Tarantelle (Chopin)

43 is a short piano piece in tarantella form written by Frédéric Chopin in June 1841 and published in October 1841.

[2] It is a moto perpetuo marked Presto, and requires an advanced technique.

It was inspired by Gioachino Rossini's song La danza, also written in the tarantella's characteristic 68 rhythm.

Robert Schumann described it as being in "Chopin's most extravagant manner; we see before us the dancer, whirling as if possessed, until our senses reel.

To be sure, nobody could call this music lovely, but we willingly forgive the master his wild fantasy.

Portrait of Chopin by German painter Henri Lehmann, 1840, about a year before the piece was published; digitally retouched by Wikipedia user Amano1
Chopin in 1840 by Henri Lehmann