Editing Polka (section)

== Polka in the classical repertoire ==
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[[File:Polka 1848.jpg|thumb|Polka]]

[[Bedřich Smetana]] incorporated the polka in his opera ''[[The Bartered Bride]]'' ({{langx|cs|Prodaná nevěsta}}) and in particular, Act 1.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.operanorth.co.uk/blogs/the-bartered-bride-five-fascinating-facts|title=The Bartered Bride: Five fascinating facts|website=[[Opera North]]|access-date=2017-10-03}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wbur.org/artery/2014/07/22/bartered-bride|title=Smetana's ''Bartered Bride'' Gives a Taste of the Czech Countryside (in Boston)|website=[[WBUR-FM]]|date=22 July 2014 |access-date=2017-10-03}}</ref>

While the polka is Bohemian in origin, most dance music composers in [[Vienna]] (the capital of the vast [[Habsburg]] [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], which was the cultural centre for music from all over the empire) composed polkas and included the dance in their repertoire at some point in their careers. The [[:Category:Strauss family|Strauss family]] in Vienna, for example, while better-known for their [[waltz]]es, also composed polkas that have survived. [[Joseph Lanner]] and other Viennese composers in the 19th century also wrote polkas to satisfy the demands of the dance-music-loving Viennese. In France, another dance-music composer, [[Émile Waldteufel]], wrote polkas.

The polka evolved during the same period into different styles and tempos. In principle, the polka written in the 19th century has a four-theme structure; themes 1A and 1B as well as a 'Trio' section of a further two themes. The 'Trio' usually has an 'Intrada' to form a break between the two sections. The feminine and graceful 'French polka' (polka française) is slower in tempo and is more measured in its gaiety. [[Johann Strauss II]]'s {{ill|Annen-Polka|de|lt="Annen-Polka"}}, Op. 114, "[[Demolirer-Polka]], Op. 269, the "[[Im Krapfenwald'l]]", Op. 336, and the "[[Bitte schön!]]" polka, Op. 372, are examples of this type of polka. The [[polka-mazurka]] is also another variation of the polka, being in the tempo of a [[mazurka]] but danced in a similar manner as the polka. The final category of the polka form around that time is the ''Polka schnell'', which is a fast polka or ''[[galop]]''. [[Eduard Strauss]] is better known for this last category, as he penned the "Bahn Frei" polka, Op. 45, and other examples. Earlier, [[Johann Strauss I]] and Josef Lanner wrote polkas designated as a ''galop'' (quick tempo) or as a regular polka that may not fall into any of the categories above.

The polka was a further source of inspiration for the Strauss family in Vienna when Johann II and Josef Strauss wrote one for plucked string instruments ([[pizzicato]]) only, the {{ill|Pizzicato Polka|simple|lt="Pizzicato Polka"}}.<ref>{{AllMusic|class=composition|id=mc0002362796|title=Pizzicato Polka for orchestra, Op. 234|author=John Palmer}}</ref> Johann II later wrote the "[[Neue Pizzicato Polka]]" (New pizzicato-polka), Op. 449, culled from music of his [[operetta]] ''{{ill|Fürstin Ninetta|de}}''. Much earlier, he also wrote a "joke-polka" (German ''scherz-polka'') entitled "[[Champagner-Polka]]", Op. 211, which evokes the uncorking of champagne bottles.

Other composers who wrote music in the style of the polka were [[Jaromír Weinberger]], [[Dmitri Shostakovich]] and [[Igor Stravinsky]].{{Listen
| title=La Tipica
| filename=Carlo Curti - La Tipica.ogg
| description="La Tipica" - polka by [[Carlo Curti]], performed by Trio Romano in 1921.
}}
{{Listen|type=music|filename=JennyLind.ogg|title="Jenny Lind Polka"|description=Played on a fiddle, 1939}}