Pavane pour une infante défunte little princess might, in former times, have danced at the Spanish court". The pavane was a slow processional dance that enjoyed great popularity in the courts of Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This antique miniature is not meant to pay tribute to any particular princess from history, but rather expresses a nostalgic enthusiasm for Spanish customs and sensibilities, which Ravel shared with many of his contemporaries (most notably Debussy and Albéniz) and which is evident in some of his other works such as the "Rapsodie espagnole" and the "Boléro". Ravel dedicated the "Pavane" to his patron, the Princesse
Polonaise, Op. 89 (Beethoven) a precursor to Chopin's more well-known polonaises. The piece is marked "Alla Polacca, vivace" (as a polonaise, lively)"." After four measures, there is a brief barless passage of ascending and descending scales moving to "adagio" (slow) and then to "più presto" (faster). At the conclusion of this unusual introduction, the piece returns to the first tempo and meter, and the polonaise rhythm and main theme are introduced. The piece ends with a lengthy coda. It takes about five minutes to perform. Polonaise, Op. 89 (Beethoven) The Polonaise in C major, Op. 89, by Ludwig van Beethoven is a polonaise for