Chopin's Ballade No 4 is one of the greatest masterpieces ever written by a classical composer. The "Ballades" is music which tries to tell some kind of a story. If you listen attentively to Ballade No 4, you will understand that the composer is narrating a story which begins shyly and ambiguously in a cloud and gradually builds to a lightning storm by increasing intensity and going to full drama, but then coming back to the sweet and peaceful melody or a variation of this, to renew the cycle. The music is so transitional, at times sweet and tender and at other times passionate and violent, like the opposition of love and hate, or like a passionate relationship characterised by an abundance of emotions. According to John Ogdon, a pianist, it is "the most exalted, intense and sublimely powerful of all Chopin's compositions... It is unbelievable that it lasts only twelve minutes, for it contains the experience of a lifetime." The music is really powerful in the sense that it evokes strong emotions, but also personal as the composer is like confessing a very intimate story. Suggested title: "Life colours"