Ballade No. 1 in G Minor

The sparse, singular melody that opens Chopin's Ballade No. 1 stretches tentatively; it takes a full two minutes before the virtuosic figuration that characterises the Polish composer's solo piano music is revealed. Composed in 1831 and amended until 1835, this ballade is the first in a series of four works that represent Chopin at the pinnacle of his pianistic powers. The dramatic shifting textures were unusual for the early 19th century and remain fresh to modern ears. The main musical idea is revisited multiple times throughout the compact piece, teased out during waltz-like variations with a thumping bass line and finally explored in spiralling, fast-paced melodies that spill across the keyboard. To further confuse any structural assessment, Chopin adds a dazzling coda that bears little resemblance to the main body of the piece. Dramatic scales—including some in unison (with the left and right hand playing the same part at different octaves)—provide a dizzying flourish. About Chopin's Ballades Composed between 1831 and 1842, Chopin's Ballades broke new ground with their free-form structures. The four pieces for solo piano are played as individual works in their own right, yet are united by a distinctive use of contrasting musical ideas (sometimes referred to as subjects). As a devotee of the newly invented piano, Chopin's compositions highlight the instrument’s poetic capabilities—finely wrought melodies and layered textures are central to the Ballades. But the Polish composer was also boldly innovative: the series is sprinkled with freewheeling keyboard acrobatics, punchy bass lines and harmonic surprises.