Composition: 1845-46

Publication: Published in 1846 in Paris (Publisher: Brandus), Leipzig (Publisher: Breitkopf & Härtel), and London (Publisher: Wessel).

This work is considered one of Chopin's late masterpieces. Dedicated to his pupil, Madame Veyret, it is his last major work for solo piano. When composing this piece, Chopin was in a physically and mentally challenging state. From around 1843, Chopin was frequently bedridden, and simultaneously, his relationship with George Sand was heading towards a breakup. This work was created under such extreme circumstances.

This Polonaise, given the name "Fantasy," is a work that lacks a strict form and sounds as if the music unfolds improvisationally. In it, a wide variety of musical elements appear, as if in an improvisation. Among these are materials that sound like "themes" but do not recur, making it impossible for the listener to predict the sequence of musical "events."

However, although the whole flows like a rhapsody, each part is meticulously connected. A sense is created where the next material seems to emerge from the previous one, and where the flow is interrupted by the insertion of heterogeneous material, thereby generating the ebb and flow of the music.

The work can be divided into the following three parts:

• Part I: Introduction (mm. 1-23) - A (mm. 24-65) - Episode (mm. 66-91) - A (mm. 92-115)
• Part II: B1 (mm. 116-147) - C (mm. 148-180) - B2 (mm. 181-205) - C (mm. 206-213) - Introduction (mm. 214-215) - B2 (mm. 216-225) - Transition (mm. 226-241)
• Part III: A (mm. 242-253) - C (mm. 254-288)

Part I begins with an introduction reminiscent of an improvisation. The main theme A is introduced with a polonaise rhythm, clearly establishing A-flat major. As theme A gradually intensifies and expands, an episode with a dance-like character is inserted. Theme A then returns, accompanied by lyrical and flowing triplet figures.

Part II begins with theme B1, which is ornamental like a nocturne. This theme can be seen as sharing musical substance with theme B2, which appears later. At the center of the work is theme C, which has the atmosphere of a "slow movement." After this is interrupted by theme B2, theme C briefly returns. When the opening introduction reappears, theme B2 resurfaces fragmentarily at pp, leading into a passage that prepares for the recapitulation. This passage is accompanied by the polonaise rhythm.

In Part III, themes A and C are recapitulated in A-flat major, reaching a climax.