Composition Year: 1836–37

Publication Year: November 1837 (UK), December 1837 (France), January 1838 (Germany)

Dedication: A Madame la Princesse de Wurtemberg, née Princesse Czartoryska

The Four Mazurkas, Op. 30, were begun in 1836 and completed in 1837. The main topic concerning Chopin during these two years was almost entirely his romance with Maria Wodzińska and its subsequent breakup. After meeting Maria in September 1835, Chopin returned to Paris and fell ill. His condition was severe, marked by coughing, spitting blood, and high fevers that sometimes caused hallucinations. People even rumored his death because he was no longer seen in public. However, his health gradually recovered in 1836, and in July, Chopin reunited with Maria in Mariánské Lázně, Bohemia. At this time, Maria painted Chopin's portrait in watercolor, and Chopin reportedly taught her Études, Op. 25, Nos. 1 and 2. Chopin then proposed to Maria, who was 17 at the time, and her parents approved with conditions.

The conditions set by Maria's parents, especially her mother Teresa, concerned Chopin's health. Given that Chopin had suffered a severe illness the previous winter, which led to rumors of his death, they advised him to take care of his health, avoid late nights, and recuperate warmly. However, Chopin not only failed to follow these instructions but also continued to experience frequent health setbacks. Influenced by Maria's mother Teresa, who felt great anxiety about his health as a prospective son-in-law, Chopin received a farewell letter in the summer of 1837, stating, “Farewell, please do not forget us.” Chopin gathered the letters from the Wodziński family and inscribed them with “My Sorrow.”

C minor, Op. 30-1 — Allegro non tanto

Collection Information:

• Paderewski Edition: No. 18
• Ekier Edition: No. 18 [Series A]
• Henle Edition: No. 18
• Cortot Edition: No. 18

This mazurka is in a ternary form AABB'AA', characterized by a sorrowful opening theme and a middle section full of love. Large slurs span from A to B, depicting music that transcends this form.

The melody oscillating around D at the end of the middle section overcomes an “insurmountable wall” (G natural), finally reaching A-flat before returning to the opening theme. The chords accompanying this section sound dissonant due to the intense clash between G natural and F-sharp. This F-sharp is considered a borrowed note from G major (the dominant of the dominant in C minor), which is then replaced by the C minor Gypsy scale (a minor scale with a raised fourth degree).

Chopin often uses this Gypsy minor scale in his mazurkas, but in this work, this ethnically resonant scale does not appear melodically. Instead, by employing this modal scale harmonically, intense dissonances are created. This dissonant sound may be an expression of Chopin's unbearable suffering due to his troubled romantic life and health.

The subtlety of the harmonic progression is also concentrated at the end of the piece. In the final two measures, the harmony, losing its bass support by releasing the pedal, sounds the subdominant chord before concluding without returning to the tonic. This unexpected ending, coupled with the lingering C natural at the very end, elevates the melancholy of this work to an even deeper level.

B minor (– F-sharp minor), Op. 30-2 — Vivace (Allegro)

Collection Information:

• Paderewski Edition: No. 19
• Ekier Edition: No. 19 [Series A]
• Henle Edition: No. 19
• Cortot Edition: No. 19

This mazurka begins with a theme in B minor and is structured in an AABBCCBB form, where three themes appear one after another. While many of Chopin's other mazurkas feature rondo-like cyclical forms, ternary forms, or compound ternary forms combining these, this work employs a rare form where the opening theme does not recur.

If Theme A is considered an introduction (i), the structure of the piece can be interpreted as a type of simple ternary form, iBBCCBB. Examining the tonality of each theme, Theme A is in B minor, Theme B in F-sharp minor, and Theme C in A major. The B-C-B ternary section is based on the relationship between A major and F-sharp minor, which are relative keys. Furthermore, in Theme C, the same two-measure melody is repeated while oscillating between F-sharp minor and A major, and the musical ideas, predominantly Theme B and Theme C, which constitute the majority of the work, develop around F-sharp minor.

