It is difficult to imagine a pianistic life without hearing Chopin’s Ballades in the practice rooms of a music

school. These works are like musical chimes that permeate the hallways, always haunting every piano
student, “Will I ever do that coda right, when the time comes?”

Chopin brings us to a world of the unknown, almost seducing in character. One of the biggest ideas of
Romanticism is, in fact, this fetish for the exotic, longing, of far-away lands, etc. With the Ballades, it
comes in the form of storytelling; the speculation is not without merit, for the literary ballad has been
referred to by many known Chopin authors for its narrative nature. Dance is also embedded in the
textures of these works, as the ballata, from the Italian ballare, meaning “to dance”. The opening
section of the Fourth Ballade is a slow waltz that tells of a sad and painful past love. The frenzied middle
section of the First is a happy waltz for the palpitating heart. Even the pastoral theme of the Second
brings about an undeniable sway. These are the dances of life and fantasy, employing the magically
endless circular motion of 3, as exhibited in the 6/8 or 6/4 time signatures.