This rousing Polonaise, which is preceded by a nocturne-like Andante, was originally a work for piano and orchestra. Since the orchestral part fulfills only an accompanying function, the Polonaise lends itself brilliantly to performance as a solo piano piece, and indeed is almost always performed as such in today’s concert halls. In this spirit our Urtext edition is laid out as the solo part; at those few passages where the solo piano rests, the orchestral accompaniment is reproduced in small print.