Polonaises (Chopin)

Most of Frédéric Chopin's polonaises were written for solo piano. He wrote his first polonaise in 1817, when he was 7; his last was the Polonaise-Fantaisie of 1846, three years before his death. Among the best known polonaises are the "Military" Polonaise in A, Op. 40, No. 1, and the "Heroic" Polonaise in A♭, Op. 53.

There is also the Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante in E♭, Op. 22, for piano and orchestra, which also exists in a solo piano version; and the Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major, Op. 3, for cello and piano.

Polonaises for solo piano

Chopin wrote at least 23 polonaises for piano solo. Of these:

  • 7, including the Polonaise-Fantaisie, were published in his lifetime
  • 3 were published posthumously with opus numbers
  • 6 were published posthumously without opus numbers
  • at least 7 are lost.

List of polonaises by Chopin

These are for solo piano unless otherwise indicated.

Series
number 		Key Composed Published Opus Number Brown Kobylańska Chominski Dedication Notes
11 G minor 1817 1817 - B. 1 KK IIa/1 S1/1 Countess Wiktoria Skarbek Published by Chopin's father
- C major 1829-30 1831 Op. 3 B. 41/52 Introduction and Polonaise brillante for cello and piano
- E♭ major 1830-34 1836 Op. 22 B. 58/88 Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante; originally for piano and orchestra, a solo piano version also exists
1 C♯ minor 1834-35 1836 Op. 26/1 B. 90/1 Josef Dessauer
2 E♭ minor 1834-35 1836 Op. 26/2 B. 90/2 Josef Dessauer
3 A major 1838 (October) 1841 Op. 40/1 B. 120 Julian Fontana "Military" Polonaise
4 C minor 1838-39 1841 Op. 40/2 B. 121 Julian Fontana
5 F♯ minor 1840-41 1841 Op. 44 B. 135 Mme la Princesse Charles de Beauveau, née de Komar "Tragic" Polonaise
6 A♭ major 1842 1843 Op. 53 B. 147 Auguste Léo "Heroic" or "Drum" Polonaise
7 A♭ major 1845-46 1846 Op. 61 B. 159 Mme A. Veyret Polonaise-Fantaisie
8 D minor 1825 1855 Op. posth. 71/1 B. 11 Some sources give 1827 as date of composition.[1]
9 B♭ major 1828 1855 Op. posth. 71/2 B. 24 - -
10 F minor 1828 1855 Op. posth. 71/3 B. 30 - -
14 G♯ minor 1822 1864 - B. 6 KK IVa/3 P1/3 Mme. Du-Pont Some sources give 1824 as the composition date.
16 G♭ major 1829 (July) 1870 - B. 36 KK IVa/8 P1/8
15 B♭ minor 1826-27 1879 - B. 13 KK IVa/5 P1/5 "son ami Guillaume Kolberg, en partant pour Reinertz" "Adieu" Polonaise.[1] Includes a quotation from Rossini's La gazza ladra (the tenor cavatina "Vieni fra queste braccia")
13 A♭ major 1821 1902 - B. 5 KK IVa/2 P1/2 Wojciech Żywny Some sources doubt this is a work by Chopin
12 B♭ major 1817 1947 - B. 3 KK IVa/1 P1/1
- ? "early" - KK Vf "Several polonaises", now lost
- ? 1818 - - - - - - 2 polonaises presented on 26 September 1818 to the Empress Maria Fyodorovna, mother of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, on the occasion of her visit to Warsaw; these are now lost
- ? 1825 - - - KK Vf - - Lost; on themes by Rossini (The Barber of Seville) and Spontini; mentioned in a letter from Chopin dated November 1825
- ? 1831 (by July) - - - KK Vc/1 Lost
- ? 1832 - - - KK Vc/3 Mentioned in a letter from Chopin dated 10 September 1832

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Ohlsson, Garrick, 1973. "Chopin: The Complete Polonaises". Angel EMI records SB-3794. Hollywood: Capitol Records.