Auguste Dupont’s Ballade No. 2 showcases the grand, Lisztian pianism characteristic of his era, blending technical display with sentimental, lyrical melodies. It explores wide-spaced keyboard configurations to achieve an orchestral resonance.
Large-span arpeggiated figures require a supple wrist to maintain a smooth, flowing melodic line.
Comparable difficulty and character — good candidates for what to learn next.
Ballade No.2 (Op.44) is rated Henle level 7 of 9 — late advanced repertoire, roughly ABRSM grade 8 and above.
You should be comfortable at Henle level 7 — meaning you can already play level 6–7 pieces cleanly. Learning it one level early is possible as a stretch piece, but more than that usually leads to months of frustration.
A typical performance of Ballade No.2 (Op.44) lasts about 9 minutes.
Ballade No.2 (Op.44) is available as free public-domain sheet music on IMSLP — the score is linked directly from this page.
Pieces at a comparable difficulty and character include Allegro du concerto No.1 by Auguste Dupont, Ballade No.3 by Frederic Chopin, Ballade No.3 by Frédéric Chopin — see the full similar-pieces list on this page.