Władysław Żeleński had the Six Character Pieces for piano, op. 17 ready around 1871, although it is quite possible that he composed them earlier, even in 1864. Such is indicated by the opus number. At that time he was giving opus numbers to works in chronological order of composition. This set is dedicated to Auguste Auspitz-Kolár, a pianist whom Żeleński could have met on one of his trips to Vienna. The composer published these works in 1872, with Gotthard of Vienna, in two books under the comm...