Mazurka a minor op. 68,2
Mazurka Piano solo ~4 min
In brief

This A minor mazurka has a dance-like pulse that often turns inward, alternating quaint dance figures with darker replies that call for careful rhythmic shaping and folkloric punctuation rather than grand romantic gestures. Technique: Phrasing (2.5/5) here requires short, precise phrase-arches with emphasis on small internal climaxes through controlled attack and legato, and Dynamics (2.5/5) require very subtle dynamic contrasts to reveal the inner reliefs without breaking the rhythmic elasticity — executed by flexible wrist control and slight weight shifts of the hand rather than large arm movements. In Chopin’s output, this mazurka is one of the many solo piano pieces where he explores and renews a Polish dance form, and its opus number places it among the later-published works. (No specific reference recording is given here.)

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  • Play — Chopin: Mazurka in A minor Op. 68 No. 2 - Jan Ekier, 1987 · davidhertzberg (the player loads on click)

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  • Play — Mazurka No. 49 in A Minor, Op. 68 No. 2: Lento - Pt. 1 · Frédéric Chopin, Tamás Vásáry (the player loads on click)

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MusicCoach difficulty
40/100
Elementary
Likely range : 34–45/100
Confidence : 54% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 4

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
4
38/100 normalised · 2 obs.
Relative difficulty
8%
Among Frédéric Chopin
32%
Era
14%
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Half-pedalling
1
Technique
Legato
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
2
Interpretation
Phrasing
2
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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