The polonaise, a stately Polish dance distinguished by its characteristic rhythm, was popular among European nobility in the early nineteenth century. Beethoven dedicated his Polonaise in C major, Op 89, to the Empress Elisabeth Alexeyevna of Russia, whom he met at the Congress of Vienna. The Empress rewarded Beethoven with a fee of 50 ducats. Beethoven’s Polonaise begins with a flourish before settling into a lively, delectable dance tune. Even a C minor interlude is fleeting, and contains nothing of Beethoven’s signature C minor Sturm und Drang (cf. the Fifth Symphony, Pathétique Sonata, et al.); this Polonaise enjoys fair weather from start to finish.

from notes by Patrick Castillo © 2017