Horowitz never performed it.
Rubenstein never performed it.
Richter didn't like to play it.
And many others as well. It's a daunting piece, though some feel the one that follows, op. 10 #2, is even more daunting.
My feeling: Chopin dedicated it to Liszt as a joke, and a challenge.
Let him show us how good he truly is.
Certainly it's a piece that tests the limits of human ability at the keyboard.
But it's not a stunt - it's a beautiful piano piece, particularly if from the start you can give the very first figure the grandeur it contains. Do that well, and the sound makes a commanding presence, the piece creating an extraordinary new instrument out of the piano.
Bear in mind, op. 10 #1 is a paraphrase, a commentary, on Bach's Prelude #1 in C Major from the Well-Tempered Clavier.
Relax, play slowly and patiently, and go for the music and the sound. 'Tout souple' as Chopin suggests, though he became dismayed by all the fuss this piece created.
But why not? Like many of of the Etudes, it's a work of pure genius.
That's why it's worth years of effort - if you can bring it off, and play it beautifully and powerfully, you're in rare company indeed.
peace, Claude