Liszt's B minor Sonata, with its uncompromising formal conception, influenced music well into the 20th century and served as a model for later formal experiments.
Critical Reception
Chopin's Fourth Ballade in F minor, composed in 1842, is considered his masterpiece and was long neglected by virtuosos due to its polyphonic style, but is now seen as the most concentrated and forward-looking of his ballades.
Performer Biography
Aleksandra Mikulska, the pianist on this album, won the Special Prize for Best Female Polish Pianist at the XV International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw.
Compositional Technique
Franz Liszt's B minor Sonata uses a 'double-function form' or 'multiple movements in a single movement,' where one continuous movement contains the elements of a four-movement cycle.
Composition History
Frédéric Chopin single-handedly created the genre of the instrumental ballade, which previously only existed in vocal music or as a literary form, without any prior models.
Performer Biography
Aleksandra Mikulska, the pianist, is the President of the Chopin Society of Germany and focuses her music-making on disseminating works by Polish composers.
Compositional Technique
Chopin's ballades combine Classical sonata form with the Romantic piano fantasy, using contrasting themes whose tension resolves in a culminating reprise.
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