The Chopin Études are some of the most challenging and evocative pieces in the concert piano repertoire. A recital of all 27 of Chopin’s Études is an Olympian challenge and Shrewsbury is fortunate indeed to have them performed tonight by a world-famous artist. Zlata Chochieva's recording of Chopin's Études isn't just one of the best; her sensational recording was named by Gramophone magazine as one of the Top 10 greatest Chopin recordings ever, praised as "consistently inspired, masterfully executed and beautiful-sounding".
F. Chopin - 12 Études Op.10
Frédéric Chopin’s Études, Op. 10, composed between 1829 and 1832 when he was 19-22, revolutionized piano technique with twelve studies designed for skilled pianists. Dedicated to his friend and mentor, Franz Liszt, these Romantic works combine technical challenges with expressive depth. Liszt played the studies widely in his recitals, helping to make them staple works in the concert repertoire. Each étude focuses on a specific technical skill but each study is full of melody, innovation and beauty.
The Études were admired by Liszt, Schumann, and Debussy who praised them as masterworks. Robert Schumann, in a review, famously wrote:
“These are not études, but poems—poems of passion, despair, and delight.”
They set a new standard for studies and proved inspirational for other composers such as Liszt, Schumann, Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Prokofiev, all of whom went on to write studies of their own.
Chopin’s Études are musical poems that blend virtuosity, lyricism, and inventive pianism. As a collection, every étude presents a distinct technical challenge while contributing to an emotionally rich overall experience. Chopin believed technique and expression were inseparable, prioritizing expressive beauty above all. He pioneered the use of rubato and flexible phrasing within technical exercises, driven by the inspiration to make the piano sound as if it were singing.