polonaise for cello and piano
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opus number
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-
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Burghauser catalogue number
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94
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composed
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June(?) 1879
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premiere - date and place
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29 June 1879, Turnov
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premiere - performer(s)
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Alois Neruda, Antonin Dvorak
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main key
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A major
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duration
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approx. 8 min.
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| This short piece was written for a concert of Dvorak’s works held in Turnov on 29 June 1879. The main item on the programme was his Piano Trio in G minor, but all three players were also to perform as soloists. For cellist Alois Neruda, Dvorak wrote a polonaise with piano accompaniment. The whereabouts of the autograph is unknown, but the polonaise survived as a copy which was discovered in Vienna in 1925. The polonaise follows a symmetrical A-B-A form, and is preceded by a quasi-improvisational introduction. In terms of rhythm and expression, the main theme respects the traditional polonaise style; the middle section is more serene and lyrical in tone. Dvorak later used a variant of the polonaise’s thematic material in his String Quartet in C major. |