Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 - 4. Presto (0'23'

The Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58 was composed in 1844 and published in 1845. It retains the dramatic structuring inherited from the Classics. Here, as in Mozart and Beethoven, the composition – rendered coherent by means of differences, contrast and end-weighting – comprises four movements. Outwardly, the fourth movement, Finale, has the appearance of a rondo, but it proceeds in a balladic meter, 6/8, and has the tone and spirit of a ballade. First, one is jolted from the contemplation of distant horizons, Thereafter, in a constant presto tempo and with the expression of emotional perturbation, this frenzied, electrifying music, runs to the end. Not even for a moment is this precipitous momentum reined in by the music of the episodes. And the main theme of the finale, its refrain, running ballade-like with the curtain raised, is transformed and grows in power.