Henryk Wieniawski
Polonaise brillante
in A major, op. 21 (1870)
Program Notes
Henryk Wieniawski wrote two works he called Polonaise brillante: one in D major in 1853, which he listed as his Opus 4, and one in A major, published in 1870 as his Opus 21. A polonaise was originally a stately and ceremonial Polish dance in triple time, but Wieniawski takes this ancient form from his homeland and turns it into a wild dance that becomes a vehicle for violin virtuosity. A grand introduction leads to the extroverted violin entrance, driven along snapped dotted rhythms and showers of fiery triplets. More lyric material follows, but it is the spirit of the opening that establishes the character of this music, which is full of such violinistic razzle-dazzle as flying spiccatos, extended passages in doublestops, and so on.
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