Ballade No. 1 (Chopin): Difference between revisions

InAfter 1836,Chopin had visited [[Robert Schumann]] in Leipzig in fall 1836, Schumann wrote: "I have a new Ballade by Chopin. It seems to me to be the work closest to his genius (though not the most brilliant). I even told him that it is my favourite of all of all his works. After a long, reflective pause he told me emphatically: 'I am glad, because I too like it the best, it is my dearest work.'"<ref name="Henle"/><ref name="ChopinInstitute">{{Cite web|first=Mieczysław|last=Tomaszewski|title=Ballade in G minor, Op. 23|url=https://chopin.nifc.pl/en/chopin/kompozycja/74|access-date=2020-12-18|website=[[Fryderyk Chopin Institute]]}}</ref>

The ballade has featured prominently in several films. It is performed on-screen in ''[[Gaslight (1944 film)|Gaslight]]'' by the Polish pianist [[Jakob Gimpel]], credited as the Pianist. A performance of the piece is central to the plot of the 2002 [[Roman Polanski]] film ''[[The Pianist (2002 film)|The Pianist]]'', where it moves [[Wilm Hosenfeld|a German officer]] to hide and supply with foodhelp the pianist, [[Władysław Szpilman|eponymous protagonist]], playedand bysupplies [[Adrienhim Brody]]with food. On [[The Pianist (soundtrack)|the soundtrack]], it is playedperformed by [[Janusz Olejniczak]]. It also appears in the 1991 film ''[[Impromptu (1991 film)|Impromptu]]'', where Chopin is playing this piece when he is interrupted by [[George Sand]] and meets her for the first time.

The piece was also the subject of the 2013 [[Channel 4]] documentary ''Chopin Saved My Life''.<ref>{{IMDbCitation titleneeded|2335286|Chopin Saved Mydate=June Life2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.channel4.com/press/news/chopin-saved-my-life|title=''Chopin Saved My Life''|website=Channel 4|access-date=16 May 2019}}</ref> It is quoted in [[Mieczysław Weinberg]]'s [[Symphony No. 21 (Weinberg)|Symphony No. 21]] ("Kaddish").<ref name="Cookson">{{cite web| last1=Cookson| first1=Michael| title=Review: Recording of the Month| url=http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2014/Aug14/Weinberg_sy21_TOCC0193.htm| website=MusicWeb International| access-date=15 October 2014}}</ref>

After Chopin's death, the Belgian violinist and musician [[Eugène Ysaÿe]] made his own arrangement of Ballade No. 1 for violin and piano. That arrangement was used as the soundtrack for the final episode of the Japanese [[anime]] ''[[Your Lie in April]]'' in 2014–2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A List of Music Pieces from "Your Lie in April"|url=https://tay.kinja.com/a-list-of-music-pieces-from-your-lie-in-april-1831518222|access-date=2020-07-31|website=Talk Amongst Yourselves|language=en-us|archive-date=1 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101142441/https://tay.kinja.com/a-list-of-music-pieces-from-your-lie-in-april-1831518222|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Japanese figure skater and two-time Olympic champion [[Yuzuru Hanyu]] skated his [[Yuzuru Hanyu Olympic seasons#Short program: Ballade No. 1 (figure skating program)|short program to Ballade No. 1]] in four seasons between 2014 and 2020. The program has earned him [[List of career achievements by Yuzuru Hanyu#World record scores|four world records]] and contributed to the win of his [[Yuzuru Hanyu Olympic seasons#2018 Winter Olympics|second Olympic title]] such as the completion of the first career [[Grand Slam (figure skating)#Super Slam|Super Slam]] in the men's singles discipline. As of December 2021, Hanyu's Ballade No. 1 has set the [[List of career achievements by Yuzuru Hanyu#Short program|five highest]] short program scores across all [[ISU Judging System|judging systems]] and is the most successful program in that competition segment.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://nonno.hpplus.jp/article/65252/02/|title=羽生結弦 – フィギュアスケート史に燦然と輝く栄光の軌跡 |trans-title=Yuzuru Hanyu – The track of glory shining brightly in the history of figure skating|website=nonno.hpplus.jp|publisher=[[Shueisha]]|location=[[Tokyo]]|language=ja|date=October 7, 2021|archive-date=October 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211008111631/https://nonno.hpplus.jp/article/65252/02/|url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/o100mto.htm|title=Men's Historical Absolute Best Scores|website=isuresults.org|publisher=[[International Skating Union]]|location=[[Lausanne]]|archive-date=May 29, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529023418/http://www.isuresults.com/isujsstat/o100mto.htm|url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{Chopin ballades}}{{Portalbar|Classical Music}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Piano ballades|Chopin 1]]