24 Preludes, Op. 28

• Written between 1836-39, Chopin’s set of 24 Preludes, Op. 28 covers all major and minor keys.
  • You can find the full list of preludes here.
• Chopin was undoubtedly influenced by J. S. Bach in creating his book of preludes; however, while Bach tethered each of his preludes to a fugue, Chopin wrote his preludes as independent works that are not actually a prelude… to anything. In doing so, Chopin reinterpreted the prelude as a musical genre.¹
• While it’s fairly common to perform all 24 preludes as a complete work today, during Chopin’s lifetime, the composer never played more than four at a time in public.²
• Liszt wrote the following about 24 Preludes:

“Chopin’s preludes are unique compositions. They are not simply, as their title would suggest, pieces intended as an introduction to something further; they are poetic preludes similar to those of a great contemporary poet [Lamartine] which gently ease the soul into a golden dream world and then whisk it away to the highest realms of the ideal. Admirable in their diversity, they require scrupulous examination of the workmanship and thought which have gone into them before they can be properly appreciated. Even then they still retain the appearance of spontaneous improvisations produced without the slightest effort. They possess that freedom and charm which characterize works of genius.”³

• One of the most famous preludes, No. 15 in D-flat Major, “Raindrop,” received its nickname from the legend around its creation. Allegedly, Chopin wrote this prelude during a winter storm while staying on Majorca with George Sand. However, most musicologists are dubious of this origin story and believe the musical material had already been written before the composer made the journey to the Spanish island. Nevertheless, “Raindrop” has persisted as an evocative description of the prelude.⁴

1. Marilyn Meier, “Chopin twenty-four preludes opus 28” (DCA Thesis, University of Wollongong, 1993), 29.
2. Marilyn Meier, 67.
3. Marilyn Meier, 66.
4. Norbert Müllemann, “Preface: Prelude D flat major op. 28 no. 15 (Raindrop),” G. Henle Verlag, accessed September 22, 2025, https://www.henle.de/media/f6/9f/3b/1690886070/0854-1690886070-sync.pdf.