When did Chopin compose his ballades?

In 1836, in Leipzig, Schumann heard its earlier version, which was different. And so everything suggests that the ballade closest to both Chopin and Schumann was the G minor. read more

Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23, began with sketches made in 1831 in Vienna. It was completed in 1835 after Chopin’s move to Paris, and was known to Schumann by 1836. Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, was composed between 1836 to 1839 in Nohant, France. and the isle of Majorca. Ballade No. 3 in A-flat major, Op. 47, dates from 1841. read more

Ballade No. 2 in F major, Op. 38, was composed from 1836 to 1839 in Nohant, France, and on the Spanish island of Majorca. Robert Schumann, who had dedicated his Kreisleriana, Op. 16, to Chopin, received the dedication of this Ballade in return. read more

The other answers are accurate in that Chopin’s music was not “programmatic” in the sense of “telling a story” or “depicting scenes/people/events”, in the sense that much of his contemporaries (Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt) wrote pieces that did attempt to do some of these things. read more