Ballade No. 1, Op. 23

1. 0:01
   Opening in octaves, Largo

   The marking is Largo. Both hands start on C and climb an octave apart, outlining A♭ major. The line reaches the treble, pauses and moves into chords, with an E♭ sounding against the D below it.

2. 0:34
   First theme, Moderato

   The piano moves into Moderato and a six-beat bar. A circling melody in G minor lies above detached bass notes and chords, with the accompaniment in the left hand.

3. 3:21
   Second theme in E♭ major

   The second theme opens in E♭ major, marked meno mosso (less movement). The right hand plays long notes above rolling chords in the left hand, and the phrase extends over several bars.

4. 4:34
   Return of the first theme, A minor

   The first melody returns in A minor at bar 94. Low repeated Es replace the opening accompaniment. The second theme follows in A major at bar 107.

5. 5:08
   Second theme in A major

   The second theme returns in A major, with full chords in the right hand and a low A in the bass. Where it was first heard over a light accompaniment, it now spans both ends of the keyboard.

6. 6:00
   Schumann and Chopin, Leipzig, 1836

   In Leipzig in 1836 Schumann told Chopin that this Ballade was his favourite of Chopin’s works. According to Schumann, Chopin paused for a long time before he replied: “I’m glad of that because it’s the one I prefer too.”

7. 6:45
   Return of the second theme, E♭ major

   The second theme returns first, in its original E♭ major. Chopin marks it fortissimo, with broken chords in the left hand throughout. The melody keeps its long notes.

8. 7:46
   Return of the first theme

   The first theme returns in G minor, marked meno mosso, while the left hand repeats a low D. The return is short. D major chords build up under it, preparing the coda.

9. 8:24
   Coda, Presto con fuoco

   The coda, marked Presto con fuoco, starts with a low G and leaping chords. In bars 208–⁠215 the metre changes from 6/4 to 4/4. Accents fall inside the bar, and the right hand repeatedly drops from a high chord to a single lower note.

10. 9:23
    Closing bars in G minor

    Over a sustained low G, scales rise up the keyboard. G minor chords break off the runs, and rests break off the chords. The last descent is in chromatic octaves, ending on G.

Joins

1. 0:34
   From Largo octaves to quiet melody

   The Largo ends with E♭ above a bass D. At Moderato the metre changes to 6/4 and the hands separate into melody and accompaniment. A low D introduces the quiet G minor theme, and detached bass notes and chords follow.

2. 3:21
   Running figures stop before E♭ major

   The running figures thin out and stop. Under meno mosso, the right hand begins a long phrase in E♭ major, and the left hand plays broken chords beneath it. The six-beat bar continues, and the melody spans it.

3. 4:34
   First theme returns in A minor

   The E♭ major melody slows through its last decorated phrases. Repeated low Es then sound beneath the first theme, now in A minor (bars 90–⁠107 in the Klindworth edition). The accompaniment starts thinly and thickens into E dominant chords, which lead to the second theme in A major.

4. 6:45
   Descending run to the second theme

   A long descending run reaches B♭ in the bass. The lyrical theme returns above it in full chords, fortissimo, and the bass moves to E♭. Beneath the melody the left hand continues in broken chords.

5. 7:46
   First theme returns over D

   The right-hand runs slow down and fall towards the middle of the piano. At meno mosso, the first theme returns in G minor above repeated low Ds, marked pianissimo, in place of the broad E♭ major melody. In the Klindworth edition this join falls in bars 188–⁠199, with a rallentando before the meno mosso.

6. 8:24
   From D major dominant to the coda

   The right hand descends over dominant harmony on D. The coda begins on a low G, marked Presto con fuoco, and the metre changes from 6/4 to 4/4. In the right hand, high chords leap down to single notes. The left hand alternates bass notes and chords.