Which composer wrote the 24 Preludes, Op. 28?

Frédéric Chopin wrote the 24 Preludes, Op. 28, a landmark cycle of short works for solo piano.

Composed mainly between 1835 and 1839, the set moves through all 24 major and minor keys. Chopin completed some of the music during the winter of 1838–39 in Valldemossa, Mallorca, where he stayed with the writer George Sand and her children. The collection was published in 1839 and dedicated to Joseph Christoph Kessler, a German pianist and composer.

The arrangement reflects the circle of fifths: each major-key prelude is followed by a prelude in its relative minor. This differs from Johann Sebastian Bach’s ordering in The Well-Tempered Clavier, a major influence on Chopin. Although the pieces are often performed as a complete set, each also works independently.

A common mix-up is assuming Chopin wrote only 24 preludes. He also composed a Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 45, plus two other works sometimes informally counted as additional preludes.