Ballade No. 2 in F major
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| Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38 | |
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| Frédéric Chopin | |
| Form: | Ballade |
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| Key/Time signature: | F major, 6/8 |
| Tempo | Andantino |
| Date of composition: | 1836 - 1839 |
| Composition number: | Op. 38 |
The Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38 is the second of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's four ballades for piano solo.
It was composed from 1836 to 1839 in Nohant, France and on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Chopin dedicated this work to Robert Schumann, who to him had dedicated his Kreisleriana, Op. 16.
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[edit] Form
This ballade, as with the following two ballades, is in 6/8 time signature. (The first ballade is in a different signature: 6/4.) It opens quietly, on repeated Cs; an F major chord sets the ballade in motion. The introductory F major theme is a maintains a soft, lyric tone.[citation needed] The opening melody is then interrupted by an A minor outburst. The contrast between these sections is later resolved through many alternating melodies and passages; the ballade ends back in the prevailing F major, with new ideas in an appropriate finale.
A typical performance of this ballade usually lasts seven to eight minutes. It is one of the shortest of Chopin's ballades, with the third being comparable in length.
[edit] Trivia
- According to Robert Schumann, Chopin cited the poem "Le Switez," by Adam Mickiewicz, as inspiration for his second ballade.
[edit] Recordings
- Ballade No. 2 in F Major, Op. 38 played by Krystian Zimerman. YouTube video.
[edit] External links
- Sheet Music at the International Music Score Library Project
| No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23 • No. 2 in F major, Op. 38 • No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47 • No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52 | |
| List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin |
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