Clara Schumann’s 4 Polonaises, Op.1, composed while she was still a child, were written following a lengthy and notable conflict that shook many European powers: the rise & fall of Napoleon Bonaparte and his armies. Napoleon’s end and Clara’s beginnings, the fall and rise of emperor and composer, are closely intertwined, and today, we have for you the complete history of the fascinating 4 Polonaises, Op.1.

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