Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52

Frédéric Chopin (1,810–1,849)

First published: 1843
Key: F minor
Style: Romantic
Level: Licentiate
Roughly: RCM LRCM · ABRSM LRSM · Trinity LTCL · Henle 8
Lesson: L.9 Trace thematic variation into a dense coda
Musicianship: L.9 German and French sixths
Focus: Differentiated contrapuntal voices and thematic variation; harmonic and structural memory across increasingly dense textures and the coda.

What its lesson teaches

L.9 Trace thematic variation into a dense coda

Prepare Chopin’s complete F-minor Fourth Ballade, Op. 52. Compare the changing versions of its principal material by bass route, phrase rhythm and interval pattern. Practise the contrapuntal layers separately before restoring the complete texture, and relate the coda’s intensity to the earlier span. The F-sharp minor held-voice warm-up trains coordination on its own; it is not part of the Ballade.

Ideas: Independent voices
Making a form map
Large forms and cycles
Theory cards: What a variation keeps
From form map to decisions
Grouping a variation set
Technique: F harmonic minor scale, hands together, 4 octaves
F-sharp minor held voices with moving inner parts, hands together

Edition and licence

Score: First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Website: https://chopinscores.org

Digital scores: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Adapted by Musalea: converted to MusicXML with every bar the converter misread rebuilt from the encoding and the performance markings restored; a complete cycle or sonata is joined in order without changing the music.

Practice tempos: from the encoding where it gives them, otherwise from Kullak's recommendations (1881–1883) or chosen by Musalea; they are practice targets, not the composer's metronome marks. The printed tempo words are kept and no number is shown in the score.

Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, first German edition, 1843, plate 7001

Encoding source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ · CC BY 4.0

First Editions of Fryderyk Chopin's Music

Digital licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Source: https://github.com/pl-wnifc/humdrum-chopin-first-editions/blob/95dfb105c1669c72d10b04088566154f12d3dc1c/kern/052-1-BH.krn

Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

The other lesson pieces of Licentiate

Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor, BWV 849 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor “Tempest”, Op. 31 No. 2: I. Largo – Allegro, Ludwig van Beethoven
Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, Frédéric Chopin
Prelude and Fugue in E-flat minor / D-sharp minor, BWV 853 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Rondo in A minor, K. 511, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, Frédéric Chopin
Prelude and Fugue in B minor, BWV 869 — complete pair, Johann Sebastian Bach
Images, première série: Hommage à Rameau, L. 110 / CD 105, Claude Debussy
Rondo à la mazur in F major, Op. 5, Frédéric Chopin
Images, première série: Mouvement, L. 110 / CD 105, Claude Debussy
Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 10 No. 4, Frédéric Chopin
Étude in D-flat major, Op. 25 No. 8, Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor, Op. 11: I. Allegro maestoso, Frédéric Chopin

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