Franz Schubert tried his hand at the polonaise three times in his life, once crafting a work for violin and orchestra (the unusual Polonaise in B flat of 1817) and twice making sets of these Polish dances for piano four-hands. While the first set of piano four-hands polonaises (D. 599 of 1818) was written for pedagogical purposes (Schubert was teaching music to the Count of Esterházy's daughters during the summer of 1818), the second set, the Six Polonaises for piano four-hands, D. 824, were brought about by no such practical concern—save perhaps that Schubert might have them published and thus make some badly needed money. If such was Schubert's purpose in writing the six pieces of D. 824, his purpose was realized: in 1826, the very same year that he wrote them, the Six Polonaises were published as Op. 61.

The polonaises are written in da capo form (ABA), the opening music literally reprised after a digression has been made to a contrasting trio section. It is the trio portions that, for the most part, harbor the finest music of D. 824—here Schubert feels that he can minimize the presence of what seem to him to be very rigid, plain polonaise rhythms and allow his pen to roam a bit more freely. The C major trio of the final polonaise of the set (No. 6 in E major) is a particular treat, with an absolutely uninhibited melody that gently tickles the very stratosphere of the piano's register.

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