Chopin's 4 Ballades

[PianistSk8er]

Ahh yes the Ballades, who could forget?

My favorite would have to be the first, for displaying such a variety of Chopin's capabilities and difference in melodic thinking. It implies a bit of almost every emotion possible to display on the piano. Well done, Chopin!

PS

[beethoven]

I also love the first one. My favourite recordings of it are Horowitz and Rubinstein.

[virtuoso_735]

Love the first one, though all of them have been my "favorites" at some point, since each one has qualities that make it special; and all have such variety that one cannot be tired of them. No.4 of course is the greatest and has the most spacious design, though no.1 appeals to me the most. I love the stormy section of the no.2, and the suaveness of no.3 is great.

[WinterWind_23]

All are great, but I admit that the first stand best in my preferences. It is so varied in musicality and technique that it is outstanding. The fourth is my second favorite because of it's grandeur and large scale writing. Perhaps one of the greatest piano pieces of the Romantic Era. Third favorite is second, because of it's melodies and form. The unique exchange and dialogue between "flower and storm". The third is next, since it is not as revolutionary as the rest, yet just as pleasant.

[Amnesia]

No. 1 and then No. 3. Two very beautiful ballades, but then again, they're all beautiful . The third is more elusive, whereas the first has a very clear, solid structure, but very expressive nonetheless.

[virtuoso_735]

The first ballade almost seems like theme and variations. The Eb theme is played three times, all differently.

[An!ma`]

Deja vu .

[Jeliness2]

My favorite is no.3. mostly cause i play it.
2nd is no.1
then 4 and lastly no.2

[Philip Daniel]

My favorite is the beloved Ballade #4 in F Minor. It is so beautiful, a piano masterpiece of rather epic proportions, rare in Chopin's ouvre, and so well-composed, with Chopin's nearly perfect compositional techniques in melodic & harmonic invention coupled with his genius in polyphony as integrated into the overall structure and his aesthetic genius in full bloom, representing an apex of the musical work of his era. From the hushed octaves and subtle heterophonic counterpoint as inherent in the voice leading of the dimly colored introduction to the final pages of brilliance in the coda, there is never a dull passage in this work.

[Philip Daniel]

The first ballade almost seems like theme and variations. The Eb theme is played three times, all differently.

Yes, that has some truth in it. Indeed, Chopin's genius lay in many things, including the ability to vary the texture and other components of a thematic return in a piece in a fresh, startling way each time. A famous example, from the Nocturne Opus 62 #1, is especially famous for the return of its opening theme, one could say, "reorchestrated" on the pianoforte. It comes back, every note being a trill. The trills are less an ornament, as I said, more an expressive rendering that changes the entire effect of the original section in its recapitulation.

[WinterWind_23]

I think the 4th is greatest of all of them, regardless. It is the largest scale, most difficult, and geniusly composed. Though it may not be some people's favorite.

[Debussy]

A few days ago, I voted for Ballade No.1 in G Minor, however, I was listening a lot more closely to Ballade No.3 in Ab Major; I've come to the conclusion that I like No.3 better.

[virtuoso_735]

The first ballade almost seems like theme and variations. The Eb theme is played three times, all differently.

Yes, that has some truth in it. Indeed, Chopin's genius lay in many things, including the ability to vary the texture and other components of a thematic return in a piece in a fresh, startling way each time. A famous example, from the Nocturne Opus 62 #1, is especially famous for the return of its opening theme, one could say, "reorchestrated" on the pianoforte. It comes back, every note being a trill. The trills are less an ornament, as I said, more an expressive rendering that changes the entire effect of the original section in its recapitulation.

Yeah, Chopin is a genius in the way he organizes his compositions and the creativity in which he presents the themes. That op.62 no.1 nocturne is one of my favorite Chopin pieces; love the trill chains.

[Jeliness2]

LOL, yay! i'm good... 3 is the best

[Comme_le_Vent]

IMO - no1's ending spoils it a bit 4 me