This ballade is considered by many to be the most musically intense and technically demanding of Chopin’s compositions and requires exceptional pianistic skills and virtuosity in order to be performed at an appropriate level of quality.

This ballade, like the other three ballades, is set in compound duple time. There are 239 bars A phrase, marked piano, in the dominant key opens the seven introductory measures, and leads into the first subject of Sonata-form exposition, a melody with Slavonic coloration. The first subject undergoes four cumulative transformations, inclusive of decorations, intense countermelodies (which lead into the second subject, a lilting chordal passage), counterpoint and a nocturne-like fioritura.

The development of the second subject in between and after the appearances of the first subject and its transformations heighten the complexity of the musical structure and builds tension, which lead into a turbulent stretto section. After a momentary calm of 5 pianissimo chords, the music leads into a bravura Coda, which is characterised by intensive polyphony (which makes the music seem as if two to three voices are playing simultaneously) and technical severity.

Chopin has demonstrated that, in the simultaneous development of these two subjects, he has effectively synthesized a new genre which combines the use of sonata form and theme and variations. It is said that this interwoven development of subjects in the Ballade represents the synthesis of stylistic characters and is a refinement on contemporary improvisation in Chopin’s time.

As a result of the large scale of this work and its complexity of form, coupled with the fact there are large developmental passages, there is a tendency for this work to be played with an episodic quality, lacking sense of structure and direction, as compared to the other ballades.

The Fourth Ballade is also widely considered to be the longest of the four ballades, the first coming in second in length. A typical performance can last anywhere between 9 minutes and 30 seconds (e.g. Alfred Cortot) to 12 minutes (e.g. Ivan Moravec).

The Ballades are all unified in their use of compound duple time, with the only exception being the First ballade, which begins and ends in 4/4 timing. The ballades may have been inspired by a reading of Adam Mickiewicz’s poems. Rather than a musical paraphrase of selections of text from these poems, Chopin’s ballades reflect the common spirit of patriotism towards Poland which he and Mickiewicz shared and cherished.

The distinguishing features of the Fourth Ballade are that the Fourth is more subtle and contrapuntal in nature. The Fourth has fewer outbursts than the other three ballades, and most of its volume occurs in the last part of the piece, as the coda nears. The contrapuntal qualities found so abundantly in the Fourth appear rarely in the first three.

John Ogdon once said of the Fourth Ballade: “[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.”

According to Robert Schumann, the writing of the Fourth Ballade was inspired by a reading of Adam Mickiewicz’ poem “The Three Budrys.”

This piece can be heard quietly playing in The Bourne Supremacy while Matt Damon’s character investigates the hotel of the murdered Russian man.

The Three Budrys is a poem by Adam Mickiewicz which tells a story of three brothers being sent away by their father to far and distant lands in search of priceless treasures. Autumn passes, then winter. The father thinks that his sons have perished at war.

Amidst whirling snow-storms, however, each one manages to return; and all bring back but a single trophy from their odyssey – a Polish bride.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Stanislav Stanislavovich Bunin

Ballade Op. 52 No. 4 sheet music

According to some rumours, Chopin was inspired in many of his works by Adam Mickiewicz, and so he may have been when he wrote this ballade. It may have been written according to a ballade about a water nymph who wants to make sure that her beloved loves only her and so she changes her appearance and tries to seduce him. He follows her to the water where she drowns him. Chopin, in contrast to Mickiewicz, did not let her drown him and therefore this is probably the only 19th century ballade with a happy ending (as well as being the only ballade of Chopin’s that ends on a major chord).

Chopin’s ballade can be divided to three parts, in accordance with the poem’s narrative:

In the first section (bars 1 to 51) there is a dialogue between the two people assuring each other about their love. The first two bars represent the girl’s question; the urgency of this question is strengthened by the first tone being the dominant. The answer comes in the left hand in bars 3 and 4 and begins on the dominant as well. From bar 9 there are obvious doubts of the girl because she is not convinced about his love and she is thinking about the examination for the first time. Therefore it is far more dramatic and octaves in the right hand foretell the dance rhythm in the second part (mainly the beginning of the theme in bars 52 and 53). In bar 26 their parting begins.

