Though Boehm is primarily remembered for his revolutionary mechanical designs, he was also a world-class virtuoso flautist at the Bavarian court. He wrote Op. 16 for the older "simple system" conical wood flute, but the piece remains a benchmark for testing the agility and tonal power of the modern Boehm-system instrument.

Boehm wrote for a style of playing that valued clarity.

To truly understand the Grand Polonaise , one must understand its creator. Theobald Boehm (1794–1881) was not only a Bavarian court musician and composer but also a goldsmith, ironmaster, and acoustician. He is universally celebrated for inventing the modern conical and cylindrical bore flutes, alongside the revolutionary "Boehm fingering system" still used by flutists today.