Polonaise in A-flat major, Op. 53

53 (French: Polonaise héroïque, Heroic Polonaise; Polish: Heroiczny) is a solo piano piece composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1842[1] The piece is published in 1843,[2] and is one of Chopin's most admired compositions and has long been a favorite of the romantic piano repertoire.

"[4] The piece requires exceptional piano skills and great virtuosity to be interpreted at a high degree of proficiency.

It is also very physically demanding, and according to his student Adolphe Gutmann, Chopin played it more gently than most performers.

The polonaise was dedicated to Auguste Léo [de], a German banker and friend of Chopin.

George Sand, Chopin's longtime lover and companion, responded vigorously to the Revolutions of 1848 as did many intellectuals of the day.

Il est indéniable qu'un tel esprit doit être présent dans la Révolution française.

The form may be viewed as intermediate between ternary (A-B-A) and rondo (A-B-A-C-A), since the first interlude is much shorter than the second (16 vs. 74 bars).

A march-like melody follows the descending octaves and this occurs twice, and then a long lyrical interlude firstly with harmonic chord progressions and frequent modulations.