<P> The form of this Ballade is an arch: ABCBA coda . The first A theme is in two parts; the first part is song - like and the second is dance - like . Out of the four ballades, the third Ballade has the tightest structure . This Ballade also uses development procedures that are successful at heightening the tension . </P> <P> The Ballade opens with a lengthy introduction marked dolce (sweet). The introduction is thematically unrelated to a majority of the piece but is repeated at the close and climax of the work . Following the introduction, Chopin introduces new theme in a section with the performance direction mezza voce; this theme consists of repeated Cs in two broken octaves in the right hand . This theme reoccurs three different times in the ballade, twice on C and once on A-flat . The "mezza voce" section soon develops into a furious F minor chordal section and once again returns to A-flat . The' mezza voce' section is repeated, following by a new theme consisting of right hand sixteenth - note leggiero runs . The following return of the broken octave theme is transposed from C to A-flat (the repeated Cs now being A-flats). The key signature then shifts to C - sharp minor . The original "B" theme is then developed, this time using rapid, chromatic left - hand runs in the left hand under large chords in the right . This theme builds to a climax through rapid repetition of broken G - sharp octaves (referencing the "mezza voce" theme) with fragments of the "B" theme in the left hand . A retransition occurs as the dynamic builds from piano to forte . The figuration in the left hand is chromatic and consists of spans frequently larger than an octave . The key signature then shifts back to A-flat major . In the final section of the arch, the "A" theme from the introduction is repeated again in octaves . The ballade ends with a reprise of the A-flat leggiero runs and a second right hand arpeggio . Four chords provide closure to the piece . </P> <P> Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52, was composed in 1842 in Paris and Nohant and revised in 1843 . The work was dedicated to Baroness Rothschild, wife of Nathaniel de Rothschild, who had invited Chopin to play in her Parisian residence, where she introduced him to the aristocracy and nobility . According to Robert Schumann, this Ballade was inspired by Adam Mickiewicz's poem The Three Budrys, which tells of three brothers sent away by their father to seek treasures, and the story of their return with three Polish brides . </P> <P> A phrase in the dominant major (marked piano) opens the seven introductory measures and leads into the first subject of sonata - form exposition, a melody with Slavonic coloration . 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 . Structurally Ballade No. 4 is decidedly intricate . </P>

Chopin - ballade no. 4 in f minor op. 52