Arriving in Paris in September 1831, Frédéric Chopin saw his first concert in front of the Parisian public amazingly scheduled for three months after his arrival. The recent relationship with his eventual teacher, the German pianist Kalkbrenner, made this possible. Kalkbrenner and nine other musicians were to perform at a group concert in December of that year, and they were kind enough to invite the Polish refugee to join them.
In addition to the works for solo piano, four-hand piano and piano quartet, plus a violinist and an oboist – in accordance with the tradition of the time – a singer was invited too. Her mission was to increase the diversity of timbres, allowing hearing of the human voice. But the singer canceled and the concert was postponed until February 26, 1832, with the singer's replacement by a female vocal trio. Chopin thanks it: "Three graces are worth more than a single goddess", he says, although he would regret it later because now the "bordereau" had to be shared among a greater number of protagonists.
Chopin in the Salle Pleyel
The concert was held in the Pleyel Hall, with its three hundred seats taken. Of course, a good number of them had been distributed among French personalities, although the Polish compatriots flocked. Among the attendees were Félix Mendelssohn and Franz Liszt.
As could be expected, the concert was a financial failure: many artists and not many paid tickets; in short, too many guests. However, Frédérik would see in it a positive balance: although he didn't get a single peso, he is already present in the opinion of Parisians. The Revue Musicale has stated so:
"In Mr Chopin's inspiration there is a renewal of form, no doubt destined to exert a profound influence on the future achievements of works written for the piano."
That same year, 1832, the Études Op 10 were published, dedicated to his young friend Franz Liszt, a year younger than him. If we consider that in his entire life Frédérik received the miserable sum of 17,000 francs for his complete work (the classes, however, will report to him, on average, 14,000 francs a year), the publication of the Études, we suppose, might have lessened the economic constraints of the moment.
Étude Opus 10 No. 3, in E major
Easy in appearance, the étude in E major presents very delicate problems: to the requirement to make all the voices sing in the serene moments, they are added later, in the determined central section, very uncomfortable fingerings (2:49) and bravura passages of double sixths from distant positions (3:05). Then, the piece resumes the initial quiet song and vanish delicately.
The rendition is by the Ukrainian pianist Valentina Lisitsa.
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