A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Ballade

BALLADE, a name adopted by Chopin for four pieces of pianoforte music (op. 23, 38, 47, 52) which, however brilliant or beautiful, have no peculiar form or character of their own, beyond being written in triple time, and to which the name seems to be no more specially applicable than that of 'Sonnet' is to the pieces which Liszt and others have written under that name. Brahms has also published four 'Balladen' (op. 10) and Liszt two.