In 1853, Brahms visited the Schumann family in Düsseldorf. He subsequently became the musician most trusted by the Schumanns, both as a composer and as a piano virtuoso. These four pieces were completed in Düsseldorf in the summer of 1854, roughly in parallel with his Op. 9, Variations on a Theme by Robert Schumann. They were published in 1856 and dedicated to his friend, the pianist Julius Otto Grimm.

For Brahms, these pieces followed Op. 4 as character pieces. With Op. 5, Brahms decisively moved away from sonatas for solo piano, turning instead to the world of variations and character pieces for his solo piano works.

Although these four pieces are titled "Ballades," only the first one can be said to possess a clear epic or narrative character typical of a ballade. The others largely adopt a purely musical approach and are quite powerful in their expression. They adhere to ternary form, and their scale is not as grand as Chopin's ballades.

While these four pieces are sometimes performed independently, they are often played together due to their tonal relationships.

No. 1: Andante, D minor, 4/4 time

This piece has the strongest ballade character and is the most frequently performed of the set. It is a work of dramatic power and tension.

This piece is based on the Scottish Ballad "Edward" from Johann Gottfried Herder's Stimmen der Völker (Voices of the Peoples), a collection by the German Romantic poet. It is also known as the "Edward Ballade."

The poem consists of a dialogue between a mother, who calmly questions her son Edward about his murder of his father, and Edward, who is agitated and tormented by guilt.

Regarding this poem, the Lied composer Carl Loewe wrote a song (Op. 1 No. 1), and Brahms himself composed a duet for alto and tenor (Op. 75 No. 1) in 1877.

No. 2: Andante, D major, 4/4 time, Ternary form

This piece has a gentle atmosphere, close to the character of a romance. The opening progression of F#-A-F# is based on the initials of Brahms' motto: "Frei aber froh" (Free but joyful). This motto was inspired by Joachim's motto F-A-E ("Frei aber einsam" – Free but lonely) and was frequently used in Brahms' later works.

No. 3: Allegro, B minor, 6/8 time

Although marked "Intermezzo," the character of his late intermezzi is not particularly emphasized here. Instead, it occupies an intermezzo-like position within the four ballades. It possesses a scherzo-like character.

No. 4: Andante con moto, B major, 3/4 time

This work shows the influence of Schumann and has an intermezzo-like quality. It bears the instruction: "Mit innigster Empfindung, doch ohne Übertreibung der Melodie" (With deepest feeling, but without overemphasizing the melody). One can sense Brahms' characteristic "unhealed nostalgia" in this piece.