Chopin, Frédéric - Concerto in F minor (arr. Piano & String Quartet)

In making available this transcription of the ''Piano Concerto No. 2 in F minor'', Op. 21, for piano and string quartet (the most frequently used ensemble in chamber music), I should like to give each pianist a chance to play this excellent work in a richer version. Hitherto most musicians have only been able to dream about it and the performance has to be limited to a second piano accompaniment. Perhaps this publication will also make it possible to recreate the atmosphere of drawing-room concerts, during which music was made amongst friends and acquaintances, items from the orchestral repertory also being performed. The present arrangement is based on the widely-known score of the concerto edited by Kazimierz Sikorski in the ''Complete Works'', vol 20, the series initiated by Ignacy Jan Paderewski. The main purpose was to arrange the orchestra part for chamber forces as faithfully as possible and to attain an approximation to the orchestral sound though with a reduced ensemble.