Étude Op. 10, No. 2

Excerpt from the Étude Op. 10, No. 2

Étude Op. 10, No. 2, in A minor, is a technical study composed by Frédéric Chopin for the piano. This étude is an exercise in developing the weaker fingers of the right hand by indicating a rapid chromatic scale to be played with the third, fourth, and fifth fingers. The thumb and index finger are made to play accompanying chords, leaving the work of playing the chromatic melody to the third, fourth and fifth fingers. Meanwhile, the left hand plays an accompaniment of chords and single notes. Chopin indicated this fingering himself note by note for almost 800 notes.

Structure

The melody consists of a rapid chromatic scale played by the outer right-hand fingers, accompanied by chord attacks. Like most of his other études, Chopin divided this work into three sections: the first subject, second subject, and the Recapitulation in the simple ternary form A-B-A. The music starts with the melody in A minor, and a motif played by the left hand. As the chordal harmony develops, the key changes into C major, and progresses into a climax with an A harmonic minor scale. The first theme is then restated in the Coda, which finishes the music with a rising and falling scale into a Picardy ending.

Chopin demanded that the chromatic scale was to be played sempre legato (always legato), a direction mentioned seven times throughout the score. This contrasts with the staccato chords played as accompaniment.

The original manuscripts for Opus 10 have an alla breve for No.2, but Chopin seems to have changed this when they were first published. The first French, German, and English editions have common time.^[1]

This etude has been argued as being the most challenging etude in the Opus 10 set.

	Étude No.2 Martha Goldstein playing on an Erard (1851) - 1571KB
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Notes

External links

• Analysis of Chopin Etudes at Chopin: the poet of the piano
• Find an entry on this piece and hear a performance by pianist Xiaofeng Wu at the Chopin Project site or watch his performance
• Études Op.10: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project.
• Sheet music available in .pdf or LilyPond format, from Mutopia.