The fascination with colour and the expressive potential of the cello was not a one-time whim of Chopin in his otherwise piano-dominated output. Pieces featuring this instrument, though in small numbers and of unequal value, appeared in various periods of the composer’s life. Introduction and Polonaise brillante in C major op. 3 is a chance reflection of the young Fryderyk’s stay at the mansion of Prince Antoni Radziwiłł in Antonin. Grand Duo Concertant sur des themes de “Robert le Diable” is an apotheosis of the dazzling Paris salon in its most external and new-fangled variety. Sonata in G minor op. 65 for piano and cello is a late work and a lonely one, full of hidden codes and meanings; despite many questionable elements, it is an eminent piece.
Chopin himself was disarmingly honest when he wrote about Polonaise brillante in C major op. 3 on his return from Antonin: „I’ve written (…) alla polacca with cello. Nothing there except trinkets for ladies”. Later opinions were equally harsh. Accusations of banality and superficial extravagance were only partially mitigated by its bravura. The particular sections appeared in an inverse order. Chopin first composed the Polonaise itself, in the form of a rondo, and only then did he write the moody Introduction; in spite of all, it is the latter that seems to be more deeply felt, more powerfully inspired. The piano part, which does not avoid chromatics, is more individualised, and the cantilena of the cello nobler, than in the polonaise part. In turn, Polonaise aspires to success in established piano figurations, all part of the hardcore arsenal of the brillante style. The cello part tries to eschew top registers and more complex technical means with harmonic intervals and chords, an occasion for the first of the performers to display at least some professionalism. It is only the later publication of the work in Paris that introduced a series of technical modifications, such as harmonic intervals in the cello, to make this piece one of the most readily played in early-Romantic cello repertoire.

Marcin Gmys