B major, 2/4 time. Allegro moderato.

The Krakowiak is a representative Polish dance, alongside the Mazurka and Polonaise, known for its steps that imitate the movements of a horse.

Also known as the "thrusting dance," it is characterized by syncopation.

In this piece, syncopation appears in the left-hand rhythm from the very beginning.

From music that evokes a horse beginning to gallop, to light double stops in thirds,

and octaves that ascend rapidly,

the opening section is technically and musically brilliant.

From the "scherzoso" at measure 41, mysterious chords appear,

followed by beautiful scales that flow into the next section.

From measure 59, the same motif as at measure 41 returns,

but with extensive use of octaves to further heighten the expressive intensity of this passage.

From Tempo I at measure 105, the opening section returns with a modified left-hand rhythm,

culminating at measure 143 with a II7 chord borrowed from the parallel minor (B minor),

descending with double-stop plus single-note triplets, then accelerating from Presto at measure 151,

and finally concluding grandly with brilliant arpeggios in both hands and

a clear dominant (also borrowed from B minor) to tonic

cadence.