Chopin Ballade No.4 in F minor, Op.52 Tutorial - ProPractice by Josh Wright

[@emlmm88]

Hands down the best and most difficult Chopin composition imo.

[@emlmm88]

Brandon Lou Uh, I can argue. I actually found the first Ballade to be comparatively easy, even for the Ballades (which, let's face it, aren't really 'virtuoso' pieces by any means). It was the second piece by Chopin I learned. I played it for recital when I was 13. As for the sonatas: I think their difficulty comes from their length and the stress that puts on the pianist, not necessarily their technical complexity (although that 4th mov. from the B minor Sonata is hell). That said, I'm not sure my opinion still stands. I think his concertos are probably the most difficult compositions of his, in both length and technicality. Then again, I was more thinking of specific, composite pieces, so the entire sonata or the entire concerto don't really count in that regard. I mean, if we're thinking of adding multiple movements and counting them as one 'composition', then I'd say that the 24 Etudes are hand's down the hardest 'composition' by Chopin. No question. Try and play them in sequence, they'd put any of the sonatas to shame.

[@emlmm88]

Brandon Lou Ooh, and the Op. 16 Rondo. That piece is ridiculous.

[@emlmm88]

@bill Bloggs Damn dude - nice. I can't even play most of them anywhere near tempo lol.

[@amj.composer]

@@b-louprint yeah no. I've studied those pieces for years, only the Coda of no. 1 is actually hard. Rest all is fine. The contrapuntal part in Ballad 4 is CRAZY and deceptively hard

[@GTXTi-db5xu]

@@b-louprint you don’t know what you’re talking about stfu

[@letszapago]

My favorite one of the 4 ballades.

[@thegreenpianist7683]

You make the introduction sound sooo heavenly, you never cease to amaze me

[@chaos_planet]

My all time favorite piece by chopin too :) especially the ending 😭

[@richardgrayson1811]

This is so great! I'm working on this piece and you are giving such great technique and information!

[@nightvisit]

Thanks for your efforts sir, pleasure to listen to your advices and tutorials. Still a newbie, maybe someday I will make use of these :D

[@joshwrightpiano]

Thank you for your support!

[@JGS007]

Perhaps take into account the "out of nowhere" G octaves at the beginning and how the LH dominates upon entrance, yet dissipates to nothing as the RH gains the "upper hand" (forgive the pun) and continues on one of the most difficult passages in the literature for piano. Note how the interval appears in mm. 46 one full-step lower, and then again in mm. 129 at a half-step lower to arrive at one of the most satisfying moments you might find in all piano music. The "pathos" that Ogden speaks of in this piece is in the idea that it starts at G, but has a painful transition to A at this point (mm. 129). In my humble opinion, the moment at mm. 175-176 in this work in the single greatest moment in the literature for piano you will find in our lifetime. As I am about to perform the complete Ballades in November for the first time, it is these two measures that I have worked so hard to make "correct" for the audience. If these two measure accomplish the goal I set to achieve, then the set will have been a success...

[@jimhendricks88]

Brilliant! What is your span at the keyboard (especially the left hand)?

[@agent8698]

Great, and thank you, but: piano audio examples contain obvious in-your-ears distortion caused by incorrect recording levels. If if was my video, I would correct the problem and re-upload.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Max Kuenkel Thanks for the input Max!

[@randomcubing7106]

His hands are so big that the keyboard seem so small to him.

[@xSinn0hx]

Hi Josh, this is Jonah, you're July scholarship winner. I just wanted to tell you that I emailed you about a week ago and just wanted to know if you were still as busy as you had said originally as I couldn't seem to contact you for quite some time now. :)

[@joshwrightpiano]

***** Hi Jonah - just replied to your last email. We've been finishing up our album this last week :)

[@georgiostemirsidis1966]

Could you make a video for the Chopin's waltz op64 no2 or Liszt paganini etude no 6. I struggled a lot with all the technically challenging passages of these pieces (not so much with the waltz) but I would really like to hear some ideas from a professional.

[@joshwrightpiano]

Peter Smith Absolutely. They are on my list of to-do videos. As the list is quite long with so many requests, it may be some time before I get to these, but I promise I will!

[@heather2773]

Please do Ravel Sonatine!

[@javiertw89]

Anyone bought the full video? Is it worth it?

[@Justin_9423]

javiertw89 I haven't bought this specific video yet. But I've bought both the ballade 1 & Winter wind pro practices, and I say they were definitely worth it

[@javiertw89]

Thanks!

[@jeremydepp3970]

definitely worth It! helped so much with this ballade's coda.

[@pyite100]

Awesome video, thank you. The mic is a little hot unfortunately, lots of distortion when you play loud.

[@Guapdad_]

I just used Apple Pay to buy the full video...how do I access it

[@milesnilges9316]

bsswagg forreal you access it online. Click the link in the confirmation email.

[@ronhernandez8857]

Why is he not repeating the c note at the end of the first motiv..

[@kilianbiermann8642]

Shut up bitch

[@alexandreramos4646]

@@kilianbiermann8642 😂😂

[@davidseagalmusic]

Hey Josh, as always great video. Btw, go to ebay and search "flip phone". the video quality is amazing and the audio is superb. It's the size of a cigarette box! Amazing technology. Put on a tripod and you're good to go. These are discontinued so only on ebay now. spend $100-$200 that's it!

[@해물탕-q2q]

Wow.... you are so good... Pianist???

[@Guapdad_]

I’d like a refund.

[@kallubeats7469]

Did yoy ger it ?