[zt] Essay - Brahms Ballades op. 10 Almost a final-looking Ballades (1854) ofBrahms predate his more larger works with more massive density. Op. 10Ballades consists of four independent pieces (but connected by asustained idea), each distinguished by structures of its own. The firstBallade* has a ternary structure accompanied by Andante - Allegro - Andante; the second is followed closely by Andante - Allegro non troppo - Molto staccato e leggiero - Andante; the third is a concise Intermezzo. Allegro configuration. The fourth and the last Ballade (in B major; central section in F sharp major - col intimissimo sentimento) is in Andante con moto, its calm tempo somewhat slower than what is expected of the foregoing Molto staccato e leggieroconfiguration.| The op. 10 Ballades as a whole is a structural recourseto a format later Brahms had explored in more detail (his PianoConcertos for instance). Even if the first Ballade only has been givena signification the whole piece speaks in unison: the structuralrecourse to certain content, the way in which the final product lookinglike a sustained thesis, cannot be the consequence of disseveredinterest upon organization. Though Brahms gives clear indication fromthe outset the notion should be duly thematic; the themes themselvestend to expand beyond the bound assigned logically.
The Ballades as a whole, though slow-paced, appears to be frolicking about at some interval: Allegrotends to balance outer movements (this applies to all three firstBallades, excepting the last). Striking conviviality fashioned after adistant Bach (or perhaps Beethoven's early piano soantas) encompassesmore broader thesis in almost all Brhams' work. Its indefinite finalityand completeness of the lines in tandem places each line along sideeach other, structuring certain way the overall picture where it beginsto make sense. The poetic interplay between individual theories(terminated in four distinct Ballades) is dramatically serene andontologically viable. Michelangeli supports this thesis with the blendof ethos (distance) and pathos (proximity).