Ballade

Hugh Wood's Ballade Op.57 for Piano was commissioned by BBC Radio 3 and first performed by Joanna MacGregor on 7th June 2012 at the Guildhall Bath as part of the Bath International Music Festival.'The music of Chopinis a revelation which came disgracefully late in my life. To admire is one thing; to try to emulate is quite another: and all that I have borrowed here is a title. Perhaps memories of Joanna MacGregor performing the FourthBallade very beautifully long ago played a part in the naming. But to define what a Ballade should or should not be is quite beyond me: after all Chopin and Brahms both came to quite different conclusions. I just like theold rather poetic word.A fanfarish beginning ends in a falling arpeggionic cascade which will recur in varied form at turning points throughout the piece. A major third emerges to become the accompaniment to the mainlyrical melody which becomes more and more decorated until it ends with a second cascade. The tune resumes more urgently against an undulating semiquaver accompaniment. A bigger climax suddenly gives way to a reminiscence of oneof the opening figures and then introduces alla recit. a new motif. But immediately the main melody continues this time getting gradually calmer quieter and sweeter until the new motif takes over in a passage of 6 and ismore fully worked out.From very high up the opening fanfares are heard in the distance and a faster tempo brings a more vigorous passage culminating in the biggest and most climactic of the cascades. This might be theend of the piece but it is not. A sequence of soft velvety chords rises up eventually to reveal the original major third. Four phrases of the opening melody are then heard over it in their plainest form.' - H.W.

[Balladen] / Classique / Editeur : Ewald Zimmermann / Doigtés : Hans-Martin / Partition / Relié toilé / Edition Urtext

Ballade von der Krüppelgarde (David Weber) · Ballade zum § 218 (Bertolt Brecht) 3' · Anrede an den Kran Karl (Bertolt Brecht) 0·0·0·Alt-Sax.·0 0·2·1·0 Schl(1) Banjo Klav. 3' (Klavierfassung von Hanns Eisler) · Song von Angebot und Nachfrage (Nr. 8b aus dem Lehrstück Die Massnahme von Bertolt Brecht) 3' · Lied vom Trockenbrot (aus dem Kaufmann von Berlin von Walter Mehring · Ballade vom Nigger Jim (David Weber) 3'

Sous le titre de 'Fantasies', cette édition présente les quatre morceaux Las Brisas, Seven Sisters Ballade, Romance et Prélude à Géométrie Variable à partir des années 1996-2013. Comme toujours avec des oeuvres de Emile Naoumoff, l'interprète peut regarder vers l'avant pour les tâches techniques et créatives. Ecrit dans une langue soigneusement moderne et influencé par la tradition française, les différents éléments montrent la grande maîtrise du compositeur. Le pianiste et compositeur Naoumoff a vécu en Amérique pendant de nombreuses années et enseigne à l'Ecole de musique de l'Université d'Indiana à Bloomington. / Piano

On peut lire chez Robert Schumann: «C?est Chopin qui a importé en premier le mot ?ballade? en musique». Lui-même et ses contemporains ne connaissaient la «ballade» que dans son acception littéraire. Ce sont des poèmes d?Adam Mickiewicz un compatriote de Chopin qui auraient donné à celui-ci l?idée d?écrire des ballades mais aucun indice concret ne confirme cette hypothèse. Mais le gestus narratif dramatique de la ballade littéraire se retrouve nettement dans ce nouveau genre ainsi également dans la ballade no 3 op. 47 disponible dorénavant en partition séparée après révision du recueil (HN 862).?

Bozza (1905-1991) was a brilliant student at the Paris Conservatoire winning prizes for the Violin conducting and composing as well as the Grand Prix de Rome. He predominantly composed chamber music for wind but his solo works for the instruments are also held in high esteem such as his Ballade for Trombone and Piano. This Bozza piece was originally composed for conservatoire students displaying the technical skills as well as musicality of the soloist. There is no formal structure to Ballade however the many changes in tempo provide variety throughout. With no distinct musical theme unifying the music it is interesting to note that much of the material of Bozza's Ballade is extracted from orchestral excerpts. Ballade is an ideal performance piece for advanced trombonists.

Ballad from Fantasy Pieces for Piano Op. 36. Par BACKER-GRONDAHL AGATHE. Agathe Backer Grøndahl’s ‘Ballade’ can best be described as a Romantic character piece. Such one-movement piano pieces with titles that loosely indicate a mood/idea made out a central genre in the 19th century. In Backer Grøndahl’s production, several of these are grouped under the term ‘fantasy pieces’. There are six collections with a total of 48 fantasy pieces on her opus list and ‘Ballade’ is from the first of these (Op. 36), published in 1895. ‘Ballade’ is a broader work than the other fantasy pieces. It is built around a dramatic theme that keeps returning after episodes with strongly contrasting thematic material. The arrangement is close to Backer Grøndahl’s original composition. It is transposed a semitone down: from E flat minor to D minor. The arrangement contains some challenging passages and is well-suited for amateur bands of a certain level. The instrumentation makes no special demands beyond normal concert band instrumentation and will sound just as good in small as in large bands. / Date parution : 2023-07-31/ Répertoire / Concert Band/Harmonie

Philippe Gaubert (1879-1941) was a distinguished performer on the Flute. It comes as no surprise therefore that his compositions for the instrument are at the forefront of the instrument's repertoire Ballade being no exception. After a prominent career as a flautist with the Paris Opéra he was appointed as professor of Flute at the Paris Conservatoire as well as principal conductor of leading orchestras. It was during this time that Gaubert composed including his famous Ballade which premiered in 1927. Addressing many technical features including flourishing semiquaver passages and awide range Ballade is a challenging yet riveting and stirring piece for aspiring flautists.