Evaluating the Harmonic Innovation in Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23

Abstract

The perfection of Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849) and his exclusive piano music with its unique personal stamp make his work highly original. His musical style is exceptionally individualistic, so distinct that some elements are quickly recognized as belonging to him. Two elements that Chopin revolutionized in his compositions include a redefinition of many traditional concepts associated with dance music with character piece; and the of writing harmonic sense that was quite original for that time, which brought such critics from his contemporaries complaining about those features that are regarded as strikingly original today – the equilibrium point of chromaticism and diatonicism. The purpose of this article is to analyse and evaluate the harmonic innovation in Chopin’s Ballade no. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, as Chopin successfully blended diatonicism and chromaticism to the point of being equal in use, resulting in early study of tonal expansion; this musical language had such enormous influence to the later composers in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.