Chopin's first étude in C major Op. 10 No. 1 "Waterfall" but it's in the style of his last étude with an opus, Op. 25 No. 12 "Ocean" The composition is the first étude inside of Chopin's first set of études Opus 10, being composed in 1830 before being published in 1833.
*An Étude being a piece which is intended to develop a certain skill or to develop a difficult technique.
The piece itself features broken chords, not to be confused with arpeggios, at fast speeds. It modulates multiple times, branching away from its original key C-Major. It is one of Chopin's more popular pieces in his repertoire, with its nickname, "Waterfall", stemming from the falling motion similar to that of a waterfall. The étude is at a speed of Allegro (usually 116-120BPM); however, the use of semi-quavers (sixteenth-note) makes the piece extremely quick, despite this, the left-hand is extremely easy, consisting of only octaves with occasional chromaticism. It follows a ternary form (ABA), extremely common in Chopin’s pieces. In this arrangement it keeps the 16th notes, but one of the up-and-down runs in waterfall are formed into two up-and-down runs in ocean which gives it a similar tempo. This arrangement is also more difficult then waterfall because it uses intervals as small as minor seconds in the right hand in the arpeggios, and the hands are as far apart as a 14th, clearly deviating from ocean's usually largest interval being a 12th, and smallest interval in the right hand being a minor third.
“For me, the most difficult one of all (the études) is the C Major, the first one, Op. 10, No. 1.” - Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz
“You shall benefit from this Etude. If you learn it according to my instructions it will expand your hand and enable you to perform arpeggios like strokes of the [violin] bow. Unfortunately, instead of teaching, it frequently un-teaches everything.” - Friederike Müller-Streicher
Midi/mp3 (unedited):
The video and composition has been edited to be in the style of Op. 25 No. 12. All changes have been made by us. If you would like to discuss the content in the video, please contact thetwopianos@gmail.com
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