Chopin's Scherzo No. 3 in C Sharp Minor

This is the third of Chopin's four scherzos. Many agree it's the most original of all the four scherzos, even if it's not the most scherzo like of the four.

The first section of the piece (Ternary form) is quite strange. It offers little contrapuntal writing, which is a style of writing often akin to great music. Octaves seem to dominate the first part of this composition (A-section). The second section reminds one of the song: "How Dry I Am," but no one is certain of what Chopin was really trying to do in this middle section. The first part finally returns to end the work.

This is a difficult piano composition and requires great skill from any pianist. Like the other three scherzos; there are great recordings of all the Chopin scherzos. The Rubinstein recordings of Chopin's piano music remain unsurpassed by anyone including Vladimir Horowitz.