By Johannes Brahms / ed. Maurice Hinso
Series: Alfred Masterwork Edition
Category: Piano Collection
Format: Book
Instrument: Piano
Level: Early Advanced
Piano - Grades 6-8+
Composed by Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). Edited by Howard Ferguson. ABRSM Signature Series. Sheet Music. Published by ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) (PE.9781854723543).
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.”