Étude Op. 25, No. 12 in
C minor is one of
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...
's formal
studies for the
piano
A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...
, opus 25, dedicated ''À
Madame la Comtesse d'Agoult''. It was first published in 1837 in French, German, and English. In the first French edition, the time signature is
4/4, but most recent editions of this piece follow the manuscript and German editions, which indicate
cut time. This work is a series of rising and falling
arpeggio
An arpeggio () is a type of Chord (music), chord in which the Musical note, notes that compose a chord are individually sounded in a progressive rising or descending order. Arpeggios on keyboard instruments may be called rolled chords.
Arpe ...
s in various
chord progression
In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...
s from
C minor. It is sometimes nicknamed the "Ocean" étude.
[Chopin Études, Schirmer edition, 1916. 'This piece, too, has recently fallen a victim to the prevalent mania for bestowing titles, now being called the "Ocean Étude." This argues poverty of invention, for ocean-waves do not always run mountain-high.']
Structure
The entire work, except the
coda, consists wholly of
semiquaver (sixteenth note) arpeggios, spanning large lengths of the keyboard in the space of one bar. The initial
theme is expounded upon and changes to many different keys. The climax resolves to
C major.
See also
*
Études (Chopin)
Notes
External links
*
''Op. 25, No. 12''played by
Alfred Cortot
''Op. 25, No. 12''played by
Claudio Arrau
''Op. 25, No. 12''played by
Vladimir Ashkenazy
''Op. 25, No. 12''played by
Maurizio Pollini
''Op. 25, No. 12''played by
Grigory Sokolov
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etude Op. 25, No. 12 (Chopin)
25 12
1836 compositions
Compositions in C minor