Which tempo did you prefer for this Etude - and why? 😊 Tell me in the comments! ❤️ And don’t forget: The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/heartofthekeys09211
The slow tempo one has a feeling of nostalgia because that's what I am used to listen since childhood. The fast sounds totally different, like it can easily be transported to salsa or bossa nova.
I prefer at 80 rather than 100 tempo.. maybe I've been conditioned to hearing it slower? Is it sad that I know this piece primarily from Serge Gainsbourg?
Omg Annique... Since I heard this piece for the first time i never felt that connection everybody seems to have with this etude, and I never understood why. It was kind of frustrating. But today, as soon as you began to play whith Chopin's tempo, I literally felt in love (I even cried). I finally understood that what my heart wanted all this time was what Chopin's heart wanted. And that is thanks to you. I'm only 15 years old and you've managed to connect me with the 24 etudes for the rest of my life. I hope that one day i will be able to play them! Thanks Annique, thanks.
If you translate tristesse to sadness , it makes only a bit of sense. Yet tristesse in French has an extremely broad meaning, but most of all it is definitely not desperation or something as strong. It is actually a "light" term. In French poetry (and in daily lives) you can have with expressions such as "douce tristesse" ("sweet sadness") implying the fact that tristesse for us can also be something we like to feel, something we see as beautiful. I guess the French critics who gave that name were thinking about tristesse in this way. It is difficult to explain as we come to nuances in the French language combined with a translation to English but I hope it gave another element of explanation. And thanks for the videos you make ! I always enjoy it !
As a Français my self, let me juste instruct people that « tristesse » really means sadness to us, no need to strech things with hypothetical context and shit cmon
"La mélancolie est un crépuscule. La souffrance s'y fond dans une sombre joie. La mélancolie, c'est le bonheur d'être triste." Victor Hugo. Ce n'est qu'un exemple parmi d'autres mais il est dommage d'être à ce point réducteur pour langue aussi riche. À bon entendeur l'ami.
Je rajouterai par la même occasion que s'en tenir au sens premier des mots, et en l'occurrence des sentiments, pour tenter de décrire les morceaux de la période romantique serait criminel. Comment qualifier la sensation procurée lors de la coda de la 3eme ballade de Chopin ? D'un style typiquement slave, on ressent de la joie et de la tristesse simultanément, ce serait impossible d'utiliser ces deux termes en même temps dans leur définition première, on aurait un grossier oxymore. La langue français est riche, belle, subtile et pleine de nuances. Tâchons au moins de faire vivre cette richesse qui en fait sa renommée...
This has always been one of my favourite pieces. I used to study piano in my teens and sadly stopped. Now I'm 41 years old and I bought myself a digital piano, looking to start again. Thank you for your videos!
One of my favorite pieces, but I always found the transition between the first part and the "poco pui animato" part really jarring in most interpretations. Yours is much smoother, and I really enjoyed it!
Yep, the final tempo sounds the most convincing! Absolutely agree about not being too slow. Wonderful and very useful analysis, thank you. And great playing!
I think it’s pretty cool how much the tempo changes how this piece sounds, the mood is completely different between the slow and fast versions. I wonder if it’s also true for other pieces
Jolene by Dolly Parton sounds great when slowed down. There is a video of a 7” single, which is supposed to be played at 45 rpm, being played at the regular 33 rpm that is amazing and kind of haunting.
Yes, the name "tristesse" never made sense for me. This etude sounds totally happy for me. After all, it is in a major key! Sad I would call the prelude 4 of Op. 28. Actually, I don't care much about these nick names. Would generally think in the pieces by their opus number.
Further proven by Chopin never giving any of his Etudes nicknames. However, I like the other name the etude sometimes goes by "L' Adieu" or "Farewell" as I think it fits much more.
A piece being in a major key doesn't mean happy. The oversimplification of major being happy and minor being sad needs to go away. This etude sounds sad to me. What makes a song or a piece sad is its intervals in my perspective.
