17/11/2017 Ballades (Chopin) - Wikipedia

Ballades(Chopin)
Frdric Chopin's four ballades are one-movement pieces for solo piano,
composed between 1831 and 1842. They are some of the most challenging pieces in
the standard piano repertoire.[1][2]

The term ballade was used by Chopin in the sense of a balletic interlude or dance-
piece, equivalent to the old Italian ballata, but the term may also have connotations
of the medieval heroic ballad, a narrative minstrel-song, often of a fantastical
character. There are dramatic and dance-like elements in Chopin's use of the genre,
and he may be said to be a pioneer of the ballade as an abstract musical form. The
four ballades are said to have been inspired by poet Adam Mickiewicz.[1][3] The
exact inspiration for each individual ballade, however, is unclear and disputed.

The ballades are considered an innovation of Chopin's and cannot be placed into Chopin, 1835
another form (e.g. sonata). Though they do not conform exactly to sonata form, the
"ballade form" created by Chopin for his four ballades is a distinct variant of sonata
form with specific discrepancies, such as the mirror reprise (presenting the two expositional themes in reverse order
during the recapitulation). The ballades have directly influenced composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms
who, after Chopin, wrote ballades of their own.[2]

Besides sharing the title, the four ballades are entities distinct from each other. According to composer and music critic
Louis Ehlert, "Each [ballade] differs entirely from the others, and they have but one thing in common their romantic
working out and the nobility of their motifs."[2] Modern theorists have shown, however, that the ballades do have much
in common, such as the "ballade meter" (6/4 or 6/8) and certain formal practices like the mirror reprise and delaying
the structural dominant.

The four ballades are among the most enduring of Chopin's compositions and are frequently heard in concerts.[4] They
have been recorded many times.

Contents
1 Ballade No. 1
2 Ballade No. 2
3 Ballade No. 3
4 Ballade No. 4
5 Notes
6 External links

BalladeNo.1
BalladeNo.1inGminor,Op.23, dates to sketches Chopin made in 1831 during his eight-month stay in Vienna.[5]
It was completed in 1835 after his move to Paris, where he dedicated it to Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen, the
Hanoverian ambassador to France.[6] In 1836 Robert Schumann commented that, "I received a new Ballade from
Chopin. It seems to be a work closest to his genius (although not the most ingenious) and I told him that I like it best of
all his compositions. After quite a lengthy silence he replied with emphasis, 'I am happy to hear this since I too like it
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most and hold it dearest.'"[7]

The piece begins with a brief introduction which,

contrary to popular belief, is not unrelated to the rest
of the piece. Written in first inversion of the A-flat
major chord, it is a Neapolitan chord that implies a
majestic aura, ending in a dissonant, questioning left
hand chord D, G, and E-flat that is not resolved until
later on in the piece. Though Chopin's original
Main theme of Ballade No. 1
manuscript clearly marks an E-flat as the top note,
the chord has caused some degree of controversy, and
thus, some versions of the work such as the Klindworth edition include D, G, D as an ossia.[2] The main section of
the Ballade is built from two main themes. The brief introduction fades into the first theme, introduced at measure 8.
After some elaboration, the second theme is introduced softly at measure 68. This theme is also elaborated on. Both
themes then return in different keys, and the first theme finally returns again in the same key, albeit with an altered
left hand accompaniment. A thundering chord introduces the coda, marked Presto con fuoco, to which the initial
Neapolitan harmony re-emerges in constant dynamic forward propulsion, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery
double octave scale run down the keyboard. As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to
any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata and variation forms.

A distinguishing feature of Ballade No. 1 is its time signature.

