a- Chopin etudes

[tomcc]

It's funny, but I was thinking about it and to me the only three a- chopin etudes are definitely among the hardest ones. I have played winter wind, and it is difficult, but the other a- in op25 is nearly impossible to play up to speed the whole way through (for me). Also the chromatic one (op10n2) is very difficult up to speed. I have figured out a good way to practice and play op10n2 now and I will have to find out in the next month if it is going to help me stay loose enough to make it through.
Anyway..., comments?
Do you think Chopin had in mind to make these some of the hardest ones or do you think it just ended up that way. If these three were in the top five hardest ones (which I think they are), which other two would you put with them. I would put op10n1, op10n4.( maybe op10n7?, op10n8) black key has some nasty passages too. The slow ones are hard in their own right, but that's not my point. Which do you think, physically speaking, are the most demanding etudes (in terms of endurance).

Now that I said that, mabye op10n4 can be taken off and 3rds etude can be added.

Any thoughts?

Tom

[tomcc]

sorry whats in brackets should be op10n7 op10n8

T.

[Max]

I think 10/2 and 25/6, 10/2 is more on the awkward side of the difficulty spectrum, 25/6 on the raw technique side. 10/2 is probably the most difficult though. A lot of famous pianists have complained liberally about it.

I believe that as he wrote them as Etudes to challenge pianists - with musicality as well as technicality so he obvioulsy meant them to be devious. He dedicated his 10/2 to Liszt for a reason...

[Rach3]

I was thinking perhaps this could be since a minor is an all-white-keys key, so it's much easier to make things hard in it?  And so is C major, which happens to be the key of 10/1... and the 'toccata' etude...? I guess this shouldn't make much difference for 10/2 though.

[Rach3]

because its purely chromatic anyway i mean

[Rach3]

and for that matter it wouldn't help very much to transpose 'winter wind'? So maybe it's not the key as much as the etude itself.

[Rach3]

So i guess it must have just 'ended up' this way...

(my 300th post   )