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

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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

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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

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References

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