Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
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 ...(+)
Frédéric François Chopin (1810 – 1849) was a
Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has
maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of
his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a
professional technique that was without equal in his
generation."
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.
The "Waterfall Étude" in C Major (Op. 10 No. 1) is 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.
PARTITION