Chopin (1810-1849) invented the instrumental ballade as a musical form, and wrote four between 1831 and 1842. All gems, they remain frequently played and recorded. Each seems to recount an emotional drama. No. 1 has a menacing 1st theme, warmer 2nd theme, fantasia middle and vertiginous coda. No. 2 alternates a gentle 1st theme with a violent 2nd theme. No. 3 has a lyrical 1st theme and playful 2nd theme. No. 4 is the most expressive, with ardent eroticism and a cataclysmic ending. Pianist John Ogden said, “it contains the experience of a lifetime.” The Scherzos are virtuoso pieces of great power. No. 1 is frenzied; No. 2 heroic; No. 3 brooding; and, No. 4 lighthearted. The Tarentelle in 6/8 rhythm, was written in 1841, when a tarantella (a quick, flirtatious folk-dance) by Rossini was sweeping Paris. Robert Schumann wrote, “we see before us the dancer, whirling as if possessed, until our senses reel.”

1. Ballade No. 1. Op. 23 in G minor. (9:16)
2. Ballade No. 2. Op 38 in F major. (6:37)
3. Ballade No. 3. Op. 47. in A-flat major. (7:14)
4. Ballade No. 4. Op. 52 in F minor. (10:37)
5. Scherzo No. 1. Op. 20 in B minor. (9:00)
6. Scherzo No. 2. Op. 31 in B-flat minor. (9:40)
7. Scherzo No. 3. Op. 39 in in C-sharp minor. (7:10)
8. Scherzo No. 4. Op. 54 in E major. (10:52)
9. Tarentelle. Op. 43 in A-flat major. (3:16)