World premiere: Se-Hee Jin, piano, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, April 14, 2025
Ballade was composed for pianist Se-Hee Jin and nods in spirit to the famous Chopin Ballades. There is an impulse to tell a story, and the evolving musical narrative is sparked by a melodic kernel that rises by steps and then falls. Whole sections emanate from this idea and are at turns declamatory, spirited, reflective, and then spirited once more; the music progresses throughout with a kind of “searching” quality.