Symposium Abstract

Denise Cummins

Department of Music and Dance

Ballade No. 3 in A-flat Major, Op. 47 by Frédéric Chopin

Of Chopin’s four ballades for piano, the A-flat Major is perhaps the most cheerful. Chopin composed the work in Paris between 1840 and 1841 while engaged in his affair with George Sand. The easy-going spirit of this Ballade may suggest that Chopin was content at the time. The opening theme is graceful and elegant. Darker moods follow in the development section only to give way to the dramatic return of the opening theme in the triumphant coda.

Session A — 9:30 a.m. — Main Lounge.