In Polish, this musical form is called "Mazurek", a word derived from "Mazur," which up to the 19th century denoted an inhabitant of Poland's Mazovia region, and which also became the root for "Masuria."  In Polish, "Mazurka" is actually the genitive and accusative cases of "Mazurek."

Several classical composers have written Mazurkas, with the best known being the 58 composed by Frèdèric Chopin for solo piano. Henryk Wieniawski also wrote two for violin with piano (the popular "Obertas", Op. 19), and in the 1920's, Karol Szymanowski wrote a set of twenty for piano and finished his composing career with a final pair in 1934. Chopin first started composing Mazurkas in 1825, but his composing did not become serious until 1830, the year of the November Uprising, a Polish rebellion against the Russian government. Chopin continued composing them until 1849, the year of his death. The stylistic and musical characteristics of Chopin’s Mazurkas differ from the traditional variety because Chopin in effect created a completely separate and new genre of Mazurkas all his own. For example, he used classical techniques in his Mazurkas, including counterpoint and fugues. By including more chromaticism and harmony in the Mazurkas, he made them more technically interesting than the traditional dances. Chopin also tried to compose his Mazurkas in such a way that they could not be used for dancing, so as to distance them from the original form.

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