Chopin’s Early Polonaises (1817-1829) - Stefańska/Stefański

This is a collection of Chopin’s Polonaises before he began to publish them with Op. 26. They are played by Halina-Czerny Stefańska and Ludwik Stefański. Stefańscy’s performances are not outwardly unique, but rather straight to the point: without any clutter or affectations. In my personal opinion, Stefańska’s performance of A-flat is unparalleled. Polonaise in G minor is generally considered to be Chopin’s first composition. It was written in G minor, but most of it is in B-flat major. It features a very Classical melody. This Polonaise has an unusual characteristic in that only the first section is played Da Capo and not the second, this is unlike all of the other Polonaises in this collection. The trio has a more recognizable Polonaise-like bass, but it is interrupted by periods of Alberti bass.