Étude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major is a solo piano work composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1836, and published in 1837. The work consists entirely of rapid arpeggios and harmonic modulations based on A-flat major. Robert Schumann praised this work in a dissertation on the Études; calling it "a poem rather than a study", he coined for it the alternate name "

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". It is also sometimes known as "The Shepherd Boy," following an unsupported tale by Kleczyński that Chopin advised a pupil to picture a shepherd boy taking refuge in a grotto to avoid a storm playing the melody on his flute.

Structure

This étude comprises a right-hand melody and supportive bass line, the accompaniment consisting of broken chords, provided by the inner voices of both hands, usually in semiquaver- tuplets. The left hand introduces polyrhythms from time to time. The principal melody is presented by the right hand on the first note of each group of

sextuplet A multiple birth is the culmination of one multiple pregnancy, wherein the mother gives birth to two or more babies. A term most applicable to vertebrate species, multiple births occur in most kinds of mammals, with varying frequencies. Such ...

s, with occasional counter-melodies provided by the inner voices. The distinctive theme is presented in A-flat major. Through metamorphic modulations to closely related keys, it eventually arrives at a brief episode in the remote key of A major, but culminates with an intense climax in the home key, and a momentary reference to the original thematic material, which flows easily into the

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Technique

Technically, the piece requires dexterity to play the six-tuples fast enough, and to be able to move the hand across intervals as large as a 13th in the middle. The inner voice figures consist of repeated figures of arpeggiated chords. Schumann commented on Chopin's subtle emphasis on certain melodies throughout this piece."Chopin Etude 25.1"
''In the Hands''. March 13, 2007. One difficulty the étude presents is the voicing of the inner counter-melodies. The three annotated studies by Leopold Godowsky on this etude exploit this aspect of this piece and also introduce the student to further possibilities in the Chopin original.

Notes

References

*Ashton Johnson, (reprinted 2010), ''A Handbook to Chopin's Works.'' (i
Google Books
.

External links

a
Chopin: the poet of the piano
*
Sheet music
available in .pdf or

LilyPond LilyPond is a computer program and file format for music engraving. One of LilyPond's major goals is to produce scores that are engraved with traditional layout rules, reflecting the era when scores were engraved by hand. LilyPond is cross-pla ...

format, from Mutopia.
''Op. 25, No. 1''
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''Op. 25, No. 1''
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Ivan Moravec Ivan Moravec (9 November 1930 – 27 July 2015) was a Czech concert pianist whose performing and recording career spanned nearly half a century. Media and critics worldwide often called Moravec "a poet of the piano" or "pianist supreme". He is cons ...

''Op. 25, No. 1''
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''Op. 25, No. 1''
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''Op. 25, No. 1''
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Youri Egorov Youri Aleksandrovich Egorov (russian: Юрий Александрович Егоров; 28 May 1954 – 16 April 1988) was a Soviet and Monegasque classical pianist. Early years Born in Kazan, USSR, Youri Egorov studied music at the Kazan Conser ...

Performances (video) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Etude Op. 25, No. 1 (Chopin) 25 01 1836 compositions Compositions in A-flat major