1. Polonaise No. 1 in C-sharp minor

In the summer of 1835, Chopin traveled to Leipzig via Dresden. There, he met Mendelssohn, who had been appointed conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and through him, he met Schumann. At this time, he visited Breitkopf & Härtel, one of the largest music publishers. The "Two Polonaises," Op. 26, composed in the same year, were subsequently published by Breitkopf in Germany.

Op. 26, No. 1 is in C-sharp minor in its first half, while the second half is in D-flat major, a major key with an enharmonic tonic. This key relationship was also employed several years later in the Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 (commonly known as the "Raindrop" Prelude). Despite sharing the same tonic pitch, the four-sharp minor key and the five-flat major key create a contrasting visual image on the score, a characteristic favored by many composers.

This piece does not exhibit the youthful virtuosity, or, to put it less favorably, the superficial aspects seen in his earlier etude-like polonaises. What is evident here is the improvement in Chopin's compositional technique, which he acquired in Vienna and Paris.

The opening four measures are often regarded as merely an introduction or interpreted in conjunction with the tragic sentiments surrounding the suppression of the November Uprising in his homeland. However, one must not overlook that they condense the fundamental elements that constitute this piece: the stepwise descending figure played in 32nd notes and the repeated E natural struck on the off-beats. First, by inverting the descending diminished fifth from C-sharp to G-double-sharp, an ascending melody from D-sharp to A, accompanied by an embellishing tone, is generated (mm. 5-6). Subsequently, an ascending perfect fifth from G-sharp to D-sharp in eighth-note triplets follows (mm. 7-8). In this manner, all ascending melodies dominating the first half of this piece are derived from the opening melody. Furthermore, the E major theme appearing as the middle section of the C-sharp minor part features the dominant pitch continuously resounding in the background of the descending melodic line (from m. 34 onwards).

The second half shifts to D-flat major, transitioning to a calmer musical idea, yet it increases harmonic tension through the frequent use of chromatic progressions. While the upper voice melody is adorned with delicate ornamentation reminiscent of improvisation, the characteristic chromatic descent appearing in the bass voice (mm. 54-56 and 59-61) can be interpreted as a chromaticization of the main section's opening. In the middle section, melodic and ornamental passages are also inserted into the lower voice, demonstrating Chopin's characteristic attention to fulfilling technical demands. Originally, the piece concluded in D-flat major, eschewing a simple three-part form with a da capo. This is consistent across both the Schlesinger and Breitkopf editions. Nevertheless, later published scores added a da capo, repeating the C-sharp minor section, on the grounds that it did not align with the style of Chopin's other polonaises. Today, how the ending of this work should be interpreted remains open to reconsideration.