Étude in C minor

At a glance

• What it isthe first piece of the twelve Études, Op. 10, in C major.
• Who, when, whyChopin began writing them in Warsaw around 1829 to 1830, when he was about twenty, and published them in Paris in 1833 with a dedication to Liszt.
• What to listen forthe right hand's wide broken chords, and the flow of harmony they trace.

Listen for

• Wavesthe right hand spreads each chord one note at a time and races over a wide range. The hand must stretch its fingers as far apart as they will go.
• Pillarsthe left hand holds long low octaves that set up the pillars of the harmony. Listen for how the left hand's note changes whenever the shape of the wave changes.
• The endhaving passed through several keys, the wave returns to C major and spreads out broadly to close.

When it was written

Études were originally pieces for learning finger technique. Chopin added musical beauty to them, creating études that could also be played in concert. Each piece concentrates on one skill.

Chopin left Warsaw in 1830 and from the following year settled in Paris. The Op. 10 Études were published in Paris in 1833, and he dedicated them to Liszt, the Hungarian pianist with whom he had recently become friends. Liszt, it is said, played them so well that he delighted Chopin.