Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante (Chopin)

Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante Op. 22 in E-flat major was composed in 1831. The composer, Frédéric Chopin, made the additional movement "Andante spianato" in 1834. Both of them were published and dedicated to Madame d'Est in 1836.

Music

The "Polonaise Op. 22" is a work for piano and orchestra, although the piano part is often played on its own.Fact|date=July 2008 This is usually considered to be Chopin's most difficult piece for piano, and one of the most difficult pieces written. Conjoined in performance, these works were born five years apart. The Andante Spianato (even or smooth) was composed for solo piano after Chopin received a long-awaited invitation to perform in one of Habaneck’s Conservatoire Concerts in Paris. It was premiered by the composer there on April 26, 1835.Fact|date=July 2008

Chopin’s first work, written at age seven, had been a polonaise. The Grande Polonaise of 1830–31 was to be the last such he would compose for several years. It was designed for piano and orchestra, and preoccupied Chopin in his final months at Warsaw. It was finished at Vienna in 1831. The Andante and Grande Polonaise were performed together in 1835, and published together a year later.

The Andante Spianato is in G major, and its quiet rippling effects are borne in a gentle 6/8, rounded with a chordal trio in C major, and a more processional 3/4.

The Grande Polonaise opens in fanfare. It moves into the ebullient and fearless dance form of which he was such a master. Chopin’s unexpected and brief excursions, the many electric shocks of surprise and alarm, and the sheer poetic gusto with which he approached these materials was astonishing and, for years, unequalled. In 1836 it became a piano quartet and, two years later, the solo piano work known today.

Consequently the polonaise has been regarded as one of the most famous and brilliant polonaise pieces.Fact|date=July 2008

Movements

*;Andante spianato: in G major
*;Polonaise: in E flat major

The middle section of the Andante Spianato is not a trio, and is not in c major. It is clearly in G major, as is the entire andante, and the very serene middle section is only a contrasting episode to compliment the overall texture of the movement.

Notable players

*Vladimir Horowitz
*Martha Argerich
*Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
*Idil Biret
*Halina Czerny-Stefanska
*Emil Gilels
*Kevin Kenner
*Yundi Li
*Garrick Ohlsson
*Artur Rubinstein

External links

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* Andante Spianato, Op. 22 sheet music available at [http://www.musopen.com/sheetmusic.php?type=sheet&id=83 Musopen.com]