Transferable technique in Chopin Etudes

[revanyoda777]

I have read a lot of posts debating the 'rub off' of good technique from the Chopin Etudes. 'One who masters the Chopin Etudes can play anything'. I have seen this several times as well. Is there technique NOT even remotely similar to any Chopin Etude in any of the romantic repertoire? How well does Chopin cover what he intended to with the 24 studies? Certainly you need an entirely different approach with Baroque, Classical or serial music as far as technique and style is concerned. Anyway, feel free to share your thoughts

[49410enrique]

im not so sure, i don't believe if you can play these etudes you can play anything, i think these works can certainly enhance technical approaches to the keybaord with intelligent and practical musical analysis in other works.

that is, if you already have a good approach to things, these studies can help you make that approach better.  it would stem to reason that when you encounter similar musical and technical contexts, you will be able to navigate and interpret them to a higher more refined level. i have trouble giving them more credit than that.

if you wan to play bach better, play lots of bach. want to improve your mozart? it'd be hard to argue against say practicing more mozart. etc

[p2u_]

[...] One who masters the Chopin Etudes [...]

...has mastered the Chopin Etudes and that's about it.
P.S.: Other composers have their own laws, which are not comparable to what Chopin did. If find Liszt far more natural than Chopin, notwithstanding the many notes and the stamina required to play his works. Mozart, on the other hand, close to impossible because any mistake in intonation in even the simplest of passages causes the "card house" to collapse...

Paul

[adari]

I have read a lot of posts debating the 'rub off' of good technique from the Chopin Etudes. 'One who masters the Chopin Etudes can play anything'. I have seen this several times as well. Is there technique NOT even remotely similar to any Chopin Etude in any of the romantic repertoire? How well does Chopin cover what he intended to with the 24 studies? Certainly you need an entirely different approach with Baroque, Classical or serial music as far as technique and style is concerned. Anyway, feel free to share your thoughts

It's a difficult question. Some of the techniques are obviously taken further than in the individual etudes (eg. faster single-note runs can be found in the works of other romantic composers etc.), but there aren't many techniques which aren't covered at all. The only ones I can think of right now (and i may well be wrong) are:
1. Spread chords, as shown at 8:18, here:

2. Very difficult staccato:

3. Repeated notes, as shown at 1:48, here:

There was a more detailed thread on this, some time ago: https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=1588.0