Chopin - Étude Op. 10 No. 5 (Black Key)

Étude Op. 10, No. 5 in G-Flat Major is a study for solo piano composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. This work is characterized by the rapid triplet figuration played by the right hand exclusively on black keys, except for one note, a F natural in measure 66. Chopin himself did not believe the study to be his most interesting one, and in a letter to his pianist friend and musical executor Julian Fontana he comments on Clara Wieck’s performance: “Did Wieck play my Étude well? How could she have chosen precisely this Étude, the least interesting for those who do not know that it is intended for the black keys, instead of something better! It would have been better to remain silent.” – Vladimir Horowitz