Chopin's autograph of the Tarantella, Op. 43, was sold this week for almost $600,000 (GBP409,250) in an auction at Sotheby's, London. The 7 pages, written in 1841, contain many deletions and revision and some notes by Chopin.

Schumann wrote the following about this piece: "[it is in] Chopin's most extravagant manner; we see before us the dancer, whirling as if possessed, until our senses reel. To be sure, nobody could call this music lovely, but we willingly forgive the master his wild fantasy. For is he not once in a while permitted to display the dark side of his soul?..."

In the same auction another Chopin autograph was sold: the Etude No.1 in F minor, from Trois Nouvelles Études. This piece cost the buyer GBP 181,250 (more than $260,000).

[Source: www.sothebys.com]