Studies Op. 10, 25

Abstract

Before Chopin, there was a tradition of writing studies for the development of keyboard technique, but the pieces were primarily didactic. This set of 12 Études, dedicated to Liszt, represents a new form: concert pieces that serve a secondary function as development of advanced piano skills. Each étude begins with a pattern of pianistic figuration, which creates the specific technical problem for the étude and persists for the duration of the piece. That Chopin was able to create poetry in spite of such controlled and limited means of expression is a testament to his creative genius.

No. 1, in C major is nothing more than a series of wide-spanning arpeggios, expanding and contracting the right-hand, set over a simple sustained bass. It is a work of majestic beauty in spite of the simplicity of means.

No. 2, in A minor is a somewhat dry work, which exercises the last three fingers of the right hand. Rapid chromatic scales run up and down the keyboard to the accompaniment of detached chords. It is extraordinarily difficult to play smoothly.

With a beautifully lyrical melody, set rather simply, Étude No. 3, in E major, is contrasted with a more agitated middle section. The ability to differentiate melody from accompaniment in a single hand is exercised here. One of the easier études, Chopin thought this his finest melody.

Strong and independent fingers are required for the toccata-like Étude No. 4, in C sharp minor. Rapid passages alternate between the hands, creating an exciting, whirlwind effect. It is less difficult than it sounds.

The popular nickname for Étude No. 5, in G flat major, "Black Key," refers to the right-hand playing exclusively on the black keys. The mood is light and brilliant, created by rapid figuration over a chordal accompaniment. A strong and flexible rotation technique is required.

Étude No. 6, in E flat minor, is the easiest of the set, similar in technical requirements to No. 3. The mood is somber and plaintive, and there is no contrasting middle section.

The Étude No. 7, in C major, is a study in double notes. The right hand alternates rapidly between thirds and sixths, while the left hand carries the melody and bass. Musically a little insubstantial, it is valuable for the development of proper wrist and arm technique.

Étude No. 8, in F major, is a study in right-hand arpeggios and passagework. The left hand plays a somewhat jaunty melody while the right hand sweeps up and down the keyboard. Technically, it is similar in requirements to No. 4, but the wider range of the arpeggiation makes a legato execution more difficult.

Widely spaced figurations in the left hand of the ninth étude in F minor present the principal technical problems here. A breathless and passionate melody in the right hand propels the étude to a quietly effective ending. This is one of the easier études of the set.

A variety of technical problems are addressed in Étude No. 10, in A flat major: broken-chord rotation technique in the right hand, large skips and arpeggiation in the left hand, and differentiation of attack for both hands. Chopin basically presents a single idea repeated in a wide variety of articulations and phrasings. This étude is as ingenious as it is difficult.

Really nothing more than a chorale, the 11th étude in E flat major is a study in broken or arpeggiated chords. The difficulty lies in the wide span of the chords and in the tonal differentiation of the melody.

There is an apocryphal story that has Chopin writing his Étude No. 12, in C minor, "Revolutionary," as a reaction to the burning of Warsaw in 1831. True or not, it is an extraordinarily impassioned work, belying its technical utility. Here, the requirements of No. 8 are reversed—the left hand provides the sweeping arpeggios and passagework while the right hand plays the heroic melody in octaves and chords.

© All Music Guide

No.1 in C

The twenty-four Etudes of Frédéric Chopin (divided into two separate opus numbers, 10 and 25, but actually composed almost simultaneously) remain the most significant entries in that particular musical genre. In a letter written in the fall of 1829, Chopin remarked that he had composed an etude "in [his] own manner." Indeed, a great chasm stands between his achievements and the far drier etudes of such predecessors as Moscheles, Czerny, and Hummel. Unlike many nineteenth-century pianist-composers, Chopin did not wish to create studies of only technique and raw dexterity. Here, instead, are works which provide the pianist with an inexhaustible array of textures, moods, and colors to explore. Concert pieces as well as technical studies, the twelve Etudes published as Chopin's Opus 10 are an indispensable tool of the modern pianist's craft; furthermore, they are a rite of passage that no serious pianist can ignore. The blistering arpeggiations of the Etude Op.10, No.1 in C major lay down the foundation of nineteenth-century virtuoso pianism. The work consists, quite simply, of a series of daunting right-hand maneuvers, supported by the plain melody, in octaves, of the left hand. While the technical demands and harmonic syntax may go a good deal further than most musicians of the day would have found comfortable, the texture is essentially classical in nature (if not execution).