Ballade No. 3 (Chopin)

The piece was first mentioned by Chopin in a letter to Julian Fontana on 18 October 1841.

[2] There are structural similarities with the "Raindrop Prelude" which was inspired by the weather in Mallorca during Chopin's disastrous vacation with George Sand.

The introduction is thematically unrelated to a majority of the piece but is repeated at the close and climax of the work.

The mezza voce section is repeated, following by a new theme consisting of right hand sixteenth-note leggiero runs.

The original "B" theme is then developed, this time using rapid, chromatic left-hand runs in the left hand under large chords in the right.

The figuration in the left hand is chromatic and consists of spans frequently larger than an octave.