Mazurka no.27 - Op.41 no.2: E minor

Recording by Ashkenazy

This mazurka modulates from a minor to a major key and back. Perhaps this is just because the mazurka is in minor, but Chopin just has a very introspective sound.

Mazurka no.26 - Op.41 no.1: C sharp minor

Recording by Ashkenazy

Right away, I noticed that this piece starts out introspectively, then comes out of self-evaluation, if you will, and is very light and extroverted.

Mazurka no.25 - Op.33 no.4: B-minor

Recording by Ashkenazy

One thing that was instantly apparent about this mazurka was that there were a lot of ornamentations used in it, specifically mordents, trills, grace notes, and the like. I especially liked how playful and thoughtful it was for Chopin to include a left hand solo about three-fourths of the way through the piece. The ending is surprising: it seems to be fading away until all of sudden an accented note surprises you and it ends with a bang!

Mazurka no.24 - Op.33 no.3: C-major

Recording by Ashkenazy

The frequent use of chromatic steps in this piece made it playful. This was made especially obvious because of their rhythmic placement at the sixteenth note after the dotted eighth note.

Mazurka no.23 - Op.33 no.2: D-major

Recording by Ashkenazy

The "oom-pah-pah" bass of this piece really makes it feel like a dance, which is something that the bass doesn't necessarily typically do in Chopin's mazurkas.

Mazurka no.22 - Op.33 no.1: G#-minor

Recording by Ashkenazy

I really enjoyed how minimalistic the bass is during the first part of this piece. The piece itself embodies a sense of contemplation.

Mazurka no.21 - Op.30 no.4: C#-minor

Recording by Ashkenazy

In this mazurka, Chopin repeats very short musical phrases that lead to different places and chord progressions.