The great bulk of Frédéric Chopin's output consists of pieces for solo piano: his ballades, études, impromptus, mazurkas, nocturnes, polonaises, preludes, rondos, scherzos, sonatas and waltzes. There are also the two piano concertos, four other works for piano and orchestra, and a small amount of chamber music.
However, Chopin also produced a number of other compositions, mostly for solo piano, but some for other forces. Some of these are well-known, such as the Barcarolle in F-sharp, the Fantaisie in F minor, the Berceuse in D-flat, and some of the 19 Polish songs. Most of the other lesser-known works were published only after his death, contrary to his express wishes that all his unpublished manuscripts should be burned.
While often disregarded in the concert repertoire (particularly the posthumously published works), these miscellaneous works are nevertheless part of his oeuvre and must have been recorded, in some cases numerous times.
Chopin expressed a death-bed wish that all his unpublished manuscripts be destroyed. However, at the request of the composer's mother and sisters, Julian Fontana selected 23 unpublished piano pieces and grouped them into eight posthumous opus numbers (Opp. 66–73). These works were published in 1855, and include the Fantaisie-Impromptu, 8 mazurkas, 5 waltzes, 3 polonaises, 3 écossaises, a nocturne, a rondo, and a Marche funèbre. In 1857, 17 of Chopin's Polish songs were published as Op. 74.
Various other works have been subsequently published, but have not been given opus numbers. They are identified by alternative numbers from the catalogues of:
Title | Forces* | Key | Composed | Published | Opus | Brown | Kobylańska | Chominski | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Album Leaf (Feuille d'album); Moderato | E major | 1843 | 1910 | B. 151 | KK. IVb/12 | ||||
Allegretto | F‑sharp major | 1829? | Reconstruction. Long version spurious, by Charles Mayer | ||||||
Allegro de concert | A major | 1841 | 1841 | Op. 46 | B. 72 | Originally intended to be a third piano concerto | |||
Andante spianato | G major | 1834 | 1836 | Op. 22 | B. 88 | Solo piano introduction to the Grande Polonaise | |||
Andantino | G minor | * | B. 117 | An arrangement for piano alone of the piano part of the song Wiosna; * 5 MS exist whose dates range from April 1838 to 1 September 1848 | |||||
Barcarolle | F‑sharp major | 1846 | 1846 | Op. 60 | B. 158 | ||||
Berceuse | D-flat major | 1844 | 1845 | Op. 57 | B. 154 | ||||
Bolero | C major-A minor | 1833 | 1834 | Op. 19 | B. 81 | ||||
Two Bourrées | G major, A major | 1846 | 1968 | B. 160b | KK. VIIb/1-2 | ||||
Canon | F minor | 1839 | 1948 | B. 129b | KK. IVc/1 | Fragment. | |||
Cantabile | B-flat major | 1834 | 1931 | B. 84 | KK. IVb/6 | P. 2/6 | |||
Three Écossaises | D major, G major, D-flat major | 1826 | 1855 | Op. posth. 72/3 | B. 12 | ||||
Fantaisie | F minor | 1841 | 1841 | Op. 49 | B. 137 | ||||
Fugue | A minor | 1841-42 | 1898 | B. 144 | KK. IVc/2 | ||||
3 Fugues | A minor, F major, D minor | KK. VIIa/2 | Arr. from Cherubini's Cours de contrepoint et de fugue | ||||||
Galopp | A-flat major | 1846 | KK. IVc/13 | P. 2/13 | Galop Marquis | ||||
Introduction et Variations brillantes sur le Rondeau favori "Je vends des scapulaires" from Hérold's Ludovic | B-flat major | 1833 | Op. 12 | B. 80 | |||||
Klavierstück | E-flat major | 1840 | 1955 | B.133 | KK IVb/10 | P. 2/10 | Marked simply "Sostenuto"; sometimes classified as a Waltz | ||
Largo | E-flat major | 1837 | 1938 | B. 109 | KK. IVb/5 | P. 2/5 | |||
Marche funèbre | C minor | 1827 | 1855 | Op. posth. 72/2 | B. 20 | ||||
17 Polish songs | Voice and piano | 1827-47 | 1857 | Op. posth. 74 | various | various | |||
2 Polish songs | Voice and piano | 1830, 1840 | 1910 | B. 51, 132 | KK.IVa/11, IVb/9 | ||||
Tarantelle | A-flat major | 1841 | 1841 | Op. 43 | B. 139 | ||||
Variation No. 6 for Hexameron | E major | 1837 | 1839 | B. 113 | |||||
Variations on an Irish National Air (from Thomas Moore) | Piano 4-hands | D major | 1826 | 1965 | B. 12a | P. 1/6 | Also known as Introduction, Theme and Variations in D on a Venetian air; Variations sur le Carnaval de Venise | ||
Variations on the air "Der Schweizerbub" | E major | 1826 | 1851 | B. 14 | KK. IVa/4 | a.k.a. Introduction et Variations sur un Lied allemand | |||
Variations in A, Souvenir de Paganini | A major | 1829 | 1881 | B. 37 | KK. IVa/10 |