Although Chopin lived in the Golden Age of the Romantic era, he disliked the emphasis on originality and individuality, personal emotional expression, and freedom and experimentation of form as Romanticists like Schumann did at that time. Chopin pursued music with abstractionism and purity, and was known as the "piano poet." As the name suggests, Polonaise is a typical Polish dance, and its origin is a march-style dance at festivals and weddings by farmers. It is said that what is commonly known as the characteristic rhythm of Polonaise took root in the middle of the 18th century. Chopin left a total of 16 piano solo Polonaises, but this "Hero' s Polonaise" is No. 6. Its brilliant melody is determined by powerful, heroic rhythms. Many people would like to play this song like Ashkenazy because it's okay to do so once. I think it is the most popular piano piece.
(Takeo Kimura)
