Étude Op. 25, No. 6 (Chopin)

Étude Op. 25, No. 6, in G-sharp minor, is a technical study composed by Frédéric Chopin focusing on thirds, trilling them at a high speed. Also called the Double Thirds Étude, it is considered one of the hardest of Chopin's 24 Études, ranking the highest level of difficulty according to the Henle difficulty rankings.^[1]

Étude Op. 25, No. 6

Martha Goldstein playing on an Érard (1851)

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Étude Op. 25, No. 6

Performed by Randolph Hokanson

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Excerpt from the beginning of the Étude Op. 25 No. 6

Technical difficulties

The most conspicuous difficulty is the trilling of thirds quickly, such as in the beginning of the piece. However, there are also other difficulties, such as playing a chromatic scale in thirds with one hand (m. 5), and alternating chords with fingerings 3–5 and 1–2 (m. 27). At one point (m. 31), both hands do this together in descending diminished seventh chords.^[2]

References

1. "Frédéric Chopin – Etudes". Henle Verlag. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
2. Analysis of Chopin's Etudes, Op. 25, Anh Tran, ourchopin.com

External links

• Études, Op. 25: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Josef Lhévinne
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Alfred Cortot
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Claudio Arrau
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Sviatoslav Richter
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Adam Harasiewicz
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Vladimir Ashkenazy
• Op. 25, No. 6 played by Maurizio Pollini