make this what it is. This is a four 1/2 star piece. ****1/2

So the second sonata . . . well this is another wonderful piece that Chopin put out. It is ten minutes shorter than the third sonata and has a similar impact. Emotionally, this sonata is quite thick. The first movement (of four movements) is quite stormy in nature. It eventually settles down going into the second theme only to pick back up in the development. The climax in the first movement is broad and towards the end of the movement which keeps the listener waiting. The second movement scherzo takes the audience to a different place than the first movement. The funeral march in the third movement is the most famous movement of this piece. It was used for JFK’s funeral among others. The final movement is a wash of sound that lasts for a couple of minutes. This was redone by Prokofiev in the second movement of his second piano concerto. So what keeps this piece together as a unit? Robert Schumann suggested that Chopin had in this sonata "simply bound together four of his most unruly children." This is definitely one of Chopin’s best works. Four and a half stars ****1/2