Music: Frédéric Chopin - Etude Op.10 no. 4 - Maurizio Pollini piano

Étude Op.10, No.4 in C-sharp minor is a solo piano work composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1830. This study is written with a very quick tempo, continual sixteenth notes, and rapid voice fluctuations. Although the étude is technically more difficult to execute than most of the other Chopin études, the focus is on developing the ability to distinguish between the melody, which is constantly passed from hand to hand.

- Structure -
The étude is episodic in length and complexity, and features four distinct sections. The first theme is presented, and rapidly progresses into a short second theme. This leads back into a repetition of the first theme, which then develops into the climax and Coda.

Many elements contribute to the overall difficulty of this momentous étude. The phrasing is frequent and detached, and many editions cite pedaling, but none appear in the original; the whole étude must be performed without the sustaining crutch. The key signature, C-sharp minor, leads to peculiar finger positions, especially in the second theme, which consists almost entirely of fully diminished 7th chord arpeggios.