Polonaise in A-flat major

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**Polonaise Op. 53 A flat major "Heroic"**

Key/Time Signature:	A flat major, 3/4
Form:	Polonaise
Date of composition:	1842
Opus Number:	53
Movements/Sections:	-
Dedication:	Auguste Leo

Polonaise in A-flat major, op. 53 or (fr. Polonaise héroïque "Heroic Polonaise") was written by Frédéric Chopin in 1842. This masterpiece is one of Chopin's most popular compositions and is still a current favorite of the classical pianoforte repertoire. The piece requires exceptional pianistic skills and requires virtuosity in order to be played at an appropriate level of quality.

Although the piece is labeled as a polonaise, it has little to do with the typical polonaise style. It presents 2 sections with a polonaise rhythm, but most of it has no particular polonaise attribute. It has been said that Chopin had composed the piece having a free and powerful Poland in mind, which may led him to label it as a Polonaise.

Another possibility is that among other polonaises compositions by Chopin, the Polonaise Military is closely related to the Heroic Polonaise. The introduction section of the Heroic Polonaise is obviously inspired by the Military polonaise, which, unlike the Heroic, was a true polonaise. This could also explain the polonaise label that was given to the Op. 53 A flat major, which Chopin could have considered has a follow-up to the Military Polonaise.

It was the last piece of music broadcasted on Warsaw radio before the city surrendered to the Nazis.

1 Technical aspects
2 Music
3 Sheet Music
4 External Links
5 See Also

[edit] Technical aspects

The piece presents many piano technical aspects, among others:

Tempo rubato
Extremely fast scales
Trills
Fast octave pounding
Fast arpeggios
Broken chords
Chords with wide fingering
Use of a wide range of the piano keyboard (an 88-note keyboard is required to play the piece).

[edit] Music

The tempo of the piece is Alla polacca e maestoso ("like a polonaise and majestic"). The form is ternary (ABA), with a 30-second introduction.

The piece has a grand introduction with fast ascending chromatic notes in both hands, setting the mood of the piece. The first theme is a dancelike theme and is in the tonic key of A-flat major. It is the familiar part of the piece, and has the left hand moving in pounding octaves. The theme is repeated up an octave with short trills that fill some of the auditory gaps in the theme. There is a brief interlude with a series of chord progressions that lead into a recount of the traditional polonaise melody, with the polonaise rhythm employed in the left-hand accompaniment. The theme of Section A then repeats once before closing. Section B opens with six loud arpeggiando chords before switching to a very soft bass ostinato of descending octaves first in the key of E major and then in E flat major. A march-like melody follows the descending octaves and this occurs twice. Section B ends, with a long lyrical interlude firstly with harmonical chord progressions and frequent modulations. A flowing sixteenth note melody in the right hand and light accompaniment in quavers. This ends in a descending passage before Section A is replayed. The theme is played louder and more dramatically and ends in a coda which includes material derived from the main theme.