Chopin's Etudes are exceptionally difficult, demanding both great manual skill to overcome virtuosic challenges and immense creative imagination to convey their artistic message.
Performer Biography
Lukas Geniušas, the pianist on this album, began his musical education at age five and graduated with top honors from the Frederic Chopin Music College in Moscow.
Composition History
Chopin's Etudes Op. 10 and 25 are considered a new type of etude, where technical problems serve as a vehicle for deep artistic expression.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Chopin did not give titles to his etudes, leaving their interpretation and any programmatic ideas to the listener's discretion.
Notable Performances
Franz Liszt was the first brilliant interpreter of Chopin's Etudes, with Chopin himself expressing jealousy over Liszt's performances in an 1833 letter.
Critical Reception
Robert Schumann described Chopin's Etudes as 'truly poetic works,' while Ludwik Rellstab humorously warned pianists to have a surgeon nearby due to their extreme difficulty.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in the Concert Hall of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, in August 2011.
