Studies on Chopin's Etudes


Godowsky's transcriptions of the Op. 10, Op. 25, and Trois Nouvelles Etudes of Frederic Chopin are considered by many to be his crowning achievement. Chopin's etudes are inverted, laid on top of one another, or made into variations. Nowhere is Godowsky's ingenuity more apparent. The resulting pieces are among the most clever, and most difficult, ever written for the piano. They possess a rich polyphony with each voice requiring its own shape; only the most skilled pianists can meet the technical demands required while maintainng the musical flow.

This free treatment incurred abuse from those who believed Godowsky was trying to improve Chopin's etudes or make them into a virtuosic display. Godowsky himself emphasized that his work constituted a tribute to Chopin, and that by studying it one might come to a better appreciation of the beauties in the original.

Commonly referred to as the "53 Studies", the total number of extant studies is actually 54. Godowsky's treatments can be divided into seven categories:

  1. Strict transcriptions (a one-hand version of the etude)
  2. Free transcriptions
  3. Inversions
  4. Free variations
  5. Combinations of multiple etudes (e.g. nos. 47 and 48)
  6. Cantus firmus (the left hand plays the part of the original's right, while the right hand accompanies)
  7. Metamorphoses (everything is changed except the structure)

The Etudes are currently available in a complete edition from Lienau. A few of the etudes were lost and nothing is known of their contents beyond their titles. Some modern composers (Marc-André Hamelin and Alistair Hinton) have paid homage to Godowsky by making their own versions of the most tantalizing loss, the final work which was intended to be a combination of the three A-minor etudes. We may only hope that some day these missing gems will be found.

Sample If your browser and speaker card are configured to play MIDI automatically, you will be hearing No. 47, 'Badinage', performed by P. Wolfe and provided courtesy of the Classical Midi Archive. Otherwise click here for the MIDI file.

No. Title Date of publication Publisher Dedication
1. Op. 10 No. 1, C major (diatonic) June 24, 1899 G. S.  
May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Theodor Leschetizky
2. Op. 10 No. 1, D-flat (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
3. Op. 10 No. 2, A minor (left-hand alone) June 24, 1899 G. S.  
April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
4. Op. 10 No. 2, A minor ('Ignis Fatuus') May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Moriz Rosenthal
- Op. 10 No. 2, A minor - (unpub.)  
5. Op. 10 No. 3, D-flat major (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
6. Op. 10 No. 4, C-sharp minor (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
7. Op. 10 No. 5, G-flat major (on black keys) June 24, 1899 G. S.  
May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
8. Op. 10 No. 5, C major (on white keys) April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Albert Friedenthal
9. Op. 10 No. 5, A minor (Tarantella) April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Willy Rehberg
10. Op. 10 No. 5, A major (Capriccio; study on black and white keys) April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Ernesto Consolo
11. Op. 10 No. 5, G-flat major (inversion, for the left hand, on black keys) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
12. Op. 10 No. 5, G-flat major (inversion, for the right hand, on black keys) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
12a. Op. 10 No. 5, G-flat major (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
- Op. 10 No. 5 - (unpub.)  
- Op. 10 No. 5 - (unpub.)  
13. Op. 10 No. 6, E-flat minor (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
14. Op. 10 No. 7, C major (Toccata) June 24, 1899 G. S.  
April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Franz Kullak
15. Op. 10 No. 7, G-flat major (Nocturne) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Arthur Friedheim
15a. Op. 10 No. 7, E-flat major (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M. / G. S. Hans von Schiller
16. Op. 10 No. 8, F major May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Teresa Carreño
16a. Op. 10 No. 8, G-flat major (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M. / G. S. William L. Hubbard
17. Op. 10 No. 9, C-sharp minor May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
18. Op. 10 No. 9, F minor (imitation of Op. 25 No. 2) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
18a. Op. 10 No. 9, F-sharp minor (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
19. Op. 10 No. 10, D major May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
20. Op. 10 No. 10, A-flat major (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
21. Op. 10 No. 11, A major (left-hand alone) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Maurice Aronson
22. Op. 10 No. 12, C-sharp minor (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
23. Op. 25 No. 1, A-flat major (left-hand alone) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. William Mason
24. Op. 25 No. 1, A-flat major (like a piece for four hands) April 27, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
25. Op. 25 No. 1, A-flat major July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S.  
26. Op. 25 No. 2, F minor May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Vladimir de Pachmann
27. Op. 25 No. 2, F minor (Waltz) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S. Josef Hofmann
28. Op. 25 No. 2, F minor (Two separate versions: a. for the right hand; b. in octaves) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
28a. Op. 25 No. 2, F-sharp minor (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M. / G. S.  
29. Op. 25 No. 3, F major July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S. Ludwig Breitner
30. Op. 25 No. 3, F major (left-hand alone) July 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
31. Op. 25 No. 4, A minor (left-hand alone) June 24, 1899 G. S.  
July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S.  
32. Op. 25 No. 4, F minor (Polonaise) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
33. Op. 25 No. 5, E minor June 24, 1899 G. S.  
October 20, 1905 S. B. M. / G. S.  
34. Op. 25 No. 5, C-sharp minor (in the form of a mazurka) July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S. Prof. E. E. Taubert
35. Op. 25 No. 5, B-flat minor (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
36. Op. 25 No. 6, G-sharp minor (study in thirds) December 4, 1894 H. K. Camille Saint-Saëns
June 24, 1899 G. S.  
October 20, 1905 S. B. M. / G. S.  
- Op. 25 No. 6 - (unpub.)  
- Op. 25 No. 7 - (unpub.)  
37. [does not exist]      
38. Op. 25 No. 8, D-flat major (study in sixths) July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S. Ignace Jan Paderewski
- Op. 25 No. 8, D-flat major (study in thirds) - (unpub.)  
39. Op. 25 No. 9, G-flat major June 24, 1899 G. S.  
July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S.  
40. Op. 25 No. 9, G-flat major (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
41. Op. 25 No. 10, B minor (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
42. Op. 25 No. 11, A minor July 25, 1904 S. B. M. / G. S.  
43. Op. 25 No. 12, C-sharp minor (left-hand alone) September 3, 1909 S. B. M. / G. S.  
44. Trois nouvelles études No. 1, F minor (left-hand alone) December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
45. Trois nouvelles études No. 2, E major (left-hand alone) March 24, 1906 S. B. M. / G. S.  
45a. Trois nouvelles études No. 2, D-flat major December 1, 1914 S. B. M.  
46. Trois nouvelles études No. 3, G major (Menuetto) May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
47. Op. 10 No. 5 and Op. 25 No. 9, two studies combined, G-flat major ('Badinage') June 9, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
48. Op. 10 No. 11 and Op. 25 No. 3, two studies combined, F major May 14, 1903 S. B. M. / G. S.  
- Op. 25 No. 4 and Op. 25 No. 11, two studies combined - (unpub.)  
- Op. 10 No. 2, Op. 25 No. 4, and Op. 25 No. 11, three studies combined - (unpub.)  

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