The Ballades, Op. 10 are lyrical piano pieces written by Johannes Brahms during his youth. They were dated 1854 and were dedicated to his friend Julius Otto Grimm. Their composition coincided with the beginning of the composer's lifelong affection for Clara Schumann, the wife of Robert Schumann, who was helping Brahms launch his career. Frédéric Chopin had written the last of his famous ballades only 12 years earlier, but Brahms approached the genre differently from Chopin, choosing to take its origin in narrative poetry more literally.

Date of composition 1854
Premiered 1860, March 21st in Vienna, Austria by Clara Schumann (Wieck)
First published 1856, Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig, Germany
Type Ballade
Catalogue Op. 10
Approx. duration 16 minutes
Instruments Piano
Autotranslations beta Johannes Brahms: Ballades, Op. 10
Johannes Brahms: Ballades, Op. 10
Johannes Brahms: Ballades, Op. 10