Tempo advice on Chopin Ballade No. 1

[beethovenfan01]

Hello.

I just have a few questions on the Ballade in G minor, which I am working on, mainly regarding tempo.

So, when the Moderato section starts (after the introduction), my edition (Ricordi) puts down Quarter Note=130 to Dotted-Half note=50. Bars 8-39 sound quite good in this tempo range. Then my edition is marked agitato, then Sempre Piu Mosso. How much should I speed up here? I've heard versions where it seems to almost double in speed (probably an exaggeration, but that's the impression I get from Arthur Rubenstein). I can play bars 44-65 at a reasonably accelerated tempo, but the gap in speed utilized by most pianists is too much for me at this point to play very well.

Then it says meno mosso--less lively. How much do I slow down--back to Dotted Half=50, or even less? And I've heard versions where it seems accelerate during the fortissimo section of bars 87-106 (Ashkenazy, for instance). Again, this is a stretch for my pianistic abilities at this point.

Then, in bar 107, the tempo changes again, this time to a piu animato. The long run between 111 and 118 seems like an accelerando. Then, what comes after that, in bars 119-175 relaxes only a little bit. But still, for this fast section, what tempo should I aim for?

Then we have one more meno mosso section between bars 176-189, which I assume is the same tempo as bars 69-106.

And of course, one of the most notorious passages in piano music (the coda, measure 190-end). What tempo should I work towards in this section? Zimmerman doesn't seem to rush very much, while Licad and Rubenstein scream through it at a speed that makes the still--maturing pianist inside me want to curl up and hide.

So, what are your thoughts? I appreciate any advice y'all can give?

[lamadoo]

Hi i would like to congratulate you in taking on this monstrous piece.

While this piece is beyond me I came across this video by Barenboim the other day, while it may not answer your question perhaps it may be of help in some other areas. He has other videos on  rhythm and harmony in general as well.

[beethovenfan01]

Thanks, I never knew Ballade was another word for Promenade (or walk)  . That's a nice way to think about it.

In fact, I can't figure out why this piece has such a nasty reputation ... it's coming along just fine for me (though I have been working on it for hours every day for the past few weeks, taking advantage of winter break ...)