@@musicman8938 I didn't mean to imply that major key is necessary and sufficient for a piece to be perceived as happy. I even thought to make this caveat in my comment, to avoid people to think that I'm implying that. The major key usual progressions involving I, IV, V and ii (as a replacement of IV) tend to sound happy. But in major key one can always modulate to the relative or the parallel minor and use lots of minor chords, which can sound sad. Besides, everything influences in the perceived mood, from the key, tempo, dynamics, chords and progressions to the subjective interpretation of the listener. Moreover, happy and sad are only two of the many moods that music can evoque. Many pieces don't sound neither happy nor sad. The claim that minor key always sounds sad is even less valid. A good example of mostly sad or melancholic piece in a major key is the second mvt of Ravel's famous piano concerto (at least in my perception). I think some parts sound optimistic, though (e.g., the ending). Clair de Lune is another good example.
@@shreksthongg speed is not a problem on piano at that level lol when I was learning piano I didn't play any music I just played technique exercises and I would play 1/16th notes at 80bpm which is fast lmao (pressing a key every 0.18 seconds) seconds she definitely also did her exercises to this level and I can play quicker but 1/16 notes at 80 BPM is good enough it's fast enough for any piece a lot of music isn't as quick as it seems when actually sat down and played
I prepared this study for my grad concert, but slow around 75 to 80. To me, it sounds like a nostalgic sadness at the beginning, kind of like a happy nostalgic memory at the tempo change, it grows into something that reminds me of a tantrum until the end of the sixths, that part just before returning to the main theme I try to imitate someone sobbing, trying to calm down after the tantrum, and finally returning to that introspective sadness but this time you let it fade away until it is gone. Edit: I didn't know it was called Tristesse until a month or two before recording my concert, so to me it was a surprise. But I think it is a piece that passes through a path of remembering, crying, sobbing, screaming, calming, remembering and letting go.
I really liked your interpretation, and the tempo you used for the performance fits so nicely. :) I've yet to learn this piece, but I'm looking forward to incorporating these ideas. You have my sympathies about interruptions as well :D
hai Annique 🌹 I always support your channel, I followed your previous channel and instagram so far. Good luck to you, because there's no reason not to like your piano playing.
I can’t believe it! I requested this video on your last Chopin etude video and you actually made it! This has made my day - thank you so much ;) From an aspiring 17 year old pianist :)
Great video! I was just discussing this piece with someone yesterday about this very same issue. To me, it has never sounded like sadness. It is so much more than that. It is true it contains melancholy, but it is also very warm and passionate. Simply calling it sadness limits you from the real depth of emotions the piece brings. Thanks so much for the amazing content!
I’ve heard this etude played in a variety of tempi but I agree with you that it needs a bit more speed than that which it is usually played. I’ve heard this etude played at a tempo that turned it into a dirge. I especially love your interpretation. A special note on the last crescendo where you’ve borrowed a bit of Beethoven and crescendo to….. nothing! A lovely treatment that really makes your finale to the etude stand out from the herd.
I think your tempo is spot on, I had no idea about the original differences you demonstrated, but I must say that I always thought it was slightly to slow in the intrepretations that I had heard before. Thank you for the performance, just wonderful.
Thanks for this video. It was hard for me to find the "sadness" in this piece to be able to interpret it and your explanation gave it another meaning. Sorry my english, i'm using a translator
That was a good take on this piece. The slower, 52 tempo, is far more gripping and seems to pull on greater depths, especially that final go within this piece. However, the 100 tempo may very well have been the original intent of Chopin, as though it seems more brisk and bright, it could be that that was his intent. When you think about current pop tunes, most often, when another artist covers an original song, they tend to slow it down. With that change of tempo, there is a new depth one generally discovers, and of course, you have folks who like it more, about the same, or not at all. Wonderful playing and great video. Thank you for sharing.
