The twelve Etudes of Opus 25 were composed by Frédéric Chopin between 1832 and 1836. Published in 1837, six years after having settled in Paris, they added one more achievement in the production of the author, by then "the artist of the moment", of the Parisian soirées. They were his second collection of studies for piano. The first, opus 10, had been published in 1833, dedicated to "mon ami, Franz Liszt", a distinction that could surprise no one since both knew each other and professed mutual admiration.
Marie d'Agoult, dedicatée
Four years later, opus 25 was dedicated to Marie d'Agoult, a former countess, talented writer, and salon habitué whose closeness to Chopin and his music was reduced to her status as Franz Liszt's partner. An act of courtesy that surprises us to this day. Even more so, when we learn that Marie did not get along with Frédéric. That same year, 1837, the Sand proposed to Marie that she join Nohant in the company of "the Poles" (Chopin and his poet friends). In response, Marie wrote: "...Chopin, an oyster sprinkled with sugar..." ... "In him, only his cough is permanent."
Another enigma, in the unfathomable personality of the master.
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| Marie d'Agoult (1805 - 1876) |
A beautiful melody, somewhat sad, accompanied by slow chords of both hands. The left hand, in a couple of passages, attacks semiquavers at a certain speed, but, nothing comparable to the extensive and fast run, also in semiquavers, required in other Etudes, the so-called "Revolutionary", for example. It could be said, then, that this is a rather simple Etude. The difficulty, however, lies elsewhere.
The melody advances shared by both hands. Sometimes on the left, other times on the right. To sing the melody properly, the interpreter must fully understand what is happening with it, musically speaking. And to this painful singing, extreme delicacy must be added. Mastery in phrasing is the demand of the one who was called the poet of the piano.
The Etude is the most extensive of the twenty-four. It is not a study of technique as such, or of acrobatic skills, if the term fits, but one of musicality and interpretation. This is what the work demands, which in less than six minutes, unveils one of Chopin's most emotional pages.
The marvelous performance is by the Polish pianist Szymon Nehring.