On the other hand, from the key signature (two sharps) indicated by Chopin in the score, the main key of this work is considered to be B minor (Theme A), making it difficult to consider Theme A, the only theme in the main key, as an introduction. To express such complex tonality, the Paderewski edition, among others, labels this work as “B minor – F-sharp minor.”

This raises the question of why Chopin did not change the key signature in the middle of the piece. In mazurkas from Op. 17 onwards, Chopin began to use notation that included key signature changes within the piece, and similar techniques are seen in Op. 24 and Op. 33, which precede and follow this work. This suggests that Chopin himself strongly conceived of this work as being in “B minor.” Alternatively, since writing F-sharp minor on a B minor staff only requires adding one sharp, it might simply be for notational convenience that he felt no need to change the key signature. The final interpretation of this issue is left to individual performers and listeners.

D-flat major, Op. 30-3

Collection Information:

• Paderewski Edition: No. 20
• Ekier Edition: No. 20 [Series A]
• Henle Edition: No. 20
• Cortot Edition: No. 20

The opening theme, appearing after an 8-measure introduction, is the only one among the four Mazurkas of Op. 30 that recurs. This 16-measure opening theme, like many other mazurkas, is formed by variations and repetitions of a short two-measure motif. While most mazurkas typically group two-measure motifs into four-measure phrases, which then combine into eight-measure sections, the structural complexity of the opening theme in this work is significantly heightened.

An ascending motif (a) appearing in the first two measures is followed by a contrasting descending motif (b). The listener expects the reappearance of motif (a). However, what follows is motif (b) transformed into the parallel minor. Motif (b) then continues, structuring the first half of the 8-measure theme as a-b-b (transformed into the parallel minor)-b. In contrast to the first half, which develops around the descending motif (b), the latter half features an expanded motif (a) and its complete retrograde (a') appearing as a pair, and finally, this four-measure combination is transformed into the parallel minor. That is, the latter half of the opening theme is structured as a-a'-a (transformed into the parallel minor)-a' (transformed into the parallel minor), differing in structure from the first half of the theme. By significantly developing the technique of motif development in this way, the opening theme of this work successfully enhances its potential for poetic expression.

The overall form of the piece is very similar to Mazurka Op. 7-3, with new themes appearing one after another, and finally returning to the opening theme, in the form i||:A: ||BBCCDDT A. From the perspective of the opening theme's recurrence, it can be considered a type of ternary form, but too many themes appear for a typical middle section, creating formal ambiguity. Similar to avoiding expected repetitions in the motif development of the opening theme, the work is intended to cast an unexpected light on the piece by delaying the expected return of the opening theme throughout the entire composition. Notably, the Gypsy minor scale, which was used harmonically in Op. 30-1, is employed melodically in the opening theme of this work, in its original modal usage.

C-sharp minor, Op. 30-4

Collection Information:

• Paderewski Edition: No. 21
• Ekier Edition: No. 21 [Series A]
• Henle Edition: No. 21
• Cortot Edition: No. 21

The last of the four Mazurkas of Op. 30, each possessing a distinctive character, is this large-scale work in C-sharp minor, spanning 139 measures. Placing a large-scale work at the end of a set of mazurkas is a common feature observed in mazurkas from Op. 17 onwards. The work exhibits a relatively clear ternary form: iAABBCCiAcoda.

The introduction, oscillating around D-sharp (the dominant of the dominant), descends a fifth to G-sharp (the dominant), then leads to the bitter opening theme with the tonic chord. While repeating ascending and descending figures, this opening theme never sounds in a major key, transitioning to the contrasting next theme. This theme, which forms the first half of the middle section, also never sounds in a major key, as if perpetually enveloped in dark clouds.

A faint glimmer of light is found in the latter half of the middle section, starting from measure 65. Here, while the minor sound peeks through, it repeatedly modulates towards B major as if shaking off the darkness. However, just as it is about to reach B major, the introduction unexpectedly recurs, pulling it back into the suffering C-sharp minor.

Although the work seems to express Chopin's anguish over his breakup with Maria Wodzińska, its darkness further highlights the delicate and beautiful variations unique to Chopin found throughout, creating moments of magic.