26, has had the misfortune of
being sentimentalized to death. What can be more "appassionata"
than the opening with its "grand rhythmical swing"? It is usually
played by timid persons in a sugar-sweet fashion, although fff
stares them in the face. The first three lines are hugely heroic,
but the indignation soon melts away, leaving an apathetic humor;
after the theme returns and is repeated we get a genuine love
motif tender enough in all faith wherewith to woo a princess. On
this the Polonaise closes, an odd ending for such a fiery
opening.
In no such mood does No. 2 begin. In E flat minor it is variously
known as the Siberian, the Revolt Polonaise. It breathes defiance
and rancor from the start. What suppressed and threatening
rumblings are there! Volcanic mutterings these:
[Musical score excerpt]
It is a sinister page, and all the more so because of the
injunction to open with pianissimo. One wishes that the shrill,
high G flat had been written in full chords as the theme suffers
from a want of massiveness. Then follows a subsidiary, but the
principal subject returns relentlessly.
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