I used to play this piece for my grandma when I was a kid. Listening in this tempo, bring me joy and happy memories. I will practice it and gave it to my gran ma for her birthday. Thank you for showing an alternative view, more colorful. Greetings from Chile
Thank you, I mean THANK YOU for your insights and comments on this Etude. I played it years ago, and hope to get back to playing it again. All best wishes from New Zealand! (I am English but married a New Zealander and came here to live, years ago).
I just want you to know, I'm using your fingering as reference rn and it's already making a HUGE difference in my control of the melody. I finally just started learning this one after putting it off for a near decade (havent played piano since high school) and am using Schirmer/Arthur Friedheim's revised edition off of Amazon. Lots of 4s and 5s for the fingering of the melody. Switching to 2s and 3s has already made the melody so much stronger incomparison, and im still only on the first page! Without your technique i feel i would have struggled to bring out the voice of my absolute favorite piano song with my weak af pinkies! Thank you!!!
I can't remember where I read it but in 2 occasions Chopin expressed his opinion about this particular piece: he said once that this was the most beautiful piece of music he had ever written and one time a student was playing it and he jumped up and exclaimed: "Oh my beloved homeland!!"
Great video! I think a lot of times Chopin's music is over-celebrated at the expense of just enjoying the music. After all Chopin's music was enjoyable to both educated and uneducated, rich and poor (according to M. A. Szulc). He also sometimes played for people to dance. Even his Nocturne op. 9 no 2, now played in a sad way, was described as "cheerful" (in Polish "pogodny") in 1879 by Jan Kleczyński - which shows how much Chopin's interpretations have changed over time. He also had a great sense of humour which you can see in his letters, but also e.g. in the fact that he assigned tempo=69 to some of his pieces - but his sense of humour is also lost in today's interpretations. Once again thanks for the great video!
Since editions vary with quarter or 8th note = 80-100, I like to determine a middle section speed and adjust my tempo around that (keeping the beat more or less the same thought the piece). I'm really glad this video was made - I can just send ppl this way now when I,m feeling too lazy to debate every point :P. Despite a strong association with rubato, Chopin was a "stickler" about keeping a steady beat and being subtle with rhythmic dynamicism. I like to think he would have approved TY for the concise vid!!! :D
Thank you, I did not know the tempo could (should?) be fast. Another piece which has suffered in this way is Beethoven's Op 27 No 2 first movement, though the effect it seems to me is the opposite. Played at 60 bpm (1/4 note) it is a funeral march (Fischer, Schiff) full of grief; at 40 bpm we have serene beauty matching the nickname applied to it later. BTW Marten Noorduin's thesis "Beethoven's Tempo Indications" might be a useful resource for a performer; he has collated all the available evidence and made it free to download.
The 100 bpm sounds like the nightcore version of the 52 bpm. There's a whole new atmosfere when you change the tempo that much, I listen to certain interpretations depending on my mood, so I can't tell wich I prefer overall. I think this is a case wich the composer went "let's see how they will play" and there's no strictly way to play defined.
I think the more important than the specific tempo is the use of appropriate stress and rubato to give the piece movement. I almost wonder if people going overboard with this is how we ended up with the A section too slow and the B section far too fast. I'm certainly no expert, I dropped out of my music education program for life reasons and haven't been in that world for about 15 years, but that's how I've always felt about this piece. I will say though, the way you perform it is exactly how I've always imagined it should be. This is now my favorite recording of my favorite Chopin work, so thank you for that. =)
Your final tempo is very good and you play this etude wonderfuly :-) Just in case, there's a historical theory that is called the "double beat theory" which says that metronomic indications should be read twice slower today because at the time of Chopin and Beethoven they were counting 1 beat when we count 2 (they were adding 1 every two beats of the metronom, for example only when it bounces on the left side). So 100 for chopin would be our current 50. There are many very good arguments in favor of this theory, and also many good arguments against it so it is quite controversial. But whether it's right or wrong is not very important imho, the interesting part is that it makes us rethink how we hear this music, and very often, taking (what we hear today as) a super slow tempo is a wonderful way to rediscover the music we are so familiar with.
