Ballade Op. 10 No. 2 by Johannes Brahms

This treatise demonstrates how scholarship can inform performance by exploring various analytical techniques, including a Schenkerian perspective, of Ballade in D major, Op. 10 No. 2, by Johannes Brahms. The application of music analyses seems at times undervalued by performers, but an awareness of music theory and analysis can help guide one's interpretation of a piece for performance. A deeper look at the harmonies throughout a passage, for instance, enables us to discover an aesthetic meaning behind the harmonies that can shape interpretation. Understanding the form of a piece can help in the pacing of it to create a cohesive whole. By way of large-scale perspectives of form, tonal relationships, and fundamental structure, and also by examining motives, texture, and character on a smaller level, this treatise provides a model of how analysis can become a vital key to an informed performance.