What is the ultimate Chopin Etude?

[cloches_de_geneve]

Feel free to add other ones if you think they are more important than the ones listed. 

[leuthold]

i selected 25#1 and 25#6 but 10#12 had to be listed...

[elevateme_returns]

this isnt really the most useful thread

[invictious]

I wanted to vote for Winterwind and Revolutionary, but only one of them were there, so I didn't vote.

[elevateme_returns]

how fascinating




















...naaaaat

[franzliszt2]

winterwind? What on earth does that do? It's rotation...and erm...oh hold on thats all it is! Wosrt chopin etude by far! Most boring thing in the world to learn, frustrating, no musical value, most annoying repetitions! all in all not worth the effort! I gained nothing from it other than a sore head!

[amelialw]

there is no ultimate chopin etude!!!end of story. All of them are meant to teach/address different technical difficulties.

And why did you leave out so many?

[cloches_de_geneve]

there is no ultimate chopin etude!!!end of story. All of them are meant to teach/address different technical difficulties.
And why did you leave out so many?

First of all, I explicitly stated that anyone should feel free to add other etudes, if they thought they were masterworks.

Second, as there are debates about the masterpiece among Mozart operas, Beethoven symphonies/piano concertos, Schubert Lieder, etc.. why shouldn't there be a discussion about the jewels among Chopin etudes? Surely, they are not all on the same level.

Third, may I suggest that you change  "visions fugatives" into "visions fugitives" 

[ramseytheii]

I think the Chopin etudes posts are fundamentally out of steam, there is nothing more to say about them right now (is anybody actually asking for help on how to play them?)  As a result, you get these incredibly contradictory and banal polls - which will soon end up in the poll ghetto, mark my words - that ask you to choose the "ultimate" Chopin etude - and then tell you that you can pick "up to 2."  Look, either it's ultimate or it is not.  Stop gorilla-raping the performance board and spare us all the misery!

Walter Ramsey


 .
. .

[leonidas]

I gained nothing from it other than a sore head!

Predictable.

[cloches_de_geneve]

I think the Chopin etudes posts are fundamentally out of steam, there is nothing more to say about them right now (is anybody actually asking for help on how to play them?)  As a result, you get these incredibly contradictory and banal polls - which will soon end up in the poll ghetto, mark my words - that ask you to choose the "ultimate" Chopin etude - and then tell you that you can pick "up to 2."  Look, either it's ultimate or it is not.  Stop gorilla-raping the performance board and spare us all the misery!

Walter Ramsey

Nobody forces you to read these polls, let alone respond to them with meaningless comments. Besides, your remark about the inadequancy of having two options for the ultimate etude indicates that your grasp of mathematics is not exactly sensational.

[elevateme_returns]

Predictable.

do YOU think the winterwind etude is good music?

[leonidas]

Great music, and material of great technical worth.

[pseudopianist]

Having a hard time choosing between 25/5 , 10/1 and 10/3

[ramseytheii]

Nobody forces you to read these polls, let alone respond to them with meaningless comments. Besides, your remark about the inadequancy of having two options for the ultimate etude indicates that your grasp of mathematics is not exactly sensational.

At least I can be proud of my grammar: "What is his best, his ultimate etude, the crowning masterpiece of the set?
You may only select up to 2 options."

Walter Ramsey

[elevateme_returns]

lol

[cloches_de_geneve]

At least I can be proud of my grammar: "What is his best, his ultimate etude, the crowning masterpiece of the set?
You may only select up to 2 options."

Walter Ramsey

Good try, but no luck: The last sentence is a default-sentence created automatically by the program when you define the number of possible choices. Not much I could do about it.  

[ramseytheii]

Good try, but no luck: The last sentence is a default-sentence created automatically by the program when you define the number of possible choices. Not much I could do about it. 

You could follow your own grammar when you say, "his best, his ultimate etude, the crowning masterpiece of the set?" and set possible choices at "1."

Walter Ramsey

[cloches_de_geneve]

You could follow your own grammar when you say, "his best, his ultimate etude, the crowning masterpiece of the set?" and set possible choices at "1."

Walter Ramsey

By giving two choices you help the undecided, but more importantly, you increase the reliability and replicability of the final outcome. I think it's beyond the scope of this thread to explain the maths behind it to you. 

[m]

I am not sure why you left so many etudes out.
In fact, my 2 favorites--op.10/7 and op.10/11 are not even on the list. But if I were to chose only one, it would've been Op.10/11.

[soliloquy]

10-9 is my favorite, but it was left off.


I voted for 10-8 and 25-11

[burstroman]

F minor, op post.

[cloches_de_geneve]

I am not sure why you left so many etudes out.
In fact, my 2 favorites--op.10/7 and op.10/11 are not even on the list. But if I were to chose only one, it would've been Op.10/11.

I have expanded the list according to recent suggestions.

I understand your fondness for 10/11; it's such an amazing etude! However, who plays it well? I find myself almost always disppointed by performances of it -- as if it was near-impossible to pianistically match the sublime content of the music.

[franzliszt2]

10-9 is my favorite, but it was left off.


I voted for 10-8 and 25-11

why 25-11? It is shockingly crap! The harmonies are terrible, the "melody" is dreadful, it covers rotation of the hand, and thats it. It only becomes a slight problem when you've played from op10no1 and through them all. Then fatigue kicks in a little. All that etude is is find the position and rotate, it fits perfectly under the hand...and yet it takes ages to learn becasue it's bloody annoying! And millions of notes, and no final goal. It's also the favourite among speed people and they can't play it so you get loads of bad people trying to play it loud!

Op10 no7 should be on! Thats very tricky to get the technique perfect to. And it really teaches the thumb a few lessons.

[elevateme_returns]

why 25-11? It is shockingly crap! The harmonies are terrible, the "melody" is dreadful,

you're forgetting solioquy is a modern music fan, so he's into that sort of thing

[franzliszt2]

I'm a big modern music fan....but op25no11 is still crap. That no excuse.

[elevateme_returns]

I'm a big modern music fan....but op25no11 is still crap. That no excuse.

yes but he prefers modern music to music

[leonidas]

it covers rotation of the hand, and thats it.

At high speeds, fingers play a major role too.

It's a great piece, if it sounds boring, you're playing it too slow, are you aware of Chopin's metronome marking?

[franzliszt2]

Retard it sound boring becasue nobody shapes or phrases it. The speed is irrelevent. The melody itself is crap, it goes nowhere, it comes randomy, and is harmonised boringly. It's obvious why most crap pianists love it, it's fast and loud! PHOAR! Must be hard! 

There is no fingers in the etude, just rotation of the hand. Look at it! The hand is always in a fixed position and the fastest way to get the speed is to rotate, and that is much easier than moving a finger seperatly.

[leonidas]

Retard

Perhaps you should publish this autobiography so people know not to waste their time with you next time 

[amelialw]

I don't think there's an ultimate one, but these are my favourite ones anyway:
Op.10 No.2
Op.10 No.4
Op.10 No.5 "Black Key"
Op.10 No.8 "Sunshine"
Op.10 No.10
Op.10 No.11
Op.25 No.9 "Butterfly"