Ballade No. 1
While the other three are written in strict compound duple
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time with a 6/8 time signature, Ballade No. 1 bears deviations
Performed by Donald Betts.
from this. The introduction is written in 4/4 time, and the Courtesy of Musopen.
more extensive Presto con fuoco coda is written in 2/2. The
rest of the piece is written in 6/4, rather than the 6/8 which Problems playing this le? See media help.
characterizes the others.[8]

Ballade No. 1 is featured on the soundtrack to the 2002 Roman Polanski film ThePianist, where it is played by Janusz
Olejniczak. It is also played in the 1944 film Gaslight and heard in the 2006 satire ThankYouforSmoking. It is the
music for the final, "black" pasdedeux in John Neumeier's staging of the ballet TheLadyoftheCamellias. The piece
was the subject of the 2012 BBC documentary Chopin Saved My Life.[9] It is quoted in Mieczysaw Weinberg's
Symphony No. 21 ("Kaddish").[10] It was featured in the final episode of anime YourLieinApril.[11] The piece was also
included in Fallout4's in-game classical radio station.

In 2010, the editor of TheGuardian, Alan Rusbridger, dedicated a year to learning Ballade No. 1 and produced a book
about the experience, PlayItAgain:AnAmateurAgainsttheImpossible.[12]

BalladeNo.2
Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, was
composed from 1836 to 1839 in Nohant,
France, and on the Spanish island of
Majorca. Robert Schumann, who had
dedicated his Kreisleriana, Op. 16, to
Chopin, received the dedication of this
Ballade in return. The piece has been
criticized by some prominent pianists and
musicologists, including its dedicatee Opening bars of Ballade No. 2
Schumann, as a less ingenious work than the
first.[2] There is some degree of disagreement

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as to its inspiration, with the claim often made that it was Ballade No. 2
inspired by Adam Mickiewicz's poem witezianka, the lake of 0:00 MENU

Willis, but this claim is unsubstantiated, and the Ballade No. 3

is sometimes attributed to this poem as well.[1][2]
Problems playing this le? See media help.
As with the Ballades No. 3 and No. 4, the Ballade No. 2 is
written in compound duple (6/8) time. It opens quietly on the dominant of the F major key, with repeated Cs in both
the left and right hands. This quickly progresses to a melody and development with the performance instruction sotto
voce literally "under the voice", or "quietly". This section fades out with several repeated As in the right hand. The
next section of the ballade, in stark contrast to the first, opens with the performance instruction Presto con fuoco
literally "very fast with fire". It is in an unusual key for a secondary melody; instead of being in the parallel minor of F
minor, it is instead in A minor. Chopin scholar and biographer Frederick Niecks writes of it, "The entrance of the
presto ... seems out of keeping with what precedes; but what we hear after... justifies the presence of the presto."[13]
The piece shortly returns to its original tempo and style, and the first melody is further elaborated. Here, Chopin
incorporates variations on the melody not present in the initial expository stage of the piece. This development
progresses until the Prestoconfuoco theme is naturally reintroduced and recapitulated. This time, it is elaborated on
as well, and ends abruptly, until the theme is echoed once more and the piece fades out. The original F major theme is
echoed, but now in A minor, the key of the Presto; it is thus that the piece ends, without returning to its tonic key.[4]

BalladeNo.3
Ballade No. 3 in Aflat major, Op. 47,
dating from 1841, is dedicated to Pauline de
Noailles.[1] The inspiration for this Ballade is
usually claimed to be Adam Mickiewicz's
poem Undine,[2] also known as
witezianka.[1] There are structural
similarities with the "Raindrop Prelude"
which was inspired by the weather in Opening bars of Ballade No. 3
Majorca during Chopin's disastrous vacation
with George Sand. These include a repetitive
A-flat which modulates into a G-sharp during the C-sharp minor section.

