Arthur Rubinstein plays Chopin Ballade #2 in F Major, Op. 38

[dsm2240]

The beginning to me shows the influence of Mozart's K 313.

[Kinjutsuu]

Actually I dislike the first ballade. There are some really thrilling passages, but mostly I think it's just too... how shall I put this delicately... "Chopin" kinda piece, I don't know how to describe it really, but a lot of pieces by Chopin just sound too much like Chopin.

Often those major passages

Don't get me wrong, I love his etudes, impromptus, heroique polanaise, a couple of his waltzes, but again most of his waltzes just have that "superficial" feel.

But I LOVE the 2nd ballade!!!!!!

[Bristlehoth]

@Kinjutsuu I understand what you mean.

[dhollandpiano]

I believe this is by far the best recording of this piece.

Rubinstein takes time with all the details and score indications.

On the level of composition this piece is about the destruction of the opening key of F Major and its replacement by A Minor. The coda doesn't even include B Flat in the key signature.

I also agree that this is about the destruction of Chopin's life as he knew it. Does anyone have any ideas about the opening? It seems like a cradle song or perhaps a barcarole.

[ilovechopin11]

@audreyhsux5727 You have a point :)

[ilovechopin11]

Is it me, but does Arthur Rubinstein have funny hair? Don't get me wrong! I love him, it just seems that his hair is strange.

[audreyhsux5727]

@ilovechopin11 and kissin's hair isn't strange?

[kingurfay]

5:32 - to end: actually this is trying Chopin to tell us...

[audreyhsux5727]

@kingurfay hes telling us thu the whole song...

[FreeMySoles]

I am quite amazed that anyone would have difficulty falling in love with this, but I know that I sometimes go for many years being deaf to a piece of music until one day for some reason its meaning opens up to me, and then I fall in love. This has happened with all genres -- classical, popular, rock, etc., I still don't know why. You can't force it. But if you love Chopin at all (and it sounds like you do), I'm sure that some day this splendid piece's beauty will become clear to you.

[vvsivakumar]

This piece is dedicated to Robert Schumann just as Schuman dedicated Kreisleriana to Chopin.

[bmossade]

no i think it is just as amazing as all his other epic pieces. it wraps up a whole lifetime's feelings into under 7 minutes. love, pain, anguish, find joy again, but again it is taken away. all of life's struggles. this is what it conjures up for me: you're going about your quiet peaceful life minding your own business, raising your family. then war and revolution happen and throw your whole world into unimaginable chaos. your life is thrown into turmoil, you struggle to get your life back....

[PianoForteAndrew]

to me, the sad ending is equivalent to the ending of a sad story (some say it was based on one, though im not so sure). i get the same 'feeling' of loss when i hear the last bars of this ballade, which shows really the power of music; it can communicate emotions in the same way as words and stories.

[gkatta]

I love all the ballades, but does anyone feel that this ballade, while beautiful, is the least easy to fall in love with?

[johnnybroom]

Yeah, I think I can agree with that. I don't know that I've heard all of Chopin's ballades, but it's not all that accessible. The key is a solid pianist who can interpret it well, not only each note and phrase, but also creates a good outline, bringing all of the disparate parts together seamlessly. I think Rubinstein does that. Fantastic recording here.

[advisorC101]

@gkatta, I feel that way. To be honest I've been far more overwhelmed by the other three Ballades, but this one for some reason, despite its beauty, never caught me much until more recently. I think an ironic thing is that all these things Chopin felt, were probably equally neglectable, and neglected. Like watching a life being thrown away, you live and then.. gone. Nothing. Maybe it's just me, but that's the impression I get.

[MozartK365]

@gkatta the least easy to fall in love with would be his 3rd ballade, for me at least

[audreyhsux5727]

@MozartK365 i second that

[throwscats]

@MozartK365 I thought so, too, for the longest time. Then, one day, it suddenly resonated with me very deeply, and now I love it.

My teacher played it for me, recently, and brought out many lines in the music that I didn't even realize were there, and it cemented it for me.