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" or "Drum" 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

• List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin by genre
• List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin by opus number

References

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