If the tempo was vivace…I can imagine the central part would be a bit like carrying a large basket of washing down the stairs backwards. Extra marks for not dropping any! You play so beautifully Annique ❤
I still believe "Tristesse" may fit but not as well as people would think. True emotion isn't just about "ohh so sad" it's also about reminiscing of the past, of all the joy you had that have now faded away.
I just switched to a music major leaning towards music therapy and piano has been my main instrument but only been playing for a year and a half. I love that you go into such detail in your videos and apply the analyzation to the piece. It is very inspiring. Thank you:)
Perfect! The song No Other Love... i understand was lifted from that Chopin masterpiece... Magnificent! Just love it... the way you're playing it... Posture and all... and slow motion llifting of your fingers off the keys at the end... Is just so charming!
I still like it slower like most of the recordings. The melody feels like the songs you hear where the music is happy but the content is really sad. I love the version you made at the end. 😊
The three last phrases of that Statement section without Being trestisaes ?? (Spelling) Work so well , to lift your spirit To believe in what your doing. Thank you anique !!!
Quite like the temp you finally chose but would be interested to hear the whole thing at 100. Probably my favorite Etude. I suspect if we had an opportunity to hear Chopin actually play his own music many would be very disappointed.
I loved your interpretation - all your choices made musical and emotional sense to me, and you had ample technique to present the musical flow with grace and subtlety. Thank you for sharing this!
As someone who hasn't heard this piece before, I liked the 'original' 100. It gave me the vibe of someone having a bad day going outside and being melancholy while surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people going about their day. Almost lamenting the fact that the world didn't come to a crashing halt because of their sadness.
I always play the tempo you use at 8:11, lento ma non troppo, because that's the way I've heard it played most often and that's the way I feel the piece. It is also closer to a normal heartbeat rhythm. Music follows the rhythm of nature and this piece is intuitively closely aligned with that rhythm. It also makes for more contrast with the poco piu animato. Those are just my uneducated thoughts. I'm just a cello-playing pianist. I love your interpretation.
Thank you for your wonderful explanation and interpretation of this piece! I play this piece myself too; it also means a lot to me personally, and I agree with you that the name given to it does not decribe this piece. Playing it too slowly is like adding way too much sugar to it, it becomes sticky and unbalanced. I play it at about the same tempo as you play it, which is much faster than a lot of recordings but I like it much better like that. Also, the first part is not sad at all! The middle part is neither sad, it‘s passionate, agitated and even a bit brutal at the climax but not sad! The piece beginns with a good mood, gets into a big turmoil and has a conciliatory end. But sadness? no, not really, unless you want to bury it under a ton of sugar 😉.
love your tempo! your explanation helps me realized the importance to consider both the intention of composer and the interpretation of the pianist. Thanks for the beautiful play!
Its very interesting how habit forces us in one ‘true’ path! I’ve only ever listened (or played) this piece at probably around 60 bpm - very slow and romantic. Kind of crazy to hear a first time listener give their input!
I think you said it well. Chopin called for "lively" with a tempo indication and then changed it to "slow, but not too slow" without. Maybe he discovered the multi-facetedness of his composition after the fact? In a way the composition is bipolar :) . The question, looking at the context of the other étüdes around this one, is what he wants us to practice with this piece. He always demanded metronome steadiness to the left hand and allowed more freedom in the right hand to become more improvisational in terms of storytelling versus rhythm versus beat. Metronome tempo indications with Van Beethoven have been debated for a long time and the simple explanation for his strange numbers is that he read the tempo on the wrong side of the weight on the upright pendulum stick. When you play it at speed 100, I can imagine this to be a more frivolous piece of happiness, but may require more capricious right hand, when the slow version becomes sad indeed. No, I don't like the 80 version as it is too much in between - it still reminds me too much of the slow performance.
