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==History==
The ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' was written in 1834, as were the [[Mazurkas, Op. 17 (Chopin)|Four Mazurkas]] (Op. 17) and the [[Grande valse brillante in E-flat major (Chopin)|Grande valse brillante in E{{music|flat}} major]] (Op. 18), but unlike these other works, Chopin never published the ''Fantaisie-Impromptu''. Instead, [[Julian Fontana]] published it posthumously, along with other waltzes [[Waltzes (Chopin)|Opp. 69 and 70]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Fr. Niecks|title=A Critical Commentary on the Pianoforte Works of Frederic Chopin|year=1879|page=179|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQsVAAAAQAAJ&q=%22A+critical+Commentary+on+the+Pianoforte+Works+of+Frederic+Chopin%22&pg=PA179|publisher=The Monthly Musical Record|access-date=2 February 2015}}</ref> It is unknown why Chopin did not release the ''Fantaisie-Impromptu''. [[James Huneker]] called parts of it "mawkish" and "without nobility".<ref>{{cite book|author=James Huneker|title=''Chopin: The Man and His Music''|page=[https://archive.org/details/chopinmanandhis00hunegoog/page/n252 241]|url=https://archive.org/details/chopinmanandhis00hunegoog|quote=241.|publisher=Charles Scribner's Sons|location=New York|year=1900|access-date=19 February 2015}}</ref> [[Ernst Oster]] conducted a technical examination of the piece which hints at similarities between the ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' and [[Ludwig van Beethoven]]'s [[Piano Sonata No. 14 (Beethoven)|"Moonlight" Sonata]] (''Quasi una fantasia''), which he cites as the reason for Chopin's reluctance to publish the piece. It is also recognized that it resembles the Impromptu in E{{music|flat}} major, Op. 89<ref>{{Cite web|title=Impromptu, Op.89 (Moscheles, Ignaz) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download|url=https://imslp.org/wiki/Impromptu,_Op.89_(Moscheles,_Ignaz)|access-date=2020-09-05|website=imslp.org}}</ref> composed by [[Ignaz Moscheles]] and published in 1834, the same year Chopin composed his ''Fantaisie-Impromptu.''<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fryderyk Chopin - Information Centre - Fantasy-Impromptu - Compositions|url=https://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/composition/detail/page/7/id/71|access-date=2020-09-05|website=en.chopin.nifc.pl|archive-date=2016-06-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160610125955/http://en.chopin.nifc.pl/chopin/composition/detail/page/7/id/71|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The mystery may have been solved in 1960 when pianist [[Arthur Rubinstein]] acquired the "Album of the [[Augusta Emma Wilde, Baroness Truro|Baroness d'Este]]" which had been sold at auction in Paris. The album contained a manuscript of the ''Fantaisie-Impromptu'' in Chopin's own hand, dated 1835, stating on the title page in French "Composed for the Baroness d'Este by Frédéric Chopin". The facts of its authenticity having been "guaranteed by the French authorities" and that it shows "a delicate care for detail" and "many improvements in harmony and style" in comparison to the previously published version, Rubinstein considered absolute proof that it is the finished work. In his preface to the "Rubinstein Edition", published by G. Schirmer, Inc. in 1962, Rubinstein surmises that the words "Composed for" in place of a dedication imply that Chopin received a paid commission for the work, so he had actually sold it to the Baroness.<ref>{{cite book|author=Arthur Rubinstein|author-link=Arthur Rubinstein|title=Preface to the Fantaisie-Impromptu for Piano by Frédéric Chopin,Great Performer's Edition|page=2|publisher=G. Schirmer, Inc.|location=New York|year=1962}}</ref>
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