Chopin's etudes: history, video, content, interesting facts

Etudes by Chopin

In the XIX century a lot of piano etudes were created. The heightened interest in this genre was quite natural - on the one hand, it was an era of virtuosos that required flawless fluent playing from performers, on the other, amateur playing was widespread in Europe, for which manuals on mastering the instrument were simply necessary. I. Kramer, M. Clementi, K. Cherni, I. Mosheles and many others strenuously developed all sorts of technical methods in their opuses. Only here all their creations created at this time are absolutely not similar to F. Chopin's etudes. Polish romance managed to raise this genre to a new level, combining the technical component with vivid images and deep content.

History of creation

In the artistic heritage of Frederic Chopin, there are 27 etudes.

The first collection of etudes under opus number 10 was published in 1833. It includes 12 works written between 1828-1832. By that time, Chopin was already 23 years old, and he was well known in the Parisian salons as a brilliant composer and pianist. In one of them, he met F. Liszt, to whom he dedicated all of this opus.

The second cycle of etudes was published in 1837. It also contains 12 essays created in different years - from 1831-1836. The collection is addressed to the beloved Franz Liszt, the French writer Maria D'Agu.

In the years 1839-1849. Chopin wrote 3 more etudes, which he preferred to leave without opus. They were created specifically for his friend pianist I. Moscheles and Belgian musicologist F. Fethys, who were developing piano textbooks. These compositions are less popular among pianists, since they are significantly inferior in complexity to previous works in this genre.

Interesting Facts

• In October 1939, Chopin returned to Paris, where he made acquaintance with I. Moscheles. Soon the pianists were invited to play in front of the royal family. Most of the works sounded on that day were composed of sketches, which both composers were interested in writing. His Majesty Louis Philippe was delighted with what he heard and the next day sent the performers gifts - Chopin gold-plated cup, and Mosheles travel bag. Frederick, known for his subtle humor, then let go of the joke - they say, it was not by chance that his colleague got a travel bag, apparently the king wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
• Chopin often criticized Liszt for excessive pomposity in some works, but the manner of play of Ferenc delighted him. In one of the letters to F. Giller, the composer admitted that he would gladly steal from Liszt the manner of performing his own etudes. He himself would never have played that way - Frederic was significantly inferior to his friend in strength, endurance and health.
• Chopin believed that for a competent performance of his works a pianist must necessarily master certain works. Among them were the studies of Clementi.
• Many pianists often incorrectly perform etude No. 10 op.25. As planned by Chopin, in it should sound melodious legato octaves, and not "Listovskaya vykolachivanie."
• R. Schumann was not very flattering about the 25th opus of etudes. He believed that this cycle in its dignity is much inferior to the first.
• Russian composers did transpositions of Chopin etudes for different compositions. M. Balakirev reworked etude No. 7 op.25 for string quartet, and A. Glazunov - etudes No. 6, Op.10 and No. 7, Op. 25 for cello and piano.
• In recognition of S. Richter, Chopin's first etude was for him the most difficult of the entire cycle. He always sounded differently.
• To the American pianist and virtuoso L. Godovsky, Chopin etudes seemed very simple to perform, and so he decided to make his own transcriptions on them. He owns 53 treatments that have become the benchmark for piano craftsmanship and combinatorics. Among them - transcriptions for one left hand and several "combined" treatments, combining 2 and 3 etudes of the great Pole.
• The last concert of Chopin was held in London on November 16, 1848, where the composer last performed several of his studies. At that time, he was already very sick, and the exhausting cough practically did not let him go.

• 11. Some researchers of the composer's creativity suggest that he intended to arrange his 24 etudes in pairs, in tonalities, as he later did in his preludes. However, he had to abandon this idea, since he composed them out of order.
• There is an assumption that the etude No. 12 op.25 was written simultaneously with the "Revolutionary" as a response to the fall of Warsaw. But some musicologists refute this version, arguing that in his musical fabric there are no intonation typical of Chopin’s “civic” works.
• The German music critic and playwright L. Relshtab (who gave the name "Beethoven's Moonlight" sonata) spoke very unflatteringly about Chopin's 10th opus of etudes. He believed that these compositions are intended for people with crooked fingers - in his words, playing them, they could cure their illness.
• They didn’t like the monotonous Chopin etudes and the Polish composer F. Miretsky. He often expressed regret that the notes in them were black, not colored, otherwise he would have used them as wallpaper.

Unusual research

Studies of the greatest Polish genius still occupy the minds of research. What is remarkable, they are studied not only by theorists of musical art, but also by representatives of the exact sciences. Among the latter are Massimo Blasone, a researcher from the Department of Physics of the University of Salerno in Italy. The name of this scientist is known worldwide due to his work in the field of quantum field theory. Actually, the scientist applied the ideas from this section of physics to the study of Chopin's etudes.

As a material for his research, Blason chose two etudes - No. 3 op. 10 and No. 1 op. 25. In them, the researcher tried to trace the dynamic processes and explain the logic of the composition and its interpretation, based on the idea of ​​symmetry in quantum theory, its violation and restoration. In this case, by dynamic processes, the author understands the harmonic relations between the various chords in the tonal system that were used by Chopin. To visualize these relationships, the physicist used the Scriabin color code for the sounds in a musical notation.

Technical tasks and musical content

In his etudes, Chopin is not limited to didactic goals: he was able to raise his creations to a new level, turn them into truly artistic works and create a new genre - a concert etude. Subsequently, he received a continuation in the works of F. Liszt, C. Debussy, S. Rachmaninoff, and others.

In Chopin's etudes, the whole set of technical exercises that meet the requirements of the pianism of that time is presented. At the same time, each of them has its own deep content. It is noteworthy that the composer did not give a single title to his etudes, not wanting to associate them with any program, however, over time some of them were entrusted with titles. The most famous of them was given by F. Liszt - he described the etude No. 12 op.10 as "Revolutionary".

Etudes op.10

Etudes op.25

Etudes Op. posth

Use in the cinema

Directors often use the music of F. Chopin in films, and his etudes are no exception. Most often, filmmakers choose these virtuoso pieces for their dramas and melodramas - their subtle romantic lyrics, sensuality and emotionality fit into the atmosphere of these genres as well as possible.

For Frederick Chopin, the etude was a special genre to which he entrusted the most sacred - in 1831 it was in him that the composer embodied all his experiences about his beloved homeland, drowned in blood after the suppression of the uprising. Chopin was able to do the impossible - he combined into one indivisible whole the most complex technical problems and deep content, a whole poetic world that allowed the study to find a new life.