The eighth Prelude in the cycle, in F sharp minor, counters the calm simplicity of the seventh with a broad stream of sonority of peculiar beauty, diffused in rising and falling waves of airy figuration. Among its admirers was Witold Lutosławski, who called it a ‘wonder’. This prelude is usually numbered among the ‘scherzotic’ preludes. It employs chromaticised figurations, proceeding at a lively tempo and with varied dynamics and articulation.Author: Mieczysław TomaszewskiA series of programmes entitled ‘Fryderyk Chopin's Complete Works’Polish Radio 2