Minute Waltz
| File:ChopinDelacroix.jpg | |
| Key/Time Signature: | D flat major, 3/4 |
|---|---|
| Form: | Waltz |
| Date of composition: | 1846-7 |
| Opus Number: | 64 |
| Movements/Sections: | - |
| Dedication: | Madame la Comtesse Delphine Potocka |
| *Chopin's nickname for this piece was "Petit Chien", the Little Dog. | |
The "Waltz in D flat major", opus 64, No. 1, popularly known as the "Minute Waltz" is a waltz for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin.
The piece is given the tempo marking "Molto vivace". Written and published circa 1846–7 as the first of the opus 64 Trois Valses, this waltz is dedicated "To Mme. la Comtesse Delphine Potocka". With the second waltz in the key of C-sharp minor, the "Minute" waltz contrasts with the light enharmonic key of D-flat major.
Despite its nickname, a typical performance of the work will last around one and a half to two minutes; this is because Chopin's publisher, who coined the nickname, intended the "minute" to mean "small". The waltz, though considered by many to be brilliant, is not grand, and it is not long. It is more playful than many of the other waltzes. Camille Bourniquel, one of Chopin's biographers, reminds the reader that Chopin, with this waltz, was trying to depict a dog chasing its tail; indeed, Chopin originally named the piece "Petit chien" (Little Dog).
This is how it starts:
The piece is famously used as the theme tune to the BBC radio show Just a Minute.
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