Vivacious, charming, light as a harebell in the soft breeze is
the Scherzo in E flat. It has a clear ring of the scherzo and
harks back to Weber in its impersonal, amiable hurry. The largo
is tranquilly beautiful, rich in its reverie, lovely in its tune.
The trio is reserved and hypnotic. The last movement, with its
brilliancy and force, is a favorite, but it lacks weight, and the
entire sonata is, as Niecks writes, "affiliated, but not
cognate." It was published June, 1845, and is dedicated to
Comtesse E. de Perthuis.
So these sonatas of Chopin are not sonatas at all, but, throwing
titles to the dogs, would we forego the sensations that two of
them evoke? There is still another, the Sonata in G minor, op.
65, for piano and 'cello. It is dedicated to Chopin's friend,
August Franchomme, the violoncellist. Now, while I by no means
share Finck's exalted impression of this work, yet I fancy the
critics have dealt too harshly with it. Robbed of its title of
sonata--though sedulously aping this form--it contains much
pretty music. And it is grateful for the 'cello.
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