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Frédéric Chopin's four ballades are one-movement pieces for solo piano, composed between 1831 and 1842. They are some of the most challenging pieces in the standard piano repertoire.〔〔 The term ''ballade'' was used by Chopin in the sense of a balletic interlude or dance-piece, equivalent to the old Italian ''ballata'', but the term may also have connotations of the medieval heroic ballad, a narrative minstrel-song, often of a fantastical character. There are dramatic and dance-like elements in Chopin's use of the genre, and he may be said to be a pioneer of the ''ballade'' as an abstract musical form. The four ''ballades'' are said to have been inspired by poet Adam Mickiewicz.〔(Chopin: Complete Music Analysis – Ballades )〕 The exact inspiration for each individual ''ballade'', however, is unclear and disputed. The ballades are considered an innovation of Chopin's and cannot be placed into another form (e.g. sonata). Though they do not conform exactly to sonata form, the "ballade form" created by Chopin for his four ballades is a distinct variant of sonata form with specific discrepancies, such as the mirror reprise (presenting the two expositional themes in reverse order during the recapitulation). The ''ballades'' have directly influenced composers such as Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms who, after Chopin, wrote ''ballades'' of their own.〔 Besides sharing the title, the four ''ballades'' are entities distinct from each other. According to composer and music critic Louis Ehlert, "Each () differs entirely from the others, and they have but one thing in common – their romantic working out and the nobility of their motifs." Modern theorists have shown, however, that the ballades do have much in common, such as the "ballade meter" (6/4 or 6/8) and certain formal practices like the mirror reprise and delaying the structural dominant. The four ''ballades'' are among the most enduring of Chopin's compositions and are frequently heard in concerts.〔 They have been recorded many times. ==Ballade No. 1== Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, composed in 1831 during the composer's early years in Vienna, was a reflection about his loneliness in the city far away from his home in Poland, where a war was happening against the Russian Empire's oppression. Once finished, it wasn't published until his move to Paris, where he dedicated it to Baron Nathaniel von Stockhausen, the Hanoverian ambassador to France. Robert Schumann commented that, "I received a new ''Ballade'' from Chopin. It seems to be a work closest to his genius (although not the most ingenious) and I told him that I like it best of all his compositions. After quite a lengthy silence he replied with emphasis, 'I am happy to hear this since I too like it most and hold it dearest.'"〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Chopin: Work List – Illustrations, Quotes, Dedications )〕 The piece begins with a brief introduction which, contrary to popular belief, is not unrelated to the rest of the piece. Written in first inversion of the A-flat major chord, it is a Neapolitan chord that implies a majestic aura, ending in a dissonant, questioning left hand chord D, G, and E-flat that is not resolved until later on in the piece. Though Chopin's original manuscript clearly marks an E-flat as the top note, the chord has caused some degree of controversy, and thus, some versions of the work – such as the Klindworth edition – include D, G, D as an ossia.〔 The main section of the ''Ballade'' is built from two main themes. The brief introduction fades into the first theme, introduced at measure 8. After some elaboration, the second theme is introduced softly at measure 68. This theme is also elaborated on. Both themes then return in different keys, and the first theme finally returns again in the same key, albeit with an altered left hand accompaniment. A thundering chord introduces the coda, marked ''Presto con fuoco'', to which the initial Neapolitan harmony re-emerges in constant dynamic forward propulsion, which eventually ends the piece in a fiery double octave scale run down the keyboard. As a whole, the piece is structurally complex and not strictly confined to any particular form, but incorporates ideas from mainly the sonata and variation forms. A distinguishing feature of ''Ballade'' No. 1 is its time signature. While the other three are written in strict compound duple time with a 6/8 time signature, ''Ballade'' No. 1 bears deviations from this. The introduction is written in 4/4 time, and the more extensive ''Presto con fuoco'' coda is written in 2/2. The rest of the piece is written in 6/4, rather than the 6/8 which characterizes the others.〔(How to Play Chopin: Chopin's Ballades ), Prof. Regina Smendzianka〕 Ballade No. 1 is one of the more popular Chopin pieces. It is prominently featured in the 2002 Roman Polanski film ''The Pianist'', where an approximately four-minute cut is played by Janusz Olejniczak. It is also played in the 1944 film ''Gaslight'' and heard in the 2006 satire ''Thank You for Smoking''. It is the music for the "Black" ''pas de deux'', the final, climactic ''pas de deux'' in John Neumeier's staging of the ballet ''The Lady of the Camellias'', based upon the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The piece was the subject of the 2012 BBC documentary ''Chopin Saved My Life''. It is quoted in Mieczysław Weinberg's Symphony No. 21 ("Kaddish"). It was also featured in the final episode of anime Shigatsu Wa Kimi No Uso and was played (interpretation by Tomoki Sakata) as farewell for one of the main characters. In 2010, the editor of ''The Guardian'', Alan Rusbridger, dedicated a year to learning Ballade No. 1 and produced a book about the experience, ''Play It Again: An Amateur Against the Impossible''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Ballades (Chopin)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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