Piano Forum

I would say that the Ballades are a smorgasbord of techniques that are found isolated to a much greater extent in the Etudes. For instance, the middle section Etude Op. 25 No. 5 is not dissimilar in figuration from the first transition in the G minor ballade, or the left-hand part of Op. 10 No. 9 is similar to that found in the climax of the A-flat ballade. I will say that, from personal experience, the Etudes are (much) less forgiving from the Ballades in performance, but they don't suffer as much from a slow and methodical approach. A good intermediate step would be a selection of 3-4 from Moszkowski's Little Etudes Op. 91 (stay far away from Op. 72), followed by a methodical and patient approach to a total of three-four Chopin Etudes, starting with one of the simpler ones (Op. 10 No. 6, 9, Op. 25 No. 1), and progressing into the more challenging ones, ending with something on the scale of Op. 10 No. 4 or Op.  25 No. 10. All this should be supervised by a teacher, of course, to prevent injury and insure that you get the most out of your studies. After that, then the Ballades will be far more accessible.