Renowned Armenian-born pianist Marianna Shirinyan performs some of Chopin’s most fascinating and fiendish pieces: the four Ballades and four Scherzos. Chopin coined the term ‘ballade’,...

Renowned Armenian-born pianist Marianna Shirinyan performs some of Chopin’s most fascinating and fiendish pieces: the four Ballades and four Scherzos. Chopin coined the term ‘ballade’, harking back to medieval minstrels singing poetic ballads. His four Ballades are quite different in character, but share a sense of Romantic story-telling in their dramatic contrasts and virtuoso display. The first three of Chopin’s four Scherzos are fiery and dissonant; all four are exceptionally challenging. The Scherzo No. 1 is sometimes dubbed ‘The Infernal Banquet’ owing to its devilish character, which is juxtaposed with a central lullaby based on the Polish carol ‘Sleep, little Jesus’. Schumann regarded Chopin’s Scherzo No. 2 as Byronic in the grandeur of its passion, and the Scherzo No. 3 is also remarkably daring, with an almost Wagnerian chorale. Chopin’s Scherzo No. 4 is the only one in a major key, yet its relatively serene nature, with fluid, whimsical twists and turns, also makes it one of the most demanding to play.