CHOPIN  BALLADE 1
in G minor, Op 23

The Chopin Ballade 1 and the three succeeding Ballades are big, sweeping Romantic declarations. In the opinion of many. these are his most successful compositions, not at all created for the salon, entirely suitable for performance in a large concert hall. In the Ballades, Chopin finds his most powerful and sustained voice. They are simply magnificent compositions for the piano.

The Chopin Ballade 1 is, to my mind, the most successful of the four. It seems to grow seamlessly out of a single thought, reach tasteful heights of passion and end when what needs saying is said. But along the way, there is a buffet of delights encouraging a range of options for differences of interpretation. Individual classical pianists return to this Ballade with new ideas performing it again and again in concert and in the studio.

Below you will find numerous excellent interpretations of the work including three performances by Claudio Arrau and two by Krystian Zimerman, and, on a separate page all his own, six different performances by Vladimir Horowitz spanning some 40 years.

Yesterday my favorites among these were by Bolet, Cortot, Michelangeli, Oborin and Perlemuter, but this has changed and will again, perhaps in favor of Hofmann, Richter and Godowsky, or Argerich, Arrau and Backhaus. And, of course, Elena Kuschnerova. There are many stunning performances here.

LEOPOLD GODOWSKY
Polish-American pianist (1870 - 1938)

1916 Duo-Art piano roll