Chopin Ballade in G Minor: Intro Analysis (b1-10) #musicanalysis #chopin

After someone criticized a teenaged Chopin for not following the rules of composition, his teacher Elsner replied: "Let him be. He is following his own path because his gifts are unusual." Have you ever felt like this introduction dropped out of the sky and had nothing to do with the rest of this famous piece? I did, until in my research for this post, I discovered some interesting analysis by Jim Samson, a leading expert on Chopin's music That 4-note motif/shape highlighted in the video, a small leap up followed by two steps down, appears throughout, and is in each of the themes. It provides some continuity in a work that was and remains unique in the repertoire. So it didn't drop in out of the sky; it was carefully crafted to set up the rest of the piece That Chopin fella was pretty special, wasn't he? References: Walker, A. (2018). In Chopin: A Life and Times. Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux Samson, J. (1992). The Four Ballades. Cambridge University Press Chopin, Ballade in G Minor, Op 23, b1-10 #chopin #musicanalysis