Études (Chopin)

3, sometimes identified by the names Tristesse ("Sadness") or "Farewell" (L'Adieu), as well as the "Revolutionary Étude" (Op.

[2] 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 Karol Mikuli, Chopin's student.

They rank alongside the early works of Felix 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.

[3] Although sets of exercises for piano had been common from the end of the 18th century (Muzio Clementi, Johann Baptist Cramer, Ignaz Moscheles, and Carl Czerny were composers of the most significant), Chopin's Études not only presented an entirely new set of technical challenges, but were the first to become a regular part of the concert repertoire.

Other great composers after him, such as Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, and Rachmaninoff, wrote études in the same style as Chopin's.

Chopin was twenty-three years old and already famous as a composer and pianist in the salons of Paris, where he made the acquaintance of Franz Liszt.

[full citation needed] 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.

Trois nouvelles études were written in 1839 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.

Chopin's Études are technically demanding, and require players to have significant experience with speed, arpeggios, and trills even in weaker fingers.