Which Chopin Ballade Speaks to You?

The obsession with Frederic Chopin Ballade No 1 is a well- known fact.

Alan Rusbridger described in his book 'Play It Again' his personal journey and transformation after playing Ballade No 1 for a year.

I personally remember one year having five students playing this piece on a weekly basis at their piano lessons. Did it make me love it less? It should have been by all counts! But no, it did not. In fact, it was the opposite.

The magnetic qualities of this piece are extraordinary.

Here are I am inviting you to listen to seven beautiful interpretations of this piece.

Apart from a pure musical indulgence, I am also inviting you to decide for yourself what in each interpretation really speaks to you and what does not. Also to consider how much of a composer 'remains authentic' in your understanding whilst going through the hands of the performer (literally).

Being a musical nerd as I am, I love selecting particular sections (after I listened to the whole performance, of course) and then comparing them side to side. The lessons we can learn from doing this, are priceless!

So which interpretation speaks to you? Maybe you'd like to share with others your thoughts and even suggest another interpretation which moves you?

I appreciate your comments below this blog as these could be helpful to other readers here!

With love,

GéNIA