Revolution of the Piano Music

Frédéric Chopin’s Etudes op. 10 & op. 25

Frédérich Chopin, Portraitzeichnung 1835 Until well into the 19th century, piano Etudes were merely a matter of gymnastics, of hitting the keys. Even in Chopin‘s time their main object was to let as many people as possible show their prowess at the keyboard, especially those – mainly society ladies – who wanted to play brilliantly without serious interpretative effort. To cater for this demand a whole series of etude composers – like Carl Czerny, Ignaz Moscheles, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Johann Baptist Cramer, Charles Meyer, Sigismund Thalberg and Henri Herz – produced endless series of exercises, often technically demanding but musically usually monotonous and boring.

Frédéric Chopin‘s 24 Etudes, on the other hand, present us with something new, special, indeed revolutionary. They burst the technical, musical and social boundaries within which the genus Etude had previously been confined. Chopin turned the Etude into a truly expressive art form, thus permitting it to glow with an unbelievable and hitherto unimagined lustre.

Although their creator also saw them as a means of technical instruction, Chopin‘s Etudes are true artistic studies not just educational material. They have no real predecessors. At most one can find links to the “Well Tempered Clavier“ of Johann Sebastian Bach, that hugely important work which all outstanding musicians study not just for its counterpoint but as a pianistic exercise. Chopin too used it as educational material and in preparation for his own concerts.

When the first set of 12 Etudes was issued in June, 1833, a real outcry erupted in the musical world over the technical difficulties with which connoisseurs and pianists alike were confronted. As the writer Ludwig Rellstab put it in his music magazine “Iris“: “...anyone who has crooked fingers may be able to straighten them out thanks to these Etudes.“ Rellstab even goes so far as to claim that Chopin‘s passage-work was “not written in the way it was because it was imagined thus and sounded magnificent, but because it was then harder to play than anything else.“

Each of the 12 Etudes from op. 10, which all enjoy astonishing formal perfection, is dedicated to a particular technical speciality which previously had not existed. But one cannot do the compositions justice simply by jumping over the technical hurdles with elegance. Instead, the extension of expression which emerges from the extraordinary manual difficulties, must be used to produce a boldly-coloured character portrait in sound. This is precisely what one finds especially in the recording by Grigory Gruzman for organo phon records. Audio samples of op. 10 and op. 25 etudes by Frédéric Chopin, played on the piano by Grigory Gruzman can be hear at audio samples.

Etudes op. 10

The Etudes op. 10, dedicated by Frédéric Chopin to the admiring Franz Liszt, are among the early works of the young master and were in part composed in his native Poland. The second set emerged only a few years later, also with 12 Etudes as op. 25. In these as in the foregoing Etudes op. 10, there are moments which are close to impressionism, as well as a richness in modulation and bold chromatic harmony hitherto unknown. Even so, melody remains for Frédéric Chopin the most important means of expression – the language in which he set forth all he sought to say as “the truest and strongest of them all“ (Pasternak).

The publisher and music critic Oscar Bie wrote in his book “The Piano and its Masters“: “There can be no “more true“ piano music than an Etude. In it the essence of the piano itself becomes music.“ That undoubtedly applies to the 24 Etudes of Frédéric Chopin. They did not come into being in just a few weeks, like some Rossini operas, but both sets – op.10 and op. 25 – were the product of several years work. True, the two sets were composed at different times, but there are striking analogies and connections between them in both in structure and development of the harmonic material.

Chopin carefully considered how the individual Etudes should be ordered. They are placed, not as in Bach‘s “Well Tempered Clavier,“ but in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of key parallelism, key gender and quint relationships not easy to identify.

Of course, each of the 24 Etudes has its own very special tonal impact; but this impact is different if the pieces are heard in their entirety, one flowing into the next all but seamlessly. Then the overall effect is more tense, comprehensive and limitless.

