Programme notes:

Tereza Jaďuďová (b. 2001)
Ballade, Op. 49
Written in 2020

Inspired by Janko Kráľ’s celebrated poem Zakliata panna vo Váhu a divný Janko, Jaďuďová’s Ballade for solo piano transforms the poem’s dramatic imagery into a continuous musical narrative. Dedicated “For F.F. Chopin,” the piece blends a Romantic pianistic idiom with Slovak literary heritage.

Throughout the Ballade, Jaďuďová’s writing preserves the poetic imagery of Kráľ’s text: the broad landscapes of the Váh, the sudden storms, and the fleeting supernatural encounter. The piece concludes with the same sense of mystery with which it began—an open-ended musical retelling of the legend.