Chopin Revolutionary Etude Op. 10 no. 12: any tips and tricks?

[magic_sonata]

Hello, I recently took up the Revolutionary Etude and I discovered for it not too be too challenging. I need some advice on learning and interpreting this etude. All help is much appreciated.

Also, what is the level of this etude in comparison to other etudes? I was considering learning a different one, but this particular melody has always been a favorite of mine.

Thanks.

[awesom_o]

This Etude doesn't have a level of its own. Its level is the level of the pianist playing it. Horowitz played it on the level of Horowitz, and Joe Schmo plays it on the level of Joe Schmo.

My best advice for learning and interpreting it is to learn it, then learn ALL of the other op. 10 and op. 25 Etudes.

It was the first Chopin Etude I ever learned. I learned it when I was 12, as soon as my hands could comfortably reach an octave. However, I played it quite badly until I learned the rest of op. 10/op. 25/Trois Nouvelles.

As far as interpretation: don't play it too quickly. An aristocrat never rushes, and Chopin must reflect that. Don't use too much pedal: many pianists use too much pedal, and it obscures clarity of touch. Don't neglect inner voices in the middle section-that part often suffers in this regard when pianist play it. There is a great deal of nuance in there!

Do plenty of work on the LH alone. When you have that down, try singing the melody with your voice WHILE playing the LH. You can work on the octaves in the recapitulation by simply playing the lower voice with your RH thumb (doing this with great expressiveness requires a nimble and agile thumb!).

Post a recording of your attempt with the work so far! I look forward to hearing your efforts, and will be able to give you more personal, less generic advice.