Romantic · 1842
Polonaise in A♭ 'Heroic', Op. 53
F. ChopinOp. 53
- Key
- Ab
- Time
- 3/4
- Tempo
- ♩=80
- AO focus
- AO2
Incipit
Form
Maestoso — large-scale polonaise in A♭ major. Polonaise = stately Polish dance in 3/4 with characteristic dotted rhythm. The central E major section features the famous descending octave ostinato in the LH ('the cavalry').
Teaching points
- Polonaise rhythm — eighth-eighth-sixteenth-sixteenth pulse on beat 1; emphasise it
- Octave ostinato in the central section — LH descending octaves at speed; legendary technical challenge
- AO3: nationalism in piano music — Chopin's Polonaises as expressions of Polish identity in exile
Full score ↓Public domain
Score: IMSLP (Paderewski + Henle urtext, public domain).