Barcarolle literally means boat song. Its origin lies in the traditional Venetian gondola song.

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By Krystian Zimerman

By Rafał Blechacz

By Dang Thai Son

Barcarolle Op. 60 in F-sharp major sheet music

By Arthur Rubinstein

Mazurka Op. 63 No. 3 in C sharp minor sheet music

By Arthur Rubinstein

Mazurka Op. 24 No. 1 in G minor sheet music

The Grande Polonaise brillante is a work for piano and orchestra, although the piano part is often played on its own. This is usually considered to be Chopin’s most difficult piece for piano. The Andante spianato (spianato means “even, or smooth”) for solo piano was composed as an introduction to the Polonaise after Chopin received a long-awaited invitation to perform in one of Habaneck’s Conservatoire Concerts in Paris. The combined work was premiered by the composer there on April 26, 1835.

Chopin’s first work, written at age seven, had been a polonaise. The Grande Polonaise brillante of 1830-31 was to be the last such he would compose for several years. It preoccupied Chopin in his final months at Warsaw. It was finished at Vienna in 1831.

Andante spianato in G major

The quiet rippling effects of this introductory section are borne in a gentle 6/8, rounded with a chordal trio in C major, and a more processional 3/4. The very serene middle section is not a trio, but only a contrasting episode to complement the overall texture of the movement. Not being a trio, it is not in C major but remains in G major.

Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major

The Polonaise opens in fanfare. It moves into the ebullient and fearless dance form of which he was such a master. Chopin’s unexpected and brief excursions, the many electric shocks of surprise and alarm, and the sheer poetic gusto with which he approached these materials was astonishing and, for years, unequalled. In 1836 it was arranged as a piano quartet and, two years later, the solo piano work known today.

Consequently the polonaise has been regarded as one of the most famous and brilliant polonaise pieces.

By Nadejda Vlaeva

By Claire Huangci

By Evgeny Kissin Part 1/2

By Evgeny Kissin Part 2/2

By Yuindi Li

By Lang Lang

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Krystian Zimerman

Grande Polonaise brillante Op. 22 sheet music

Nocturne in F sharp major Op. 15 No. 2 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).

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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.

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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.

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By Krystian Zimerman

By Evgeny Kissin

Ballade Op. 23 No. 1 sheet music