Chopin: Etude Op. 10 No. 12 in C Minor
Piano Sheet Music to Download and Print or to View in Mobile Devices
ID:127 Frédéric Chopin - Etudes :Etude, Op. 10 No. 12 |
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| Key: C Minor | Year: 1832 | |
| Level: 8+ | Period: Early Romantic | |
 Piano score: PS Urtext (612 kB) | ||
| Piano score: Scholtz edition (1215 kB) | ||
A war cry at the piano
The Revolutionary Etude, an intense, tempestuous work that sounds like a chaotic battle, is the twelfth and last piece in Chopin's first set of Etudes. It was written in 1831 at about the same time as the November Uprising, Poland's failed revolt against Russia. As this etude's alternative title suggests, Chopin seems to have written it as a response to the Polish revolt, and he poured many of the emotions that he was feeling at the time into the work.Until the time of Chopin and Liszt, etudes were written as educational exercises intended to focus on and improve technique, but the etudes written by these composers were intended as fully developed pieces intended for concert performances. Like most of Chopin’s Etudes, the Revolutionary is very difficult to play, but unlike most of the others, the difficulties are mainly in the left hand. A heroic, fanfare-like melody is played by the right hand while the left hand creates an impression of chaos and intensity by making continuous fast runs up and down the keyboard.
One of the more interesting aspects of the piece is its abrupt ending. It ends with a descending sweep in both hands that ends in a C major chord, supposedly brighter and more positive-sounding than the rest of the piece, which is in c minor. However, the arrival of this chord is so abrupt that the effect is anything but soothing. An unexpected touch to one of Chopin's more intense works, and possibly an allusion to the end of the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata op 111, which Chopin is known to have admired.
