Chopin Op. 25 No. 10

[rtheunissen]

Why is Chopin's Étude Op. 25 No. 10 considered to be one of the most difficult of the set of 24 (or 27) etudes? I feel like rapid octaves, although not easy, aren't as hard as some other pieces from his sets of etudes. Does anyone have an opinion about this? Is it a personal thing or are rapid octaves generally considered to be very hard?

[jeffkonkol]

Legato octaves, with interior held notes.

Play it without, or very little pedal, holding all those longer notes to their full duration, and it becomes a much more difficult piece. That, and pages 3 and 4 can be really hard with all the finger substitution.

Excessive use of pedal makes it a lot easier, of course, but I find it makes the piece unpleasant.

[anacrusis]

I think jeffkonkol hit the nail on the head!

[nightwindsonata]

The problem is not the octaves themselves, but connecting them as legato, and holding the inner notes with fingers, not pedal. It requires a lot of wrist flexibility to pull off. The Op. 25 No. 10 is definitely on my list of pieces to play (I love the middle section), but it's pretty hard to do. I wouldn't recommend it unless there is no question in your mind (or your teacher's) that you have the technique to do it.