Analysis of Chopin's Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-Flat major op.61

Frederic Chopin, a Polish Nationalistic composer of the Romantic period, is a famous musician. Chopin’s compositions are individualistic to his talent and love of the piano. Chopin lived in Warsaw as a child and spent a great deal of his life living Paris amongst other artists of the Romantic period. He was influenced by people surrounding him and even more from his childhood in Poland. The Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-Flat major opus 61, is musically representative of Chopin and the Romantic period, nationalistic styles from Poland and unique innovations especially from Warsaw.
The Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-Flat major opus 61 is representative of Chopin in its Polish tendencies, and general style in which Chopin composed. Chopin was born in Warsaw to a French immigrant Father and an impoverished Polish Noble Mother. Chopin was born when Poland was not a country; it had been divided and annexed by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Chopin spent his childhood and formative years in Warsaw, which was then part of Prussia. Conditions in Poland had become more favorable for music in the Romantic period. Chopin spent time in a popular local Warsaw music Publisher office (Goldberg). He played compositions and bought copious amounts as well. Around that time, Poland had an influx of foreign virtuosi but no great musicians of their own, because the economy was not favorable for Patrons. However, “Romanticism became both the means to recapture the heroic past and prelude to a future armed revolt (Goldberg, 23).” The People of Warsaw had an armed revolt known as the November uprising of 1830. These events led to Chopin being exiled from Poland. Chopin went to live in Vienna and eventually Paris, to live with other musicians and exiles. Chopin composed in his own individualistic style for most of his life. Eventually, Chopin departed from his own traditional way of composing to tackle problems of form and genre. In his late years he adopted a symptomatic approach to composition (Sadie, 293) The Polonaise-Fantaisie in A-Flat major opus 61 was written late in Chopin’s life and is a prime example of the later and his Polish heritage.
The Romantic period was not too welcomed in Poland, in its beginning days. The cultural background of Poland was centered on folk and old ways, and was not looking for change.
Throughout the transitioning period with debating over Romanticism and Classicism, Chopin declared himself through his music, on the Romantic side (Goldberg, 22).