Ballade No. 2, Op. 38

1. 0:00
   Opening theme in F major

   The Ballade begins with repeated Cs in both hands. A melody in F major grows out of them, marked sotto voce, under the breath. The metre is six quavers to the bar, and the piano plays the melody in chords.

2. 1:10
   Schumann’s diary, October 1840

   In October 1840 Schumann noted that Chopin’s new Ballade was dedicated to him. “It gives me greater joy than if I’d received an order from some ruler,” he wrote in his diary.

3. 2:04
   Presto con fuoco in A minor

   The opening song is followed by Presto con fuoco. The piano plays rapid figures with heavy accents, in A minor. Chopin sets the two tempos and the two keys against each other.

4. 3:14
   Return of the Andantino

   The Andantino returns with its melody in F major and its rocking chords. The continuation grows stronger and moves through new harmonies.

5. 3:50
   Letter to Julian Fontana, January 1839

   In January 1839 a Pleyel piano reached Chopin on Mallorca. He wrote to Julian Fontana in Paris: “You’ll soon receive the Preludes and the Ballade.” He was then working on the music in the former monastery at Valldemossa.

6. 5:00
   Schumann’s review, 1840

   Reviewing the Ballade in 1840, Schumann recalled Chopin playing it in Leipzig four years earlier: “It ended in F major; now it closes in A minor.” By Schumann’s account, the fiery episodes were later additions.

7. 5:34
   Return of the Presto

   The Presto returns in A minor. This time the fast music continues, and its figures are extended towards a new closing theme.

8. 6:34
   Coda, Agitato

   The coda is marked Agitato. A new theme drives the fast music to its cadence in A minor. After it the piano plays one short pianissimo phrase.

9. 7:36
   Return of the opening theme

   A fragment of the opening song returns pianissimo, now in A minor, the key of the Presto. The Ballade ends on these few notes in A minor.

Joins

1. 2:04
   A minor interrupts F major

   The F major Andantino closes on repeated As in the right hand. These notes become the tonic of the A minor Presto con fuoco. The piano moves straight into rapid figures with forceful accents, and the tempo changes without a connecting passage.

2. 3:14
   Return of the F major Andantino

   The fast A minor figures die away. At the return of the Andantino, the piano takes up the F major song again, with its rocking chordal accompaniment. The melody begins softly and then extends into a newly written continuation.

3. 5:34
   Return of the A minor Presto

   The song’s expanded continuation leads back to Presto con fuoco. A minor and the rapid piano figures return together. This second fast span is longer than the earlier interruption and continues into the coda.

4. 6:34
   Agitato continues in A minor

   The fast piano writing continues into a new closing theme, marked Agitato. A minor holds through the coda. Short, urgent figures replace the long F major song and press towards a cadence.

5. 7:36
   The opening melody returns in A minor

   After the coda’s A minor cadence, the piano recalls a fragment of the opening melody pianissimo. The slower rhythm of the opening returns, and the harmony stays in A minor.