Ballade No. 2 (Chopin)

[1] Chopin announced completion of the ballade in a letter dated 14 December 1838, and by January 1840, he had sold the work to Breitkopf & Härtel for publication, along with the Piano Sonata No.

The piece has been criticized by some prominent pianists and musicologists, including its dedicatee Schumann, as a less ingenious work than the first.

This quickly progresses to a melody and development with the performance instruction sotto voce (quietly).

The next section of the ballade, in stark contrast to the first, opens with the performance instruction Presto con fuoco (very fast with fire).

Here, Chopin incorporates variations on the melody not present in the initial expository stage of the piece.

This development progresses until the Presto con fuoco theme is naturally reintroduced and recapitulated.