I. Étude in C Major. Allegro

II. Étude in A Minor. Allegro

III. Étude in E Major. Lento ma non troppo

IV. Étude in C-Sharp Minor. Presto

V. Étude in G-Flat Major. Vivace

VI. Étude in E-Flat Minor. Andante

VII. Étude in C Major. Vivace

VIII. Étude in F Major. Allegro

IX. Étude in F Minor. Allegro molto agitato

X. Étude in A-Flat Major. Vivace assai

XI. Étude in E-Flat Major. Allegretto

XII. Étude in C Minor. Allegro con fuoco

II. Étude in F Minor. Presto

III. Étude in F Major. Allegro

IV. Étude in A Minor. Agitato

V. Étude in E Minor. Vivace

VI. Étude in G-Sharp Minor. Allegro

VII. Étude in C-Sharp Minor. Lento

VIII. Étude in D-Flat Major. Vivace

IX. Étude in G-Flat Major. Allegro assai

X. Étude in B Minor. Allegro con fuoco

XI. Étude in A Minor. Lento-allegro con brio

XII. Étude in C Minor. Molto allegro con fuoco

I. Andantino in F Minor

III. Allegretto in A-Flat Major

No.1* – Note the clever decision to accelerate towards the end of the upward RH runs, creating the occasional illusion of only 3 beats in a bar and creating the sense of a single, unbroken, soaring line.

No.3 –Incredibly tender voicing, with a particularly dramatic middle section.

No.4 – Pleasingly clear playing. Often the No.4 is burnt to a messy cinder, but here the playing is transparent and exciting throughout.

No.5 – An atypically full-blooded account, with lovely legato playing, especially at moments like .

No.6 – Nearly no pedal used throughout, to great effect.

No.7 – A notoriously hard etude to interpret effectively, but this version is pretty amazing, with beautiful RH phrasing and perky figuration in the left.

No.8* – A real tour de force. The most light and legato version I’ve ever heard. Note the gorgeous pianissimo playing in the D minor section, and the textural shifts at .

No.9 – Played like a tone poem, with impressionistic freedom.

No.10 – The textural variation between the staccato and legatissimo sections is pulled off perfectly.

No.11 – Voicing!

No.12*– A ferocious, overwhelming account. Note how Fialkowska at moments like accents the E-flat at the peak of the LH run, which both adds drama and creates an aural overhang which prepares the sotto voce RH chords which come immediately after. And there's some very fine detached playing in the LH towards the end too.

No.1– Beautifully muted, with judicious rubato.

No.3* – Taut, punchy, spectacular

No.4 – A very brisk tempo, which Fialkowska exploits fully to let the melodic line sing.

No.5* – Note how even in the first section Fialkowska varies the articulation of the theme hugely, from the detached to the fully held notes of .

No.6 – Yet again an astonishing tempo, but completely in service to the music, allowing Fialkowska to generate a sleek, glittering murmuration in the RH.

No.7 – The climaxes are prepared to perfection, and the voicing is consistently flawless. Some really nice rubato too.

No.11*– One of the very best accounts. LH full of swagger, RH full of nimble ferocity + extremely fine dynamic control.

No.12* – As with the very first etude, the sense is not of notes in succession, but a whole series of gorgeous runs, perfectly unbroken. The melody sings with unusual clarity.

Etudes, Op. 10: I. Etude in C Major “Waterfall”. Allegro

Etudes, Op. 10: II. Etude in A Minor. Allegro

Etudes, Op. 10: III. Etude in E Major “Tristesse”. Lento ma non troppo

Etudes, Op. 10: IV. Etude in C-Sharp Minor. Presto

Etudes, Op. 10: V. Etude in G-Flat Major “Black Keys”. Vivace

Etudes, Op. 10: VI. Etude in E-Flat Minor. Andante

Etudes, Op. 10: VII. Etude in C Major. Vivace

Etudes, Op. 10: VIII. Etude in F Major. Allegro

Etudes, Op. 10: IX. Etude in F Minor. Allegro molto agitato

Etudes, Op. 10: X. Etude in A-Flat Major. Vivace assai

Etudes, Op. 10: XI. Etude in E-Flat Major. Allegretto

Etudes, Op. 10: XII. Etude in C Minor “Revolutionary”. Allegro con fuoco

Etudes, Op. 25: II. Etude in F Minor. Presto

Etudes, Op. 25: III. Etude in F Major. Allegro

Etudes, Op. 25: IV. Etude in A Minor. Agitato

Etudes, Op. 25: V. Etude in E Minor. Vivace

Etudes, Op. 25: VI. Etude in G-Sharp Minor. Allegro

Etudes, Op. 25: VII. Etude in C-Sharp Minor. Lento

Etudes, Op. 25: VIII. Etude in D-Flat Major. Vivace

Etudes, Op. 25: IX. Etude in G-Flat Major “Butterfly”. Allegro assai

Etudes, Op. 25: X. Etude in B Minor. Allegro con fuoco

Etudes, Op. 25: XI. Etude in A Minor “Winter Wind”. Lento

Etudes, Op. 25: XII. Etude in C Minor. Allegro molto con fuoco

3 Nouvelles études, B. 130: I. Andantino in F minor

3 Nouvelles études, B. 130: III. Allegretto in A-Flat Major

No. 1: Triple Étude, after Chopin

No. 2: Coma Berenices

No. 3: after Paganini-Liszt

No. 4: Étude à mouvement perpétuellement semblable (after Alkan)

No. 5: Toccata grottesca

No. 6: Esercizio per pianoforte (Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti)

No. 7: after Tchaikovsky (for the left hand alone)

No. 8: ‘Erlkönig’ (after Goethe)

No. 9: after Rossini

No. 10: after Chopin

No. 11: Minuetto

No. 12: Prelude and Fugue

What are Etudes?

Etudes as exercises

What are musical etudes

What are non-musical etudes?

Etudes for intermediate players

Example of an etude

I - (For the five fingers)

II - (For thirds)

III - (For fourths)

IV - (For sixths)

V - (For octaves)

VI - (For the eight fingers)

VII - (For chromatic degrees)

VIII - (For ornaments)

IX - (For repeated notes)

X - (For opposing sonorities)

XI - (For composite arpeggios)

XII - (For chords)

1. Prélude

2. Pour l'indépendance des doigts

3. Prélude et fugue en Fa mineur

4. Étude de rythme

5. Prélude et fugue en La majeur

6. En forme de Valse