Frederic Chopin : Grande Valse Brillante Op.18 in Eb - for piano

This Waltz in E-flat major by Frederic Chopin is his earliest waltz, and one of his best-known waltzes after his Minute Waltz. Chopin labelled several of his waltzes as "Grande Valse Brillante" and this one always seems to be playful and full of joy. Among a wealth of invention there is a little theme full of repeated notes, a melody in the middle of the piece is full of tumbling "acciaccaturas" (the short small notes with the diagonal line through them) which sounds like playful laughter, and then the piece seems to ascend and fade away before ending with a flourish. The complete set of Chopin's waltzes is available from Sheet Music Plus (US) or The Music Room (UK). Below is a video of the sheet music being played in Sibelius, or scroll down to play the mp3 file and see the sheet music PDF.

Like his Waltz in C# minor (Op.64 No.2), this Waltz was another of Chopin's piano pieces adapted and orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov to create the ballet "Les Sylphides".