Frédéric Chopin composed his Scherzo no. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31, in 1837. It was published that same year, dedicated to Countess Adèle Fürstenstein. At a point Schumann compared this scherzo to a Bryonic poem, "overflowing with tenderness, boldness, love and contempt." The beginning is marked Presto and opens in B flat minor. However, most of the work is written in D flat major or A major. A standard performance lasts about 10 minutes.
