Étude Op. 25, No. 9 in
G-flat major, known as the ''Butterfly'' étude, is an
étude 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 ...
. The title ''Butterfly'' was not given by Chopin (as is true for all Chopin pieces with such titles); however
Arthur Friedheim said, "while some titles were superfluous, this one is inadequate."
Analysis
The composition is a study of
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 ...
–
marcato
''Marcato'' (short form: Marc.; Italian for ''marked'') is a musical instruction indicating a note, chord, or passage is to be played louder or more forcefully than the surrounding music. The instruction may involve the word ''marcato'' itself w ...
alternations, marked throughout the piece. The piece is marked ''Allegro assai'' and is written in
meter. It is the shortest of Chopin's études, lasting under a minute played at the indicated tempo. The melody is created by playing a detached
octave
In music, an octave (: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is an interval between two notes, one having twice the frequency of vibration of the other. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referr ...
, then two non-detached octaves. This makes a four-note group, the structure of which is used during the whole piece to convey the melody. The structure of rapid octaves can pose a challenge to the less technically experienced. Another difficulty is in the constant switching of solid octaves to detached octaves. It is much more straightforward to simply play one or the other for the whole piece.
"Musical Analysis: Etudes"
OurChopin.com
References
External links
*
* , played by Josef Hofmann
* , played by Alfred Cortot
* , played by Claudio Arrau
* , played by Adam Harasiewicz
* , played by Vladimir Ashkenazy
* , played by Maurizio Pollini
* , played by Valentina Lisitsa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etude Op. 25, No. 9 (Chopin)
25 09
1834 compositions
Compositions in G-flat major