Ballade No. 1 and its various performances

Ballade No. 1 opens with a Largo introduction followed by the first subject in 6/4 in G minor. It starts out simple and subtle before bursting into a stormy and agitated section. The second subject in E-flat major has simple yet beautiful melody. The first subject returns in E major, this time more developmental in nature with virtuosic right hand octaves. There is a scherzo section in E-flat major before the returns of the second subject in B-flat major. The first subject returns once more in D major before the intense and difficult coda. It seems like Chopin has sonata form and theme and variations forms in mind when he wrote these. There are two main themes in the whole piece but each theme is further developed through different variation techniques.

So the first pianist, full of passionate energy, seems to pour all of his/her emotion into music. From the background noise and the ambience of the recording, we can tell that it's a live performance, which probably has a lot to do with the ever unstraining passion that goes into the piece. This pianist is brave in playing the fast section so ferociously! Unfortunately, he/she also sacrifices the clarity or the passages a bit. It is very exciting playing, but because of the fast tempo, a feeling of "got to go somewhere", it ceases to "paint a picture and tell a story", as what Chopin might had in mind. From the lack of accuracy in notes and the speediness of the playing, I guess Horowitz.

The second pianist, very sentimental and detail in execution. What a wonderful sense of touch. It is effortless to listen to the performance. Transitions between sections are well-thought out and smooth. The fast passages flows well into the slow, lyrical sections. Texturally, I can hear different layers at all time! The performer has a very clear idea of how he/she wants to organized the piece. The returns of each theme and its variations never sounded redundant. The coda is clean and not hectic (which is very hard to do...) Unlike the first performer, I hear a story going on, painting different pictures in my head. I guess Artur Rubinstein.

The third pianist, probably the most straighforward out of the three. Rubato was never overly done, the transitions between the fast and slow sections were tastefully exectued, and the clarity and the accuracy that every audience listens for are also presence without sounding forced. It combines the first pianist's passion and the second pianist's introspective quality into one, resulting in a perfect blend of sentimentality and virtuosity. I guess Vladimir Ashkenazy.