Thoughts on my Ballade in G minor climax

[jeff thura]

Hi, I have recently finished the Ballade in G minor and I have went back to work on the climax (i apologize for not knowing the official name for the climax) and i have tried out a new way to interpret where i press the bass notes slightly early. I would love to hear your thoughts on the entire passage and ways to improve. I apologize for not including the build up.

The audio quality might be a bit bad because this was played on a pretty bad digital piano. The bass tends to overwhelm the higher notes with a loud booming sound even when pressed softly.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/195UICpqf6KOmJjyuSa8Gfkhlf0txnQBa/view?usp=drivesdk

And this is how I used to play it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19CJcq6niBUdeFqLMY-mFOQxhQ33FMiOK/view?usp=drivesdk

Which one do you prefer?

Played on - Yamaha P105 digital piano

Jeff

[lelle]

I think first of all it should be said that that passage is not the climax of the piece - that would be the coda. But it's certainly a smaller climax within the structure of the piece. I usually refer to that theme as the "second theme" (the first theme being the one that is "waltz" like but in 6/4).

I personally like when you play the base note and melody out of sync sometimes, but not everyone does. It's part of an older style of playing from the 19th/early 20th century. However, there can be too much of a good thing, and I think it's good to use it selectively and not necessarily on every base, all the time. Make sure you have a good reason for it, and that you include it as a natural element of your interpretation, and not as a "gimmick". Don't let it break the flow of your phrases i.e. the longer line.

(Often when I have discovered a new "tool" in my interpretative toolbox, I tend to use it in a way that feels forced and "gimmicky" at first, and then I start toning it down a bit and then it feels more natural to my ears).

As for general things you can improve, I think you can use less pedal overall. You can absolutely use pedal, but press it down less deeply - I think you are getting a bit too much resonance now. I would also work a bit on the phrasing in the first bars. Make sure you are having a long line here. Your legato is better in the following bars.