Editor: Ernst-Günter Heinemann, Mária Eckhardt Fingering: Klaus Schilde Pages: 48

By Johann Kuhnau Series: Kalmus Edition Category: Piano Solo Instrument: Piano

Editor: Jones, Alan Series: ABRSM Romantic Sketchbook for Piano

The instrumental ballad was a popular musical form in the 19th century and these four pieces for piano are Brahms’s only contribution to the genre. The composer wrote the ballades during the time of his close friendship with Clara Schumann, and they exude an intimacy more typical of a vocal ballad. The pieces, which Schumann enthusiastically praised, were described by Brahms as being “not too difficult to play and even less difficult to understand.”