During the summer between Year 10 and 11, I had my work experience in Ely. It was a beautiful town, and while strolling through the high street I encountered a unique bookshop: cramped, vintage and flooded with books. It was there I bought ‘Play It Again” by Alan Rusbridger, a fantastic story about an amateur tackling the momentous First Ballade by Chopin. To be honest, it was not the story that caught my eye, but pages of annotations and comments on the score by concert pianists, who were interviewed by the author, that made it a treasure for me. I’ve long wanted to attempt and playing the piece(and I believe most pianists do), and I thought it would be a useful resource.
Two years later, I still haven’t learnt the piece. However, as I’m starting this blog, I thought it would be a good idea to use this book as a guide, and compare some interpretations of the Ballade. I suppose I should give some context on the Ballade. This piece, written in 1835 by Chopin, is one of his most famous and popular pieces. Technically difficult, but perhaps even more challenging to interpret the weighty emotions in Chopin’s writing. Schumann has one wrote to Chopin that it was his personal favourite of all Chopin’s works, and Chopin also shared the same sentiment. It popularity shows in the countless recordings by top pianists, and even use in the program of Yuzuru Hanzu, the two time Olympic Gold Medalist in figure skating.
The following interpretations are all from renowned pianists, including Ax and Perahia who contributed the comments in the book. Now, let’s dive in and start listening.
Horace Wong Piano and Tutoring 
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