The twin Op

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

. 40 Polonaise

Polonaise

The polonaise is a slow dance of Polish origin, in 3/4 time. Its name is French for "Polish."The polonaise had a rhythm quite close to that of the Swedish semiquaver or sixteenth-note polska, and the two dances have a common origin....

s of the Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1, nicknamed the Military Polonaise, and the Polonaise in C minor, Op. 40, No. 2 were composed by Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric Chopin

Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....

 in 1838. The first polonaise is better known than the second.

Anton Rubinstein

Anton Rubinstein

Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...

 remarked that the Polonaise in A major is the symbol of Polish glory, whilst the Polonaise in C minor is the symbol of Polish tragedy.

Polonaise in A major, Op. 40, No. 1

The beginning opens with an A major

A major

A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps.Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor...

 chord and continues in a typical polonaise rhythm. The key then changes into D major

D major

D major is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature consists of two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor....

 in the middle of the polonaise for a trio

Trio (music)

Trio is generally used in any of the following ways:* A group of three musicians playing the same or different musical instrument.* The performance of a piece of music by three people.* The contrasting section of a piece in ternary form...

 section, after which the opening is repeated.

During the September 1939 German invasion of Poland at the outset of World War II, Polskie Radio

Polskie Radio

Polskie Radio Spółka Akcyjna is Poland's national publicly funded radio broadcasting organization.- History :Polskie Radio was founded on 18 August 1925 and began making regular broadcasts from Warsaw on 18 April 1926....

 broadcast this piece daily as nationalistic protest, and to rally the Polish people. The Nazis later banned public performances of Chopin and destroyed Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

's main monument to the composer, a sculpture of a windswept Chopin seated under a tree, which was erected in 1926 at the entrance to Lazienki Park

Lazienki Park

Łazienki Park is the largest park in Warsaw, Poland, occupying 76 hectares of the city center. The park-and-palace complex lies in Warsaw's Downtown , on Ujazdów Avenue on the "Royal Route" linking the Royal Castle with Wilanów palace to the south...

.

External links

• Polonaises sheet music available at Musopen.com and Musopen.com