A work from 1822, when Chopin was 12 years old. At the time, Chopin, who frequently appeared in concerts as a pianist and also published his works, was known in Warsaw as a "child prodigy".

Nevertheless, works from his formative period should not be treated on par with his later compositions. In that year, Chopin also began receiving instruction in music theory from Józef Elsner, who would later teach him at the Conservatory. However, what is expressed in this Polonaise is not the result of his music theory studies, but rather a glimpse into Chopin's piano playing technique, clearly aspiring to virtuosity.

Like the three pieces he had composed before it, this work also adopts a three-part structure: a main section, a trio, and a da capo repetition of the main section to conclude the piece. However, we must first be surprised by the choice of key: G-sharp minor. Keys with four or more accidentals were rarely used as primary keys for pieces at the time, as the sound of their major triads still had a certain impurity due to the prevailing tuning systems. And G-sharp minor, with its five sharps, already conveys a sense of virtuosity just from the appearance of the score. Recalling that Franz Liszt later composed La Campanella in this key (originally in A-flat minor, then revised), this idea may not be entirely off the mark.

The chromatic descent including octave leaps in the main section, octave leaps and arpeggios spanning a wide range, patterned arpeggios with appoggiaturas in the trio, and the frequent use of double thirds and trills—all are fundamental techniques of virtuoso performance, and they are scattered throughout the piece. It is also noteworthy that the characteristic polonaise rhythm, which divides the off-beat of the first beat into sixteenth notes, does not appear even once throughout the entire piece. In other words, this piece incorporates improvisational techniques, borrowing the character of a polonaise.