Bravo for your interpretation of this piece. I really enjoyed your playing and tempo. Music is more that just a collection of notes. Music conveys human emotions like passion, love, anger, regret, longing and many other emotions. This is why when you hear computer created music, the emotional part of the music is missing because a computer does not feel emotions. For example, a waltz. There needs to be that flow to the music, the 1, 2, 3 and 1, 2, 3. If played to fast, people can't keep up and when played to slow, well, it just loses something and is not real. This Chopin Etude is conveying an emotion of elation and joy that people should be feeling. The speed is most important to the enjoyment of this feeling. I think you nailed the tempo correctly and are feeling what Chopin was trying to convey in his music.
This piece was always one of my less favourite chopin etudes. I actually have a list in which I ordered the etudes I want to learn, and this etude took one of the last places. After hearing your performance I will absolutely put it on a higher place again. Btw. Correct if I am wrong, but I thought that Chopin wrote those faster tempos for the etudes to be played as ETUDES. Learning those techniques in faster tempo without making mistakes. But if you play it for people, you would rather always choose a slower tempo. So, the faster tempo is for your hand and their fingers, and the slower tempo is for the people and their hearts.
Wonderful video about one of the most beautiful piano compositions and how a musician ought to work out how to perform. Love it. Something to consider that is not mentioned is the difference between the piano of Chopin's day and the modern piano. They sound quite different and specifically in ways that affect choice of tempo. I once visited a musical instrument museum, in Berlin I think, and one of the attendants played several of the historic pianos for me (obviously visitors are not allowed). In particular one from Schubert's day, and he played the piano part of the song Der Leiermann (Winterreise). The sound and effect was completely different from a modern piano, and this affects the choice of tempo. So, a tempo of 100 might have a similar emotional effect on a Chopin-era piano as 75 or 80 has on a modern one. (Which would be roughly my choice of tempo.) A good follow-up video would be one about No. 2 and No. 4 and how their context might be considered for how to play No. 3. Thanks!
I agree that it is played way to slow these days. However, I liked your take on the speed. It’s a beautiful melody but not a funeral song. Really liking your videos. Keep them coming.
The metronomic indications are an indication and not an obligation. It is above all necessary to interpret the "Lento ma non troppo". 80 is therefore a good idea ;-)
The tempi you chose when you played the etude at the end of your video were absolutely well balanced and perfect ! Yours is one of the finest interpretations I have ever heard.Congratulations ! Yes, it is not a sad piece; however, I feel it is melancholic and I believe it fully expresses the nature of Chopin’s soul.
It's funny, I totally agreed with everything you were saying, but when you played the piece, I actually did feel really sad when I was listening to it. That fast part in the middle sounds to me like someone crying out in despair. When it calms down immediately after, it feels eerily peaceful, as if giving up and accepting fate.
In my knowledge, Chopin actually hated names to be given to his pieces :D As for the tempo, I play it more close to 80, maybe a little faster, say 85 (I hate using the metronome on Chopin tho) but also use some rubatto and stretto when I feel like. Well, not as much as Lang Lang does, haha.
Fryderyk Chopin wrote this piece shortly after moving to Paris. Later it was called "Tristesse" - which means "sadness". This etude is highly appreciated as a manifestation of Chopin's love for his beloved and only homeland - Poland. In this way - tristesse is a shape of Love... being played in a tempo of love...
Idil Biret's is my favorite interpretation. It feels very close to the 80bpm version you played. Nostalgic and longing, yet still pretty and sweet. The tempo feels right for the stormy parts of the piece, as well.
What an odd coincidence! As it happens, my nine-year-old, who's just started learning to play, was going through all the demos on our digital piano and listening to this piece on it this morning; I couldn't remember what it was, though I knew it was Chopin, so searched for it, and downloaded the score to show her, and had a little go at the first section. I was astonished at how much more difficult to play it is than it sounds! I guess the pedagogic point with this étude is being able to play a tune crisply all on 4 and 5 while keeping the rocking accompaniment beneath it smooth on 1 and 2 and so on. And then your video showed up! I love the quaver = 80 tempo, btw. Tiny point of English - the printed book with the dots in it is called "the score", not "the scores".
