Description

The Scottish ballad "Edward" from J.G. Herder's anthology of folk songs "Stimmen der Völker in Liedern" had a profound impact on Brahms. As he told a friend, the melodies came to him effortlessly. This ballad provided the motif for the first of four ballade compositions - dramatic musical tales that Brahms linked to memories of Clara Schumann. The pieces were dedicated to Julius Grimm, who remarked that "the Ballades are really for her." Brahms' young colleague, Robert Schumann, was highly enthusiastic about these compositions. Our Urtext edition of this accessible work features fingering by the renowned pianist Lars Vogt, and presents the scholarly musical text following the soon-to-be-published volume in the Brahms Complete Edition.