The second part shows the dance of the nymph and her tempting of her beloved. The main theme of this part returns several times in different keys. At the end of this part (bar 212 and earlier) he yields to this temptation before the third part (coda).

Here Chopin’s story differs from the Mickiewicz’s poem. Chopin does not like the idea of drowning the man because he may have identified his love in the dancing nymph and he also wanted to show us a moral lesson. In this fairy tale he says that excessive distrust only assists us to succumb to temptations. In bar 213 the main theme from the first part returns in much more complicated chords. In bar 231 comes one of the themes of the second part (bar 116).

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Krystian Zimerman

Ballade Op. 47 No. 3 sheet music

It was composed from 1836 to 1839 in Nohant, France and on the Spanish island of Majorca. Chopin dedicated this work to Robert Schumann, who had dedicated his Kreisleriana, Op. 16 to Chopin.

This ballade, as with the following two ballades, is in 6/8 time signature. (The first ballade is in a different signature: 6/4.) It opens quietly, on repeated Cs with F major being the clear tonic key. The introductory motif maintains a soft, lyric tone which is complemented by an SATB type arrangement and the performance instruction “sotto voce” (literally “under the voice” or hushed). The section concludes with a gentle perfect cadence.

In stark contrast to the first section, the second section of the ballade opens with a dramatic A minor arpeggioed outburst marked “presto con fuoco” (”fast with fire”). Although clearly differing in tempo and key, these two contrasting sections are actually united through subtle melodic and rhythmic variations of the initial motif.

The ballade concludes with a recapitulation of the “presto con fuoco” section; this time in D minor and races into a coda in the dominant A minor key. Suddenly, it stops, and the opening barcarolle-like melody is briefly echoed, this time in a minor key. The ballade concludes, never returning to its tonic key of F major.

Rubinstein interpreted this piece as “Flower-Storm-Flower”, with the Flower broken at the end.

A typical performance of this ballade usually lasts seven to eight minutes.

According to Robert Schumann, Chopin cited the poem “Le Switez,” by Adam Mickiewicz, as inspiration for his second ballade.

Chopin played a truncated version of this piece at his final public concert in 1848.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Krystian Zimerman

Ballade Op. 38 No. 2 sheet music

Chopin cited the poet Adam Mickiewicz as an influence for his ballades (this according to a rumour based on a remark by Robert Schumann concerning the genesis of Chopin’s second ballade). The exact inspiration for each piece is not clear.

The music is built from two main themes, the first introduced in bar 7 after the short introduction, and the second in bar 69. Both themes return in different guises. The piece is in compound duple time (6/4) except for the short introduction (in 4/4) and the coda (in 2/2). Sections of the piece are technically demanding, requiring complex fingering, wide chords, octaves, extremely fast chords, and even a section of chromatic chords near the end. Its complex structure combines ideas from sonata and variation forms.

Schumann wrote in a letter to Heinrich Dorn about the Ballade, “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 most and hold it dearest.’”

In the coda (”Presto con fuoco”) there is a passage which is very similar (possibly intentionally) to one in the third movement of Beethoven’s Sonata No. 23 “Appassionata”.

The ballade was played twice by Janusz Olejniczak in the Roman Polanski film The Pianist. The first time, a few bars are heard when the pianist Władysław Szpilman “plays the piano” in the air in the abandoned German hospital. The second time, an approximately 4 minute-cut is heard in the film, while a full version is included in the film soundtrack.

In the 1944 Ingrid Bergman film Gaslight, the ballade was played by a pianist at the musical gathering she attends.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Krystian Zimerman

By Evgeny Kissin

Ballade Op. 23 No. 1 sheet music