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Tune of the Day: Funeral March
This third movement begins and ends with the celebrated funeral march in B flat minor which gives the piano sonata its nickname, but has a calm interlude in D flat major. While the term “funeral march” is perhaps a fitting description of the whole movement, complete with the interlude, “Chopin's Funeral March” is used commonly to describe only the part in B flat minor.
The piece has become well known in popular culture. It was played at the graveside during Chopin's own burial at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris. It was also used at the state funerals of John F. Kennedy and those of Soviet leaders, including Leonid Brezhnev. It was transcribed for full orchestra by English composer Sir Edward Elgar in 1933 and its first performance was at his own memorial concert the next year.