# What's your favourite étude?



## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Étude
Etüde
Estudio
Study
And so on 
Probably the most practical pieces of music ever written, sounds great and improves a specific technique on the instrument. 
What's your favourite?


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## GreenMamba

Probably one of Ligeti's. The Devil's Staircase, maybe Fanfares. Pour Irina. It's hard to say.


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## MichaelSolo

Kreutzer's 2nd and probably 6th with Yampolsky's variations.


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## Feathers

Hard to choose, but I really like No. 4 and 12 from Liszt's Transcendental Etudes. They are brilliant and, despite how oxymoronic this may be, impulsively coherent sounding. Great piano music by a composer who really knew the instrument.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

For me....
Villa-Lobos no. 7

But I also love...
Villa-Lobos no. 11
Ligeti's Devil's Staircase
Ligeti's Fanfares
Brouwer no. 6
Kapustin no. 6


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## aleazk

Ligeti - Desordre!.


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## DeepR

Scriabin 42/5 > all.


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## Norse

If Rachmaninov's Etudes-tableaux count then no. 5 and 7 from op.33, no. 4 from op.39. But I enjoy more of them than these.

Kapustin 3 and 6 are fun.

Scriabin no.12/op.8 and Szymanowski no.3/op.4 are also nice, the last one almost a bit too much in its 'dark, yet pretty' romanticism.

As for Chopin, I find the 2nd one from Trois Nouvelle Etudes sweet, especially given how limited it is technically and rhythmically. I can still enjoy some of opp.10 and 25, but but they've started to become a little too familiar.

No.6 from Saint-Saëns' op.111 is (loosely) based on the last movement of the 5th piano concerto and makes for an impressive and accessible concert piece.


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## tdc

I really like the Brouwer studies, at the moment I think no. 2 is my favorite. I really love the visceral weirdness of no. 7 as well.


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## HiendiMond

I like Fiorillo's Nr 28 for the violin.

Quite simple but sounds pretty good


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## Mahlerian

Debussy's Pour les Accords. It sounds like proto-Messiaen!


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## Vaneyes

Preference for Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Debussy, Scriabin, Bartok, Ligeti. None singled out. :tiphat:


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## Op.123

Schumann - symphonic etudes


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## norman bates

tdc said:


> I really like the Brouwer studies, at the moment I think no. 2 is my favorite. *I really love the visceral weirdness of no. 7 as well.*


Another fan of Brouwer, in some ways the no.7 reminds me of thelonious monk. Maybe it's just me.
And in a similar vein I really like also the less well known studies of Jimmy Wyble


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## Janspe

Rachmaninoff's études-tableaux for the win!

But on a second thought, I think I adore Chopin's set even more. Some of my favourites include nos. 2, 3 and 11 from op. 10 and nos. 1, 5, 6 and 7 from op. 25, but I like them all enormously!

Scriabin's études are very interesting. I like listening to them en masse - Garrick Ohlsson recorded the complete set - as the style changes with each subsequent piece. I _love_ the op. 65 no. 1!

I've only recently become familiar with the Debussy études. At the moment my favourite is number 7! It has this mysterious sound to it that makes me hit the repeat button over and over again. Are there any great recordings that I should listen to? (In addition to the Uchida and Pollini ones, which I know already.)


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Just remembered another one which I love! (and it's so fun to play too) Brouwer no. 10. Also like no. 16.


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## Bix

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> For me....
> Villa-Lobos no. 7
> 
> But I also love...
> Villa-Lobos no. 11
> Ligeti's Devil's Staircase
> Ligeti's Fanfares
> Brouwer no. 6
> Kapustin no. 6


Not heard of these so will go a hunting.

Personally Rachmaninov's Études-Tableaux (especially #6 from opus39) and Chopin's offerings.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde

Bix said:


> Not heard of these so will go a hunting.
> 
> Personally Rachmaninov's Études-Tableaux (especially #6 from opus39) and Chopin's offerings.


Villa-Lobos' dozen are magnificent and highly musical works, brilliant for concert performance as well as improving technique!


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## Kieran

Chopin. I think it's opus 10, his first set...


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## Novelette

Thalberg's etudes are very good, too. Almost on a level with Chopin's.

I'm surprised I haven't read anyone favoring Czerny's ten gazillion etudes!


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## Air

Novelette said:


> I'm surprised I haven't read anyone favoring Czerny's ten gazillion etudes!


They don't hold a candle to Hanon's _Le Pianiste virtuose_ (there, I even frenched it up to try to elevate it above the status of mindlessfinger patterns) 

I remember that glorious day in fifth or sixth grade when my piano teacher looked me in the eye and said in her sing-song Russian accent, "From now on, we're not going to play Hanon or Czerny anymore. Instead, you're going to warm up on the difficult passages in your program."

Haven't touched a Hanon or Czerny book since.


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## Downbeat

The secret is to make Etudes musical, despite the fact they are each designed to work on a different technique; I had to study Popper studies on the cello relentlessly...and was told to be musical about the way I played them, but I didn't recognize music really (if there was any).

Chopin's Etudes for piano, on the other hand, pull off the musical aspect wonderfully for me. I'm a sucker for No. 1 from opus 25, played by Ashkenazy.


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## bagpipers

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> For me....
> Villa-Lobos no. 7
> 
> But I also love...
> Villa-Lobos no. 11
> Ligeti's Devil's Staircase
> Ligeti's Fanfares
> Brouwer no. 6
> Kapustin no. 6


were you once a guitarist,I like those etudes too.
i also like Brouwer no.2 and the Tarrega etude in E minor


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## DeepR

DeepR said:


> Scriabin 42/5 > all.


and others by Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff.... for Liszt I prefer the famous ones like La Campanella and Un Sospiro over the transcendental ones.

Also I like Henselt a lot.

And Catoire - Etude Fantastique!


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## Bix

DeepR said:


> and others by Scriabin, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff.... for Liszt I prefer the famous ones like La Campanella and Un Sospiro over the transcendental ones.
> 
> Also I like Henselt a lot.
> 
> And Catoire - Etude Fantastique!


I really enjoyed that, keeping the name to one side.


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## Bix

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Villa-Lobos' dozen are magnificent and highly musical works, brilliant for concert performance as well as improving technique!


They are certainly dynamic - again, more music to add to the list - thankgoodnessforyoutube


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## Bix

ComposerOfAvantGarde said:


> Ligeti's Devil's Staircase


My gob is utterly smacked (thank goodness I can still type).

I have just listened to this and I am very very impressed - this is the first piece of Ligeti's music I have heard and I know that etudes are not always indicative of the larger works of any given composer, but I am, so far, a fan of Ligeti.

In this piece he is truly able to make me feel like I am running up steps to get out of somewhere that I don't like, away from something I am afraid of. The use of pulse to imitate a ever increasing heart-rate elicits the correct response in the listener emulating attempt to escape. I'm going in for another listen - might read a bit of Dante whilst I am at it.


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## DeepR

Some more favorites.

I like very much Etude Op. 2 No. 1 by three different composers: Scriabin, Prokofiev and Henselt 













Henselt - Etude Op. 5 No. 7 





Alkan - Etude Op. 39 No. 12 "Le Festin d'Esope"





Scriabin - Etude Op. 8 no. 4





Roslavets - "Three Etudes", No. 2





Of course I love most of Chopin's as well. I'm a sucker for Etudes really.

Special mention for Lyapunov - Transcendental Etude Op. 11 No. 6:


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## Feathers

Ah, Lyapunov's etudes! Thanks for mentioning them. I haven't heard them in so long and must revisit them soon...


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