Chopin’s G Minor Ballade

Music Appreciation
Written By Edward Wolfe

Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)

Polish composer Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) wrote primarily for the piano, and he was a master at it. Everything he wrote included the piano: he wrote two piano concertos, some chamber music, and songs to Polish lyrics. The great body of his work, though, is for solo piano. He settled in Paris at the age of 21 and lived there for the rest of his life, only 18 years. His beautiful, soaring melodies sound best on the piano, although they have been adapted for other instruments and orchestra.

The “Ballade in G Minor” is one of four ballades by the composer. The exact meaning of “ballade” in Chopin’s usage is disputed. This piece is marked by beautiful melodies and brilliant virtuosic passages, particularly the coda. It is performed here by Performer: Aldona Dvarionaité, piano; Futurex 5 907577 170127

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Edward Wolfe

Edward Wolfe has been a fan of Christian apologetics since his teenage years, when he began seriously to question the truth of the Bible and the reality of Jesus. About twenty years ago, he started noticing that Christian evidences roughly fell into five categories, the five featured on this website.
Although much of his professional life has been in Christian circles (12 years on the faculties of Pacific Christian College, now a part of Hope International University, and Manhattan Christian College and also 12 years at First Christian Church of Tempe), much of his professional life has been in public institutions (4 years at the University of Colorado and 19 years at Tempe Preparatory Academy).
His formal academic preparation has been in the field of music. His bachelor degree was in Church Music with a minor in Bible where he studied with Roger Koerner, Sue Magnusson, Russel Squire, and John Rowe; his master’s was in Choral Conducting where he studied with Howard Swan, Gordon Paine, and Roger Ardrey; and his doctorate was in Piano Performance, Pedagogy, and Literature, where he also studied group dynamics, humanistic psychology, and Gestalt theory with Guy Duckworth.
He and his wife Louise have four grown children and six grandchildren.

https://WolfeMusicEd.com
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