In Italian, a scherzo is a jest or a joke. In musical parlance, a scherzo refers to pieces or movements of a lighter, somewhat humorous nature, both in terms of mood and articulation. This was the scherzo as developed by the likes of Beethoven and Mendelssohn—usually quick outer sections with a slower central trio section. 

For the most part, Chopin’s first three scherzos were anything but jokes. Unlike its three minor-key partners, however, the Scherzo No. 4, Op. 54 (1842), adopts the sunny key of E major. But this isn’t an uninterrupted happiness. A reflective central interlude eventually gives way to the return of shining good spirits. —Excerpted from a note by Grant Hiroshima