Frederic Chopin – “Revolutionary” Etude No.12 in C minor Op. 10
Pianist: David Belkin
Étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor, known as the “Revolutionary Étude” or the “Étude on the Bombardment of Warsaw”,] is a solo piano work by Frédéric Chopin written circa 1831, and the last in his first set, Etudes, Op. 10, dedicated “à son ami Franz Liszt” (“to his friend Franz Liszt”).
The “Revolutionary Étude” was inspired by the 1831 Russian attack on Warsaw, during the November 1830-31 Uprising
The 12th Étude appeared around the same time as the November Uprising in 1831. Upon the conclusion of Poland’s failed revolution against Russia, he cried, “All this has caused me much pain. Who could have foreseen it?”
Unlike études of prior periods (works designed to emphasize and develop particular aspects of musical technique), the romantic études of composers such as Chopin and Liszt are fully developed musical concert pieces, but still continue to represent a goal of developing stronger technique.
