Polonaise, for 2 pianos in F minor, Op. 77

• Date: 1885
• Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns
• Period: Romantic (1820-1869)

Review

Saint-Saëns' Polonaise (1886) is one of the most successful attempts by a later composer to evoke the sound and spirit of the great Polish pianist-composer Frédéric Chopin. Saint-Saëns' passionate devotion to the music of Chopin dated from his years as a student; he harbored a bitter resentment toward his teacher Camille Stamaty for once forbidding him to take advantage of an opportunity to meet his idol.

Saint-Saëns wrote the the ten-minute Polonaise at the height of his powers: both the monumental Third Symphony and the Carnival of the Animals date from the same year. The Polonaise follows the model of the national dance that became most closely associated with Chopin. The work is cast as a rondo; the recurring theme separates episodes that evoke the spirit of various Chopin polonaises without actually quoting any of them. ~ Joseph Stevenson, Rovi

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title	Date
30 Years Outside the Box	1992
Oeuvres pour 2 Pianos
Saint-Saens: Variations on a Theme of Beethoven Op35; Caprice arabe Op96	1986
Saint-Saëns: Carnival/Piano Duets	1996
Saint-Saëns: Complete Works for Piano	2003

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