Frédéric Chopin wrote his ''Trois nouvelles études'' ("three new studies") for piano in 1839, as a contribution to "Méthode des méthodes de piano", a piano instruction book by

Ignaz Moscheles Isaac Ignaz Moscheles (; 23 May 179410 March 1870) was a Bohemian piano virtuoso and composer. He was based initially in London and later at Leipzig, where he joined his friend and sometime pupil Felix Mendelssohn as professor of piano at the Co ...

and

François-Joseph Fétis François-Joseph Fétis (; 25 March 1784 – 26 March 1871) was a Belgian musicologist, composer, teacher, and one of the most influential music critics of the 19th century. His enormous compilation of biographical data in the ''Biographie univer ...

. They are often erroneously described as posthumous. These études are less technical than the composer's Op. 10 and 25 and retain Chopin's original formula for harmonic and structural balance.

The Études

# The first of the ''Trois nouvelles études'' is an intimate piece in

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

. It develops students' facility with 3-on-4

polyrhythm Polyrhythm is the simultaneous use of two or more rhythms that are not readily perceived as deriving from one another, or as simple manifestations of the same meter. The rhythmic layers may be the basis of an entire piece of music ( cross-rhyt ...

s. # The melody of the second étude in A major sits atop a series of chords in the right hand with a simple bass in the left hand. It develops students' facility with 2-on-3 polyrhythms. # The third and last étude, in

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

, is the most technically challenging in this collection. It develops independence of voices and articulation in the right hand, with the upper melodic line quite

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly and connected. That is, the player makes a transition from note to note wit ...

over a staccato alto accompaniment. Some of the reaches required between the alto and soprano lines may be difficult for pianists with smaller hands.

References

External links

Chopin, Trois Nouvelles Études, B. 130
Sheet music (with introductory note) at

Musopen Musopen Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Tarzana, California, launched by Aaron Dunn in 2005. It aims to "set music free" by providing music to the public free of charge, without copyright restrictions. Mission and charit ...

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Details
Carnegie Hall Data Lab
No. 1No. 2No. 3
played by Alfred Cortot on YouTube
No. 1No. 2No. 3
played by

Claudio Arrau Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and B ...

on YouTube Études by Frédéric Chopin 1839 compositions {{Classical-composition-stub Compositions in F minor Compositions in A-flat major Compositions in D-flat major