The form of this Ballade is an arch: ABCBA coda. The first A

Ballade No. 3
theme is in two parts; the first part is song-like and the second
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is dance-like. Out of the four ballades, the third Ballade has the
performed by Martha Goldstein on
tightest structure. This Ballade also uses development an 1851 Erard piano
procedures that are successful at heightening the tension.[14]
Ballade No. 3
The Ballade opens with a lengthy introduction marked dolce 0:00 MENU
(sweet). The introduction is thematically unrelated to a Performed by Donald Betts.
majority of the piece but is repeated at the close and climax of Courtesy of Musopen.
the work. Following the introduction, Chopin introduces new
theme in a section with the performance direction mezzavoce; Problems playing these les? See media
help.
this theme consists of repeated Cs in two broken octaves in the
right hand. This theme reoccurs three different times in the ballade, twice on C and once on A-flat. The "mezza voce"
section soon develops into a furious F minor chordal section and once again returns to A-flat. The 'mezza voce' section
is repeated, following by a new theme consisting of right hand sixteenth-note leggiero runs. The following return of the
broken octave theme is transposed from C to A-flat (the repeated Cs now being A-flats). The key signature then shifts
to C-sharp minor. The original "B" theme is then developed, this time using rapid, chromatic left-hand runs in the left
hand under large chords in the right. This theme builds to a climax through rapid repetition of broken G-sharp octaves
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(referencing the "mezza voce" theme) with fragments of the "B" theme in the left hand. A retransition occurs as the
dynamic builds from piano to forte. The figuration in the left hand is chromatic and consists of spans frequently larger
than an octave. The key signature then shifts back to A-flat major. In the final section of the arch, the "A" theme from
the introduction is repeated again in octaves. The ballade ends with a reprise of the A-flat leggiero runs and a second
right hand arpeggio. Four chords provide closure to the piece.

BalladeNo.4
Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, was
composed in 1842 in Paris and Nohant and
revised in 1843. The work was dedicated to
Baroness Rothschild, wife of Nathaniel de
Rothschild,[2] who had invited Chopin to
play in her Parisian residence, where she
introduced him to the aristocracy and
Opening bars of Ballade No. 4
nobility. According to Robert Schumann,
this Ballade was inspired by Adam
Mickiewicz's poem TheThreeBudrys, which tells of three brothers sent away by their father to seek treasures, and the
story of their return with three Polish brides.[15]

A phrase in the dominant key (marked piano) opens the seven introductory measures and leads into the first subject of
sonata-form exposition, a melody with Slavonic coloration. The first theme undergoes four cumulative transformations
with decorations, counter-melodies, counterpoint, and a nocturne-like fioritura.[16] The development of the second
theme and its intertwining with the first heightens the complexity of the musical structure and builds tension. Through
the intertwining and thus the simultaneous development of the two themes, Chopin effectively combines the use of
both the sonata form and the variation form.[8] The body of the piece concludes with a series of accented fortissimo
chords, followed by a momentary calm of five pianissimo chords. This then suddenly leads into an extremely fast,
turbulent coda, written in exuberant counterpoint. Structurally Ballade No. 4 is decidedly intricate.[1][2]

A distinguishing feature of the fourth Ballade is its

Ballade No. 4
contrapuntal nature. Counterpoint is found only sporadically
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in Ballades Nos. 1 and 2. The fourth Ballade is musically more
Performed by Donald Betts.
subtle than the other three, as most of its portions remain Courtesy of Musopen.
melancholic and profound. Although there are some
substantial outbursts in the central sections of the music, the Ballade No. 4
coda reveals its greatest momentum. 0:00 MENU
Performed by Randolph Hokanson
Of the four Ballades, it is considered by many pianists to be the
most difficult, both technically and musically.[1][2] Problems playing these les? See media
help.
According to John Ogdon, "[it is] the most
exalted, intense and sublimely powerful of
all Chopin's compositions ... It is
unbelievable that it lasts only twelve
minutes, for it contains the experience of a
lifetime."[17]
Coda from Ballade No. 4
It has been used in television and cinema
including The Bourne Supremacy and The
WestWing.

