A balancing act over 13 minutes.

Ballade No. 2 in C major is an act of strength and enjoyment alike - both for the player and for the listener. The piece is strictly structured according to an A-B-C-B-A form, which hangs symmetrically along the keys of C major, B-flat major, F major, B-flat major and again C major.

After a short introduction, which plays around the basic key of C major and quickly dissolves the basic pulse of a three-four time, the main theme of the A-part is presented. A fiery and at the same time openly sounding theme, which is characterized by its two closely interwoven voices, which constantly play around each other, plunge into the depths and at the same time develop an intense drive above the four-against-three accompaniment figure in the left hand, which is partly reminiscent of rousing jazz passages.
In the course of the A-part, thoughts in triple and quadruple time alternate, which accumulate in short, chasing chord blows between left and right as a climax.

It moves seamlessly into the B section with powerful sounds, a waltz that elegantly complements the A section. The four-bar waltz theme reaches the new key of B flat major through an ascending chordal movement supported by continuous octave-eighth movements in the left hand, which harmonically reaches the upper fifth from a melodically descending line ornamented by fifths. After a brief turn to G minor and the return of the waltz theme, the augmented version of the same theme now follows in a rather heroic form. The thematic continuation leads into a stretta, which leads the theme to a bright conclusion through a more complex and harmonically dense structure.

The two eccentric framing movements are held together by the slow middle section, which forms, as it were, the resting point of the piece. The upbeat of the following Adagio con spirito with its five-bar motif can still be heard in the middle section. The scene is set by the recitative note "a", which seeks to spread calm over the melodic line unfolding in the left hand. However, this intention is quickly interrupted by the melodic outburst in the right hand, which is a recourse to the quaver motif with an octave leap from the second movement of the main theme from the A section. The middle section itself is in an A-B-A form and begins to explore the possibilities of the five-bar motif in the A section, while the B section leads the listener into a three-part dialog based on a modified motif and with a three-against-four movement of the voices, which unfolds a strangely dark-coloured brilliance. After the A section is heard again, the piece returns to the powerful sounds of the waltz, like waking up from a dream.

The statements of the waltz are now illuminated by a new light, appear even more powerful and, after the stretto, lead once again to a furious climax, which also represents the greatest excitement of the piece. Through a wave-like motif, the climax finally strives towards the theme of the A section. The renewed traversal of this section leads to a radiant finale.

The piece for piano was written in spring and summer 2023.