Frédéric Chopin composed his Scherzo in E major, Op. 54, the fourth and the last of his scherzos, in 1842. It was published the following year. Unlike the preceding three scherzi (Op. 20, Op. 31, Op. 39), Op. 24 is generally calmer in temperament, though it still possesses some exceptionally passionate and dramatic moments. The piece is in sonata rondo form, moving to a trio in C-sharp minor that is based on a Polish folk song. This scherzo is the longest out of the four: a standard rendition lasts around 10 minutes.
