Frédéric Chopin - Ballade No.4, Op.52 (Cortot, Hofmann)

Frédéric Chopin (1810 - 1849)
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Ballade No.4, Op.52 (1843)
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Alfred Cortot (1877 - 1962)
Recorded in 1933
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Josef Hofmann (1876 - 1957)
Recorded in 1938

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Cortot 0:00
Hofmann 9:29

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The Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52 is a ballade for solo piano by Frédéric Chopin, completed in 1842 in Paris. It is commonly considered one of Chopin's masterpieces, and one of the masterpieces of 19th-century piano music.

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A phrase in the dominant major opens the seven introductory bars and leads into the first subject of sonata-form exposition. The first theme undergoes four cumulative transformations with decorations, counter-melodies, counterpoint, and a nocturne-like fioritura. The development of the second theme and its intertwining with the first heightens the complexity of the musical structure and builds tension. Through the intertwining and thus the simultaneous development of the two themes, Chopin effectively combines the use of both the sonata form and the variation form. The body of the piece concludes with a series of accented fortissimo chords, followed by a momentary calm of five pianissimo chords. This then suddenly leads into an extremely fast, turbulent coda, written in exuberant counterpoint.

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Of the four ballades, it is considered by many pianists to be the most difficult, both technically and musically. It is also the longest, taking around ten to twelve minutes to perform.

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According to John Ogdon, it is "the most exalted, intense and sublimely powerful of all Chopin's compositions... It is unbelievable that it lasts only twelve minutes, for it contains the experience of a lifetime."