Piano Forum

Just a couple more thoughts.   

Keep in mind that the format of the Military polonaise (for example) is ABA which is repetitive by nature and with the repeats he marks, it is going to be repetitive.  This polonaise is NOT a larger form/structure piece.

Also, look at his piano sonata #3.  The first mvt is in strict sonata allegro form and lasts about 14 minutes when the exposition is repeated.  This is a larger form structure.  This movement is very successful IMO and is not overly repetitive in any way.  In fact, he skips the 1st theme in the recapitulation.

EDIT:
Just reread your original post.  You feel that the Military polonaise sounds corny.  So it appears that this is the problem rather than the repetition?  I feel that Grieg's piano concerto sounds corny in places.  Something in my past must have made me feel that way.  But I am able to "reboot" my brain in a way that I can overcome this and enjoy the concerto.  No problem if you feel this way about that polonaise.  I guess I'm lucky in that I don't feel that way.  I hear rich, massive chords - or as described elsewhere about Arthur Rubinstein's feelings about this piece -

"Its exuberant trills and heroic octaves do indeed evoke the fanfare that might accompany a triumphant army. It’s often observed that this polonaise is unique in Chopin’s oeuvre in that it completely avoids dynamic contrast. Chopin marked his score Allegro con brio, energico and fortissimo; he intended it to be played very loud, very fast, and with great verve, all of which are present in Rubinstein’s stirring performance.was Chopin’s A major “Military” Polonaise.  In the early years of the occupation all of Chopin’s music was officially banned from the airwaves, but this Polonaise nevertheless became a fixture of Polish radio, serving as the “Signal of Warsaw” that began each broadcast.  The A major Polonaise held a special, and deeply personal, meaning for Arthur Rubinstein, whose performance was chosen by the Librarian of Congress for its National Recording Registry as the iconic reading of this revered work. In his memoir, Rubinstein wrote that “speaking of Chopin’s music is for me like confessing my greatest love.” Born in 1887 to a Jewish family in the Polish city of Łodź, which was then still part of the Russian Empire, for Rubinstein hearing Chopin’s music was “like coming home.” In 1939, while vacationing in the French seaside resort of Deauville, he learned in a radio broadcast that his homeland had fallen to the Nazis; what immediately followed the message that Warsaw had been bombed by the German air force. was Chopin’s A major “Military” Polonaise. In the early years of the occupation all of Chopin’s music was officially banned from the airwaves, but this Polonaise nevertheless became a fixture of Polish radio, serving as the “Signal of Warsaw” that began each broadcast."

In my case, I listened to all the Chopin polonaises when I was about 10 years old in a wonderful recording by Alexander Brailowsky recoded around 1964.  I loved ALL of the 6 mature polonaises on the album but did not like nearly as much the 3 op. 71 polonaises on the album that were written when Chopin was about 15-18 years old.