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
| 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 | 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 | 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 |
| 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 and Spontini; mentioned in a letter from Chopin dated November 1825 |
| - | ? | 1831 | - | - | - | KK Vc/1 | Lost | ||
| - | ? | 1832 | - | - | - | KK Vc/3 | Mentioned in a letter from Chopin dated 10 September 1832 |