Grande fantaisie sur des airs polonais (Fantasy on Polish Airs in A Major), Op. 13

Composer: CHOPIN, Frédéric
  • Written between 1828-30, Chopin’s Fantasy on Polish Airs contains six sections for piano and orchestra:
    1. Largo non troppo
    2. Andantino
    3. Allegretto
    4. Lento quasi adagio
    5. Molto più mosso
    6. Vivace
  • Fantasy on Polish Airs is dedicated to pianist Johann Peter Pixis, who was a renowned 18th-century pianist and well-known among musical circles in Paris.1
  • Fantasy on Polish Airs represents one of only a small handful of works that Chopin wrote for piano and orchestra.
  • Referred to as a “Potpourri on Polish Themes,” Chopin chose three Polish tunes as the themes for the piece, each embellished with a variation. The three tunes are:
    1. “Już miesiąc zeszedł” (The moon now has risen)
    2. Musical quote from Kurpiński’s opera, Elegy on the Death of Tadeusz Kościuszko
      • Kościuszko was a Polish military hero.
    3. “Jedzie Jasio od Torunia” (Johnny Goes from Torun)2

Sources

  1. “Grande fantaisie sur des airs polonais, Op.13 (Chopin, Frédéric),” IMSLP, accessed March 10, 2025, https://imslp.org/wiki/Grande_fantaisie_sur_des_airs_polonais,_Op.13_(Chopin,_Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric).
  2. Mieczysław Tomaszewski, “Fantasy in A major on Polish Airs, Op. 13,” The Fryderyk Chopin Institute, accessed March 10, 2025, https://chopin.nifc.pl/en/chopin/kompozycja/49.

Cut IDs

41346 43124 13656 21478