I think you have it spot on. I tried to play this piece but it's so difficult for me. I started out slow and the middle was even slower. My piano teacher was always getting me to play difficult stuff; Liszt's Liebesträume was another. I didn't come close to mastering that either.
I've always loved Chopin since I was about 8. It's strange that he gave it such a fast tempo and I agree with you, many people play it too slow. I also think people tend to do too much rubato with the main tune, but rubato is just so subjective. I liked the speed you played it. If the software you use allows you to adjust volumes I highly recommend you adjust the volume of the piano relative to your voice. I couldn't hear the piano and had to have my cursor ready on the volume control :)
Interesting, just a couple seconds in duration from Yunchan Lim’s, which seems slower. Maybe it’s his slightest of hesitation. Both renditions are masterful! Love your channel keep up the wonderful content and delivery😊
This is one of my favorite Chopin pieces. I enjoyed watching your video. Very fun and entertaining 😊 Excellent performance 👍Good luck for your final exam!
They should add a new tempo category. "Lento, but not on life-support" I've been of the opinion that many well-known classical musicians use tempo rubato in both directions far too liberally, which then becomes the new normal for the piece's performance. Other musicians then try to "out-rubato" the last performer and it goes off the rails of what the composer intended. 100bpm going to 52bpm here is a great example.
IM THE FIRST WHO COMMENTED. CONGRATS ON THE 100K! DESERVED ANNIQUE 🎊🎉 * Edit: lol I'm the second. Anyway i discovered this beautiful piece because of you! Love your version of it
Magari la tristezza che intendeva Chopin era quella che ti stringe il cuore nonostante tu sia in mezzo alla gente, circondato dalla frenesia del mondo, dalle persone, dall'illusione di spensieratezza.
Ah yes! I wholeheartedly agree with your tempo choice and reasoning. The super slow tempo gives it the gratingly saccharine quality of lounge music that can easily ruin a wonderful piece. Wonderful playing too! Thanks for making this video ❤
Which tempo did you prefer for this Etude - and why? 😊 Tell me in the comments! ❤️
And don’t forget:
The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/heartofthekeys09211
hi
The slow tempo one has a feeling of nostalgia because that's what I am used to listen since childhood. The fast sounds totally different, like it can easily be transported to salsa or bossa nova.
I think the piece sounds wonderful at eights = 80
100 sounds a little bit too rushed, 50... well, it sounds sad, but almost as if you couldnt breath
Please can you do beethoven sonata no.17 tempest 3rd movement ❤❤❤
I prefer at 80 rather than 100 tempo.. maybe I've been conditioned to hearing it slower? Is it sad that I know this piece primarily from Serge Gainsbourg?
Omg Annique... Since I heard this piece for the first time i never felt that connection everybody seems to have with this etude, and I never understood why. It was kind of frustrating. But today, as soon as you began to play whith Chopin's tempo, I literally felt in love (I even cried). I finally understood that what my heart wanted all this time was what Chopin's heart wanted. And that is thanks to you. I'm only 15 years old and you've managed to connect me with the 24 etudes for the rest of my life. I hope that one day i will be able to play them! Thanks Annique, thanks.
Es gibt noch 3 nachgelassene Etüden -
auch sehr interessant und nicht zu unterschätzen !
The final tempo had the greatest emotional impact on me. I've always loved this etude and you play it beautifully.
If you translate tristesse to sadness , it makes only a bit of sense. Yet tristesse in French has an extremely broad meaning, but most of all it is definitely not desperation or something as strong. It is actually a "light" term. In French poetry (and in daily lives) you can have with expressions such as "douce tristesse" ("sweet sadness") implying the fact that tristesse for us can also be something we like to feel, something we see as beautiful. I guess the French critics who gave that name were thinking about tristesse in this way. It is difficult to explain as we come to nuances in the French language combined with a translation to English but I hope it gave another element of explanation. And thanks for the videos you make ! I always enjoy it !
