Etüde As-Dur
Étude · in A♭ major · Op. 25, No. 1
Frédéric Chopin 1810–1849
A♭ major
Key
Étude
Form
Allegro sostenuto
Tempo
Op. 25, No. 1
Catalogue
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Themes & character
The Aeolian Harp·Melody within arpeggios·Schumann's description·Published 1837
At a glance
- Catalogue
- Op. 25, No. 1
- Key
- A♭ major
- Tempo / character
- Allegro sostenuto
- Form
- Étude
About the piece
The first of Chopin's second set of twelve etudes, Op. 25, published in 1837 and dedicated to Marie d'Agoult, Liszt's companion. Both hands play continuous rippling arpeggios while a melody must be voiced out of the top notes, so the tune floats above a shimmer without ever being separately stated.
Schumann, who heard Chopin play it, wrote that it was less a study than a poem and described the effect as an aeolian harp, the wind-played instrument, a nickname that has stuck. Chopin reportedly likened it to a shepherd boy sheltering from a storm.
The composer
Frédéric Chopin
1810–1849
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the early Romantic period who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading composer of his era whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation".
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