Polonaise in A Major, Op. 40, No. 1, “Military”

Composer: CHOPIN, Frédéric
  • Chopin composed this polonaise in 1838. It was published in a set with his c-minor polonaise in 1840, as his Op. 40.1
  • Chopin dedicated his Op. 40 Polonaises to Polish pianist Julian Fontana.2 Fontana was a friend and colleague of Chopin. Chopin corresponded with Fontana and sent him several of his works to play, including the Op. 40 Polonaises and the 24 Preludes.3
  • According to tradition, Chopin envisioned this Polonaise as a coronation piece: specifically, for a Polish coronation. Chopin longed for Polish independence throughout his life, and he wrote to Fontana on the subject. Poland was under Prussian control during Chopin’s lifetime.4

Sources

  1. Kornel Michałowski and Jim Samson, “Chopin, Fryderyk Franciszek,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed October 19, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051099.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Mieczysław Tomaszewski, “Polonaise in A major, Op. 40 No. 1,” The Fryderyk Chopin Institute (2021), accessed October 19, 2021, https://chopin.nifc.pl/en/chopin/kompozycja/236.
  4. Ibid.

Cut IDs

13632 18578 19424 41371 42957