Polonaise in C (Beethoven)

The Polonaise in C major, Op. 89, by Ludwig van Beethoven is a polonaise for solo piano, published in 1815. He composed it in December 1814, at a time when the polonaise was becoming a popular dance and class marker among the European nobility.[1] Beethoven was presented as a prominent artist at the ongoing Congress of Vienna,[2] where he met the visiting Russian Empress Elizabeth Alexeievna. He dedicated the polonaise to the Empress, and was compensated with a sum of 50 ducats.[3] The piece is Beethoven's first and only published standalone polonaise, and is notable as a precursor to Chopin's more well-known polonaises.[4]

Cover of the first edition

Structure

The piece is marked Alla Polacca, vivace (as a polonaise, lively). After four bars, there is a brief barless passage of ascending and descending scales moving to adagio (slow) and then to più presto (faster). At the conclusion of this unusual introduction, the piece returns to the first tempo and meter, and the polonaise rhythm and main theme are introduced.[5] The piece ends with a lengthy coda.[6] It takes about five minutes to perform.[7]

\relative c' { \new PianoStaff << \new Staff { \key c \major \time 3/4 c''4( g4. e8) f\trill ([ \grace { e32[ f] } g16 a] fis8 g4 e8) g16( f!) r e e( d) r c c( b) r a <a fis>8( g4) g16-. a-. b-. c-. d-. e-. } \new Dynamics { s4_\markup \italic dolce } \new Staff { \key c \major \time 3/4 \clef bass c,,8 <g'' e c>16 <g e c> <g e c>8 <g e c> <g e c> <g e c> c,,8 <a'' f c>16 <a f c> c,,8 <g'' e c>16 <g e c> <g e c>8 <e cis> <f d>[ <g e> <a f>] <a, fis> <b g> <c! d,> <c d,>( <b g>) g, <d'' b g>16 <d b g> <d b g>8 <d b g> } >> }

References
  1. Lodes 2010, pp. 415–418.
  2. Lockwood, Lewis (2003). Beethoven: The Music and the Life. New York; London: W. W. Norton. p. 335. ISBN 0393050815.
  3. Cooper, Barry (2008). Beethoven. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-0195313314.
  4. Hinson, Maurice (2014). Guide to the Pianist's Repertoire (4th ed.). Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0253010223.
  5. Lodes 2010, pp. 424–427.
  6. Lodes 2010, pp. 433–434.
  7. Dubal, David (2004). The Art of the Piano: Its Performers, Literature, and Recordings. Pompton Plains, New Jersey: Amadeus Press. p. 427. ISBN 1574670883.

Sources

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