Chopin was a Romantic-era composer who mainly wrote piano music.
His solo piano works include (in no particular order):
- Ballades: narrative-styled long piano pieces
- Scherzos: energetic and oftentimes dark pieces ironically named “jests”
- Fantaisies: pieces teeming with creative freedom, unbound by form
- Impromptus: piano pieces written as if they were improvised
- Nocturnes: short piano pieces reminiscent of the night
- Polonaises: although polonaises are supposedly a form of Polish dance, Chopin’s polonaises aren’t really meant to be danced to (source)
- Mazurkas: mazurkas are also a form (or rather a mix) of Polish dances, but just like his polonaises, Chopin’s mazurkas aren’t danceable
- Waltzes: …likewise undanceable
- Etudes: pieces meant for practices, but sound beautiful nonetheless
- Preludes: while preludes were originally meant to serve as an improvisatory introduction to a complex piece, Chopin’s preludes are short, standalone pieces