Ballade No. 2 (Chopin)

The Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38 is the second of the four ballades for piano solo by Frédéric Chopin.

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.

Form

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.

Trivia

*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.

Recordings

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=MsoUIBcl7iw Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38] played by Krystian Zimerman. YouTube video.

External links

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