A selection of CD's with piano music is listed at organo phon piano music

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	CD's with piano music at organo phon	Revolution of the Piano Music Frédéric Chopin’s Etudes op. 10 & op. 25 Until well into the 19th century, piano Etudes were merely a matter of gymnastics, of hitting the keys. Even in Chopin‘s time their main object was to let as many people as possible show their prowess at the keyboard, especially those – mainly society ladies – who wanted to play brilliantly without serious interpretative effort. To cater for this demand a whole series of etude composers – like Carl Czerny, Ignaz Moscheles, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Johann Baptist Cramer, Charles Meyer, Sigismund Thalberg and Henri Herz – produced endless series of exercises, often technically demanding but musically usually monotonous and boring. Frédéric Chopin‘s 24 Etudes, on the other hand, present us with something new, special, indeed revolutionary. They burst the technical, musical and social boundaries within which the genus Etude had previously been confined. Chopin turned the Etude into a truly expressive art form, thus permitting it to glow with an unbelievable and hitherto unimagined lustre. Although their creator also saw them as a means of technical instruction, Chopin‘s Etudes are true artistic studies not just educational material. They have no real predecessors. At most one can find links to the “Well Tempered Clavier“ of Johann Sebastian Bach, that hugely important work which all outstanding musicians study not just for its counterpoint but as a pianistic exercise. Chopin too used it as educational material and in preparation for his own concerts. When the first set of 12 Etudes was issued in June, 1833, a real outcry erupted in the musical world over the technical difficulties with which connoisseurs and pianists alike were confronted. As the writer Ludwig Rellstab put it in his music magazine “Iris“: “...anyone who has crooked fingers may be able to straighten them out thanks to these Etudes.“ Rellstab even goes so far as to claim that Chopin‘s passage-work was “not written in the way it was because it was imagined thus and sounded magnificent, but because it was then harder to play than anything else.“ Each of the 12 Etudes from op. 10, which all enjoy astonishing formal perfection, is dedicated to a particular technical speciality which previously had not existed. But one cannot do the compositions justice simply by jumping over the technical hurdles with elegance. Instead, the extension of expression which emerges from the extraordinary manual difficulties, must be used to produce a boldly-coloured character portrait in sound. This is precisely what one finds especially in the recording by Grigory Gruzman for organo phon records. Audio samples of op. 10 and op. 25 etudes by Frédéric Chopin, played on the piano by Grigory Gruzman can be hear at audio samples. Etudes op. 10 The Etudes op. 10, dedicated by Frédéric Chopin to the admiring Franz Liszt, are among the early works of the young master and were in part composed in his native Poland. The second set emerged only a few years later, also with 12 Etudes as op. 25. In these as in the foregoing Etudes op. 10, there are moments which are close to impressionism, as well as a richness in modulation and bold chromatic harmony hitherto unknown. Even so, melody remains for Frédéric Chopin the most important means of expression – the language in which he set forth all he sought to say as “the truest and strongest of them all“ (Pasternak). The publisher and music critic Oscar Bie wrote in his book “The Piano and its Masters“: “There can be no “more true“ piano music than an Etude. In it the essence of the piano itself becomes music.“ That undoubtedly applies to the 24 Etudes of Frédéric Chopin. They did not come into being in just a few weeks, like some Rossini operas, but both sets – op.10 and op. 25 – were the product of several years work. True, the two sets were composed at different times, but there are striking analogies and connections between them in both in structure and development of the harmonic material. Chopin carefully considered how the individual Etudes should be ordered. They are placed, not as in Bach‘s “Well Tempered Clavier,“ but in an ever-changing kaleidoscope of key parallelism, key gender and quint relationships not easy to identify. Of course, each of the 24 Etudes has its own very special tonal impact; but this impact is different if the pieces are heard in their entirety, one flowing into the next all but seamlessly. Then the overall effect is more tense, comprehensive and limitless. A selection of CD's with piano music is listed at organo phon piano music scroll to top