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. | |||
| 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. 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
- List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin by genre
- List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin by opus number
References
- ^ Ohlsson, Garrick, 1973. "Chopin: The Complete Polonaises". Angel EMI records SB-3794. Hollywood: Capitol Records.
