Polonaise in E-flat minor

At a glance

• What it isthe second of two Polonaises, Op. 26, in E-flat minor.
• Who, when, whywritten by Chopin in Paris around 1834 to 1835 and published in 1836.
• What to listen forthe low murmur at the start, and its contrast with the gentle middle section.

Listen for

• Murmurlow notes begin softly but uneasily trembling, then grow louder and burst out.
• The stridethe polonaise's characteristic rhythm marches heavily. Listen for the rhythm in which finely divided notes follow the first beat.
• Gentle middlethe music moves to another key for a soft, songlike section before returning to the dark march of the opening.

When it was written

The polonaise is a dance in three that grew out of the processional dances of the Polish nobility. Couples walked in stately fashion to open a ball, so its rhythm carries a proud stride. Chopin wrote polonaises from childhood; one he composed at about seven was even published in Warsaw.

Soon after Chopin left Warsaw in 1830, an uprising against Russian rule broke out in Poland and was crushed the following year. For Chopin, now living in Paris, the polonaise was no longer a decoration for the ballroom. In his hands this dance became a vessel for longing and anger toward his homeland.