Description
In 1891, Debussy's early piano piece, Ballade slave, was published by Choudens. Over a decade later, in 1903, Debussy had the work re-engraved by Fromont in a slightly revised form, during which he deleted the word "slave" from the title. This change highlighted the narrative character of the piece more prominently.
While the work exhibits a Russian influence, likely stemming from Debussy's time as Nadeshda von Meck's house pianist, there are also echoes of Balakirev's style. Additionally, the occasionally unconventional tonal approach in Ballade slave already foreshadows the innovative harmonic language found in Debussy's significant 1901 piano cycle, Pour le Piano.
