The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word PRELUDE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
R
E
L
U
D
E
More clues leading to the result PRELUDE
- Right to avoid following piano piece by Chopin, perhaps
- Rule out dropping contralto for opening
- Du Pré oddly abandoned cello playing musical piece
- Introduction from priggish type including the Spanish
- Opener gets duck facing spin
- Overture from “The Puritan” enthralling the Spanish
- Pair to escape from opening
- Avoid publicity showing first Overture
- . Player disheartened by duck for opener
- Pair avoid introduction
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "piece by Chopin, perhaps" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case piece by chopin, perhaps = prelude.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does PRELUDE mean?
PRELUDE noun- An introductory or preliminary performance or event.
- A short, free-form piece of music, originally one serving as an introduction to a longer and more complex piece; later, starting with the Romantic period, generally a stand-alone piece.
- A standard module or library of subroutines and functions to be imported, generally by default, into a program.
- A forerunner to anything.
- To introduce something, as a prelude.
- To play an introduction or prelude; to give a prefatory performance.