F. CHOPIN:Ballade No.1 Op.23 - Krystian ZIMERMAN(1987 Extraordinary recording)

Krystian ZIMERMAN plays: Frederic CHOPIN -Ballade No.1 in G minor Op.23-

Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, was composed in 1835--36 during the composer's early years in Paris and was dedicated to Monsieur le Baron de Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France, and reportedly inspired by Adam Mickiewicz's poem "Konrad Wallenrod". Chopin seemed to have been fond of the piece; in a letter to Heinrich Dorn, Robert Schumann commented that, "I received a new Ballade from Chopin. It seems to be a work closest to his genius (although not the most ingenious) and I told him that I like it best of all his compositions. After quite a lengthy silence he replied with emphasis, 'I am happy to hear this since I too like it most and hold it dearest.

The piece begins with a brief introduction which, contrary to popular belief, is not unrelated to the rest of the piece. Written in first inversion of the A flat major chord, it is a Neapolitan chord that implies a majestic aura, ending in a dissonant, questioning left hand chord D, G, and E-flat that is not resolved until later on in the piece. Though Chopin's original manuscript clearly marks an E-flat as the top note, the chord has caused some degree of controversy, and thus, some versions of the work - such as the Klindworth edition - include D, G, D as an ossia. The main section of the Ballade is built from 2 main themes. The brief introduction fades into the first theme, introduced at measure 8. After some elaboration, the second theme is introduced softly at measure 68. This theme is also elaborated on. Both themes then return in different keys, and the first theme finally returns again in the same key, albeit with an altered left hand accompaniment. A thundering chord introduces the coda, marked Presto con fuoco, to which the initial Neapolitan harmony re-emerges in constant dynamic forward propulsion, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery double octave scale run down the keyboard. As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata and variation forms.

Technically, many passages of the Ballade require rapid scales, very fast and large chords, octaves, and difficult fingerings.

A distinguishing feature of Ballade No. 1 is its time signature. While the other three are written in strict compound duple time, with a 6/8 time signature, Ballade No. 1 bears deviations from this. The introduction is written in 4/4 time, and the more extensive Presto con fuoco coda is written in 2/2. The rest of the piece is written in 6/4, rather than the 6/8 which characterizes the others.

Krystian Zimerman was born in Zabrze, Poland, and studied at the University of Music in Katowice under Andrzej Jasiński. His career was launched when he won the 1975 Warsaw International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition. He performed with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Herbert von Karajan in 1976 and he made his debut in the United States with the New York Philharmonic in 1979. He has toured widely and made a number of recordings. Since 1996 he has taught piano at the Academy of Music in Basel, Switzerland.

Zimerman is best known for his interpretations of Romantic music, but has performed a wide variety of classical pieces as well. He has also been a supporter of contemporary music. For example, Witold Lutosławski wrote his piano concerto for Zimerman, who later recorded it. Amongst his best-known recordings are the piano concerti of Edvard Grieg and Robert Schumann with conductor Herbert von Karajan; the Brahms concerti with Leonard Bernstein, the piano concerti of Frédéric Chopin, one recording conducted by Carlo Maria Giulini and a later one conducted by himself at the keyboard; the Third, Fourth and Fifth Piano Concertos of Beethoven under Bernstein (Zimerman himself led the accompaniment of the Vienna Philharmonic from the keyboard in Beethoven's First and Second Concertos); the first and second piano concerti of Rachmaninoff; the piano concerti of Franz Liszt with Seiji Ozawa, the piano concerti of Maurice Ravel with Pierre Boulez, and solo piano works by Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Claude Debussy and Franz Schubert. Recently, Zimerman recorded Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 with Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Frederic
• Chopin
• ballade
• no.1
• op.23
• Krystian
• Zimerman
• classic
• piano
• music

[miliona1re]

Zimerman always gave me the sensation to extremely characterize every part of a composition and in this case we have completely different "zones".I like how Zimerman gives color,great sensitivity,phrasing and all with an extreme touch,clarity and use of pedal in every part of this masterpiece.

[classicvinylbiz]

@miliona1re Nice video... have you heard the Polish pedagogue Jan Ekier's version of this terrific work?

watch?v=mPsSDtSTzCc

[miliona1re]

@classicvinylbiz thanks for the information :) It's very important to listen to MANY versions of a composition cause every one gives something personal to it.

[thecouchonfire]

the ballade no. 1 definitely belongs to Zimerman

[fagelsinnet]

This is the best performance I have heard of this piece!!

[yojukitomodele]

I really dislike the other recording, but this one is, by far, my favourite. And the other Ballades in this recording are just as fantastic as this :D

[ClassicalMusicPL]

Extraordinary? Show me Zimerman recording which isn't...

[dbharcadia2]

Extraordinary, indeed! Incredible. There are so few pianists alive that can give the nuance that is characteristic 0f Zimerman. An exceptional performance. Thank you for bringing it to us.

[TinyMey]

数ある彼の演奏の中でもすばらしく表現とタッチのバランスが取れ­ている演奏のように思います。

年代的に円熟期ではないでしょうか。

[TheLyricalMuse]

Lovely...

[The00ching00]

Frederic Chopin the second!

[Nutterbutterz95]

Oh, goodness.

[040714172123]

IS EXTRAORDINARY, IS THE MOST MUSIC OF THE CULTURE.

LORENZO

[PatToscano]

I like his long breathes , brillant version.

[beethoven2351]

This is a brilliant interpretation of a wonderful, heart-rending masterpiece. It never fails to move me to tears. I think his version and that of Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli are my favorites.