Étude Op. 25, No. 4 in

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

is a technical study composed by

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 ...

. It is marked '' Agitato'' at the head. This piece is like a polka. The technique explored in this piece is the performance of off-beat

staccato Staccato (; Italian for "detached") is a form of Articulation (music), musical articulation. In modern notation, it signifies a note of shortened duration, separated from the note that may follow by silence. It has been described by theorists and ...

chords set against a regular on-beat bass. This is an example of

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...

. The left hand leaps intervals of up to a tenth (octave plus a third) between the bass and the lowest note of the following chord (and back): this requires a very strong left hand 5th finger. Very often, the performer is required to hold the uppermost note of the right hand in

legato In music performance and notation, legato (; Italian for "tied together"; French ''lié''; German ''gebunden'') indicates that musical notes are played or sung smoothly, such that the transition from note to note is made with no intervening si ...

while continuing to play the rest of the chord in that hand (and in the left hand) as staccato: this requires a very strong right hand 5th finger. The ending is marked '' Lento'' and ''

pianissimo In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between note (music), notes or phrase (music), phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation ...

'' and the chords are all on beat in stark contrast with the rest of the piece.

External links

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''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot ( , ; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his po ...

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

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

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

György Cziffra Christian Georges Cziffra (; born Cziffra Krisztián György; 5 November 192115 January 1994) was a Hungarian-French virtuoso pianist and composer. He is considered to be one of the greatest virtuoso pianists of the twentieth century. Among ...

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

Adam Harasiewicz Adam Harasiewicz (born 1 July 1932) is a Polish classical concert pianist. Harasiewicz was born in Chodziez. After studying violin for two months, at the age of 10 he began piano study, and at age 15 he obtained first prize in a contest at R ...

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (5 January 1942 – 23 March 2024) was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and the Second Viennese School, among others. He championed works by contemporary composers ...

''Op. 25, No. 4''
played by Andrei Gavrilov 25 04 1836 compositions Compositions in A minor {{classical-composition-stub