Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment...! I do appreciate that you listened to the two runs and do a real comparison. I've been feeling overwhelmed and dull by practicing it over and over again, and your comment is really refreshing my mind. Thank you!

Thank you! Well, it's not that straightforward to explain, but I'll do my best. First of all I gained the piece many years ago and performed in public, like 6 years ago or so, after I worked on the second ballade. I had another 4-year gap till I picked up my piano again in 2021. I sporadically played the notes of Ballade No.1 between then and a few months ago. And in January this year, I picked it up to polish again, wanting to understand the piece better. I practiced once or twice a week till mid March (blaming my side job that took my free time away). Still tried to apply new ideas that I was working with my current teacher. Since mid March, I'm paying more attention to practice for performance, trying to hone it as much as possible. And this video is my progress as of 4/2. I still feel I'm not quite there. I still lose control. I don't know when I'll feel better with this piece.