Chopin's Ballade Nr.2 op 38 - Peter Joosten

[thesixthsensemusic]

Hi everyone, here's my recording of this magnificent piece. I studied it from the Cortot edition, which was helpful in order to overcome the very diffiicult coda part, but nevertheless it took mee 3 months to learn.

I know there's 2 notable mistakes in the middle part (stupid really, since it is not in a difficult section) but apart from that I am quite pleased the end result.

I'd be grateful for any constructive criticism, after all I am just an amateur who hasn't had any lessons in well over 10 years.

[j_menz]

Nicely done.

The coda, I think, still needs a little more work to make it really flow under your fingers. Nothing in particular, just time to sink in.

I think Chopin's ballades all in varying degrees need time to mellow once the technical stuff is done and dusted, and I am confident that your version will age well. Don't shelve it, play it periodically and see how it develops in your mind.

Great job.

[thesixthsensemusic]

I was kinda hoping you'd react to this thread. Thanks for the kind words, and I'd say your feedback is very much in line with my own doubts about my piano skills....

That coda is the most challenging piece I have (somewhat) tackled to date. It will be part of my practice routine till I fully master it, don't worry, I recorded this piece after I quit being embarrassed with how it sounds. Being happy with it however, is, as you can imagine, a different story, that might still take a few more decades lol

Thanks for your VERY encouraging contribution