chopin ballade f minor op 52

[_chops]

How good (I mean fantastic) does one be to play it??! Give me examples of repertoire..!


thanx!

[jakev2.0]

Really good - technically and musically.

The coda is a killer.

[mikey6]

learning it at the moment - it's an amazing experience (haven't ahd a lesson on it yet, so that might all change  )
Learn it if you like it - just don't perform it publically if you can't play it well

[franzliszt2]

It's a nightmare to learn, but great fun! It's hard to get all the notes, but the musical side is much harder. I've played it for a year now, and still wouldn't feel happy enough to play it in public. I've only ever played it in exams, and it went wrong, and I really thought I'd learnt it. It's the sort of piece you need to know inside out before you start to sound anything like you want it to.

[_____]

Hardest of the ballades to interpret, imo.

[cygnusdei]

Do you guys know if the opposing crescendo & decrescendo are Chopin's own notation?

IMO this piece is not that difficult technically. Even the coda, while quite busy, is very pianistic. What I mean is that the notes fall on the fingers naturally. Because the work is very episodic, the difficulty lies in making sure that transitions between episodes are smooth.

[imbetter]

This ballade is terribly difficult. That's why this is the only ballade of Chopin's that I haven't learned

[franzliszt2]

I think the cresendo and diminuendo suggest that it should not have any rit in that bar, but should get quieter. As if the cresendo suggests it should move towards the next bar, and the diminuendo means it gets quiter.

[adagio1]

Well, the personality of a musician has much to do with the question of how good you have to be to play a piece.   Music is a field full of experts and egos.  Just who you should listen to is a good question.   Some will say play the Ballades straight, no rubato, less passion.   Some recognize that Chopin was a very young romantic when he wrote the flashy g-... some do not.    Inner voices and their importance, phrases etc..... everyone has an opinion.   I played the 4 Ballades in University (about 45 years ago).  I was not very good then. And yet I thought I was terrific.   Now I believe I am a better musician because I am not at all as worried about how good I am.   I am the one who decides how I will play the piece.  And if I can show some of the passion and beauty hopefully in my soul to others then I am good enough to play the piece.  This is not an attitude you can achieve overnight.   But I suggest you enjoy the f- piece and risk being a bit innovative.  Use common sense..... you need technique of course but most of all you need to stop thinking about how good you are.   Just play your best and learn to enjoy it.   And learn what YOU want.  Music is an art.   It is the language of the soul.  No one should have to ask if they are good enough to play a piece.   (Yes - common sense says not to try all the Russian composers concertos just because you like them..... BUT..... by all means give them a look..... you never know.... really)