Études (Chopin)
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The Études of Frédéric Chopin are 27 solo piano pieces. They comprise two separate collections of twelve, numbered Opus 10 and 25, plus a set of three without opus number.
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[edit] History
[edit] Composition
The Chopin études are the foundation of a new system of technical piano playing that was radical and revolutionary the first time they appeared. These études are made of some of the most challenging and simultaneously evocative pieces of all the works in concert piano repertoire. Because of this, the music remains popular and often performed works in both concert and private stages.[1] Some are so popular they have been given nicknames; arguably the most popular of all is the Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10, No. 12). Although no nicknames are official, they create interesting pretext and encourage the imagination to fabricate epic works embodied by these studies.[1]
All 27 etudes were published during Chopin's lifetime. Opus 10, the first group of 12, were composed throughout 1829 and 1832, and were published in 1833, in France, Germany, and England. The 12 études of Opus 25 were composed at various times between 1832 and 1836, and were published in the same countries in 1837. The final three, part of a series of called "Méthode des méthodes de piano" compiled by Moscheles and Fetis, were composed in 1839, without an assigned opus number. They appeared in Germany and France in November 1840, and England in January 1841.[1] Accompanying copies of these important early editions, there are usually several manuscripts of a single étude in Chopin's own hand, and additional copies made by his close friend, Jules Fontana, along with editions of Carl Mikuli, Chopin's student.[1]
The first études of the Opus 10 set to be composed were written when Chopin was still in his teens. They rank alongside the early works of Mendelssohn as rare examples of extremely youthful compositions that are regarded as both innovative and worthy of inclusion in the standard canon. Chopin's études elevated the musical form from purely utilitarian exercises to great artistic masterpieces.[2] At a concert in which Chopin performed his opus 25, Robert Schumann said "A la Chopin" (Italian, lit. To Chopin).[2]
[edit] Impact
Although sets of exercises for piano had been common from the end of the 18th century (Carl Czerny was the composer of a great number of the most popular), Chopin's not only presented an entirely new set of technical challenges, but were the first to become a regular part of the concert repertoire. His études are widely regarded as the first to combine musical substance and technical challenge to form a complete artistic form.[3] They are often held in high regard as the product of mastery of combining the two, when previously technique and emotion must have been separated. This is especially poignant when compared to Czerny's etudes, which are called "emotionally meaningless" by modern critics.[4] His effect on contemporaries such as Franz Liszt was apparent, based on the revision Liszt made to his series of concert études after meeting Chopin. Furthermore, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff, major composers of piano music after Chopin's time, all composed études in the Chopin style, with epic melodies and strict binary form.[4] Contemporary Polish musicologist Tadeusz A. Zielinski wrote, on opus 10, that "not only did they become an orderly demonstration of a new piano style and the formulas peculiar to it, but also an artistic ennoblement of this style."[5]
Chopin's études are not without modern influence as well. Several études have lodged themselves in popular music, movies, or television shows. For example, Op. 10, No. 3 is often used as a love song, given its intimate nature. Popular dance music artist Takayuki Ishikawa (DJ TAKA) created a remix of Op. 10, No. 12, called Kakumei (革命?) for beatmania IIDX.
[edit] Technical Demands
Unlike most previous technical studies, which sought to cultivate an independence of finger action driven from the wrist, Chopin's require the engagement of the entire playing mechanism from the shoulder downwards. For example, Op. 10, No. 1 consists of a series of wide broken chords whose span is unreachable for all but the largest hands — it is therefore necessary to use the arm to guide the fingers from note to note. Similarly, Op. 25, No. 10 is a study in octaves in both hands that requires powerful and flexible movements from the shoulders.
Abby Whiteside, the 20th century pedagogue whose views on finger independence are perhaps the most scathing of any author on the subject of piano technique, made the Chopin Études the focus of all her writings — for her they were the final proof of the total inadequacy of any attempt to delegate either strength or direction to the weakest muscles of the playing apparatus.
[edit] Musical Form
Most études contain a single theme, a deviation in the middle, and a return to the first theme. The works are relatively short, and each can be played within five minutes. The shortest is Op. 25, No. 9, which can be played in less than a minute.
In the first set, the Études are grouped into relative key pairs (with the exception of Nos. 7 and 8), meaning No.1 in C major is grouped with No.2 in the relative minor key of A minor. However in the Op.25 set, only the first two have such a relationship. Also, whether composed intentionally or not, no. 5 through 9 are linked by identical initial and final notes.[4]
[edit] List of Études
[edit] Études Op. 10
The first set of Études was published in 1833 (although some had been written as early as 1829). Chopin was 23 and already famous as a composer and pianist in the salons of Paris — it was here that he made the acquaintance of Franz Liszt. Subsequently, Chopin dedicated the entire opus to him - "à son ami Franz Liszt" (French, lit. to his [Chopin's] friend Franz Liszt).
[edit] Études Op. 25
Chopin's second set of Études was published in 1837, and dedicated to Franz Liszt's mistress, Marie d'Agoult, the reasons for which are a matter of speculation.
[edit] Trois Nouvelles Études
These were written as a contribution to Méthode des méthodes de piano, a piano instruction book by Ignaz Moscheles and François-Joseph Fétis, and were not given a separate Opus number. While less technically brilliant than those of Op. 10 and Op. 25, these three études nevertheless retain Chopin's original formula for harmonic and structural balance.
| Name | Key |
|---|---|
| No. 1 | F minor |
| No. 2 | A-flat major |
| No. 3 | D-flat major |
[edit] See also
- Studies on Chopin's Etudes
- Leontsky, Jan: Interpreting Chopin. Etudes op.10 & op.25. Analysis, comments and interpretive choices. Tarnhelm editions.
- List of compositions by Frédéric Chopin
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e (1992) in Palmer, Willard A.: Chopin Etudes for the Piano, Practical Performing Edition. USA: Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.. ISBN 0-7390-2497-3.
- ^ a b Smendzianka, Regina (2007). How to Play Chopin? Part 3: Chopin's Etudes. Chopin Foundation of the United States. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ Ståhlbrand, Robert (2006). Chopin Etudes. Piano Society. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ a b c Chiu, Frederic (1997). Album Notes. harmonia mundi. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
- ^ (Polish) Tadeus, Zieliński A. (1993). Chopin Życie i droga twórcza (Chopin - His Life and Artistic Path) (in Polish). Kraków: Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne (Polish Music Publishers), 238.
[edit] External links
- The Ultimate Chopin Etudes Discography from Eternal Chopin Etudes Space
- Study Guide, Recordings and Sheet Music from Chopin Music
- Find entries on select Études and listen to on-demand performances at The Chopin Project site
- Études Op.10 and Études Op.25 were available at the International Music Score Library Project.
- Free scores of the Etudes at Mutopia Project
- Hans von Bulow's Edition of the Etudes, opp. 10 and 25 (Munich: J. Aibl, 1880) From Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection
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