Ballade in G minor, Op. 24

Grieg composed this Ballade in 1875 as a set of variations on a Norwegian folk melody, and it stands as his most expansive single-movement piano work. The theme comes from a traditional Norwegian song, and the fourteen variations that follow test every register and texture the piano offers while keeping the original melody audible beneath the surface. Where most of Grieg's piano music is compact and aphoristic, the Ballade sustains a single large arc across roughly twenty minutes.

What to listen for

The opening statement presents the folk-song theme plainly, in a slow, hymn-like four-part texture, so the melody is easy to memorise before the variations begin to transform it. Each variation alters one element at a time: some thin the texture to a single melodic line, others surround the theme with rapid accompanying figures that can give the same notes a sense of urgency or restlessness. Tracking the theme through these changes reveals how much the character of a melody depends on what surrounds it rather than the notes themselves.

Recommended rendition

Leif Ove Andsnes has recorded this piece for EMI, a performance often cited for its clarity in tracing the shape of each variation.

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