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Notes
1. Chopin: Complete Music Analysis Ballades (http://www.ourchopin.com/analysis/ballade.html)
2. Huneker, James (1921). Chopin: the Man and his Music (https://books.google.com/books?id=oxUogRL4n2kC).
p.414. ISBN1-60303-588-5. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
3. Zakrzewska, Dorota (1999). "Adam Mickiewicz's "Ballady" and Chopin's Ballades" (http://www.usc.edu/dept/polish
_music/PMJ/issue/2.1.99/zakrzewska.html). Polish Music Journal. 2 (12). ISSN1521-6039 (https://www.worldcat.
org/issn/1521-6039). Retrieved 2010-01-07.
4. Nicholas, Jeremy (2007). Chopin: His Life and Music. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks MediaFusion. p.268.
ISBN1-4022-0757-3.
5. Smaliek, William; Trochimczyk, Maja (2015). Frderic Chopin: A Research and Information Guide (2nd ed.). New
York and London: Routledge. pp.xxviii. ISBN978-0-415-99884-0.
6. Orga, Ate (1978). Chopin. p.64. ISBN9780846704164.
7. Anh L. Tran. "Chopin: Work List Illustrations, Quotes, Dedications" (http://www.ourchopin.com/list/list2125.html).
Retrieved 2010-01-07.
8. How to Play Chopin: Chopin's Ballades (http://www.chopin.org/lessons/How%20to%20Play%20Chopin%20PAR
T%20V%20-%20Chopins_BALLADES.pdf), Prof. Regina Smendzianka
9. Chopin Saved My Life (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2335286/) on IMDb
10. Cookson, Michael. "Review: Recording of the Month" (http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Aug1
4/Weinberg_sy21_TOCC0193.htm). MusicWeb International. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
11. Your Lie in April Spring Breeze (TV Episode 2015) (http://gb.imdb.com/title/tt4792756/?ref_=ttep_ep22), retrieved
2016-09-03
12. Winter, Robert (24 April 2014). "He Dove In and Did It" (http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2014/apr/24/ala
n-rusbridger-he-dove-and-did-it/). The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
13. Niecks, Frederick (1888). Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician. Novello.
14. Steward Gordon. A History of Keyboard Literature. (California: Schirmer, 1996), 291292.
15. Foreword, The Ballads of Chopin, Salabert Editions. An English version of the poem can be found here [dead link
(http://daisy.htmlplanet.com/budrys.html) ]
16. Chopin: Prole of his Music: Extended Forms: Ballades, Scherzos and Fantasies
17. "Chopin Music: Ballades" (http://www.chopinmusic.net/works/ballades). 2009-06-13. Archived (https://web.archive.
org/web/20100127033624/http://www.chopinmusic.net/works/ballades) from the original on 27 January 2010.
Retrieved 2010-01-06.

Externallinks
Analysis of Chopin's Ballades (http://www.ourchopin.com/analysis/ballade.html) at Chopin: the poet of the piano (h
ttp://www.ourchopin.com/)
Detailed study guide (http://www.chopinmusic.net/works/ballades/) of Chopin's ballades, including sheet music
and recordings of each piece
Chopin's G minor Ballade, Op. 23 (http://www.lafolia.com/archive/levin/levin200301chopin.html), a look inside by
Beth Levin, La Folia Online Music Review
Chopin and the G minor Ballade (http://epubl.luth.se/1402-1552/2002/01/LTU-DUPP-0201-SE.pdf), University
essay by David Bjrling
"Listen to Chopin" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140413130554/http://www.listentochopin.com/OthersBallades)
Blog post (http://chopinproject.com/2007/12/19/ballade-in-g-minor-op-23-1836/) about the Ballade No. 1 by Arthur
Greene
Read more on the Ballade No. 3 and hear the performance (http://chopinproject.com/2008/03/30/ballade-no-3-in-a
-at-op-47/) at the Chopin Project (http://www.chopinproject.com/) site
Free scores for all four Ballades can be found on the Chopin page (http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Chopin,_Frederi
c) at IMSLP, or on the Chopin page (http://www.musopen.com/sheetmusic.php?type=composer&id=25) at
Musopen
Krystian Zimerman performs the Ballades on YouTube: No. 1 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RR7eUSFsn28)
No. 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsoUIBcl7iw) No. 3 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCW3631s
xkw)
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Ballade No. 4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tmQSWuYwrI) on YouTube, Arthur Rubinstein

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