As a Français my self, let me juste instruct people that « tristesse » really means sadness to us, no need to strech things with hypothetical context and shit cmon
"La mélancolie est un crépuscule. La souffrance s'y fond dans une sombre joie. La mélancolie, c'est le bonheur d'être triste." Victor Hugo. Ce n'est qu'un exemple parmi d'autres mais il est dommage d'être à ce point réducteur pour langue aussi riche. À bon entendeur l'ami.
Je rajouterai par la même occasion que s'en tenir au sens premier des mots, et en l'occurrence des sentiments, pour tenter de décrire les morceaux de la période romantique serait criminel. Comment qualifier la sensation procurée lors de la coda de la 3eme ballade de Chopin ? D'un style typiquement slave, on ressent de la joie et de la tristesse simultanément, ce serait impossible d'utiliser ces deux termes en même temps dans leur définition première, on aurait un grossier oxymore. La langue français est riche, belle, subtile et pleine de nuances. Tâchons au moins de faire vivre cette richesse qui en fait sa renommée...
As a retired English teacher whose family is French, I truly enjoyed your insights into language and poetry. Merci beaucoup !
i want to say it’s “Longing” for the original Polish poem „Żal”
This has always been one of my favourite pieces. I used to study piano in my teens and sadly stopped. Now I'm 41 years old and I bought myself a digital piano, looking to start again. Thank you for your videos!
One of my favorite pieces, but I always found the transition between the first part and the "poco pui animato" part really jarring in most interpretations. Yours is much smoother, and I really enjoyed it!
Poco più* animato
Thanks
Never actually have heard or played this piece in a faster tempo but I actually kinda dig it! Also lovely playing :)
I've heard it with that tempo in "piano tiles 2" and I was surprised that that was the tempo with which Chopin wrote it.
@Harry McLaren ah, thanks
Yep, the final tempo sounds the most convincing! Absolutely agree about not being too slow. Wonderful and very useful analysis, thank you. And great playing!
All titles for Chopins' etudes are misleading. Because none of them come from him. He did not name a single one.
First of all, its more bitter sweet nostalgia that becomes anger then excepts the bitter memories
I think it’s pretty cool how much the tempo changes how this piece sounds, the mood is completely different between the slow and fast versions. I wonder if it’s also true for other pieces
Jolene by Dolly Parton sounds great when slowed down. There is a video of a 7” single, which is supposed to be played at 45 rpm, being played at the regular 33 rpm that is amazing and kind of haunting.
Yes, the name "tristesse" never made sense for me. This etude sounds totally happy for me. After all, it is in a major key! Sad I would call the prelude 4 of Op. 28. Actually, I don't care much about these nick names. Would generally think in the pieces by their opus number.
Further proven by Chopin never giving any of his Etudes nicknames. However, I like the other name the etude sometimes goes by "L' Adieu" or "Farewell" as I think it fits much more.
A piece being in a major key doesn't mean happy. The oversimplification of major being happy and minor being sad needs to go away. This etude sounds sad to me. What makes a song or a piece sad is its intervals in my perspective.
@@musicman8938 I didn't mean to imply that major key is necessary and sufficient for a piece to be perceived as happy. I even thought to make this caveat in my comment, to avoid people to think that I'm implying that.
The major key usual progressions involving I, IV, V and ii (as a replacement of IV) tend to sound happy. But in major key one can always modulate to the relative or the parallel minor and use lots of minor chords, which can sound sad.
Besides, everything influences in the perceived mood, from the key, tempo, dynamics, chords and progressions to the subjective interpretation of the listener.
Moreover, happy and sad are only two of the many moods that music can evoque. Many pieces don't sound neither happy nor sad.
The claim that minor key always sounds sad is even less valid.
A good example of mostly sad or melancholic piece in a major key is the second mvt of Ravel's famous piano concerto (at least in my perception). I think some parts sound optimistic, though (e.g., the ending). Clair de Lune is another good example.
@@pretzelkch8322 Critics gave the études nicknames
I really dislike the names given to his pieces. The only one's I like are the ones given to his polonaises, because they actually make sense.
This is by far my favorite piano channel! Thank you so much for the vids
I like this interpretation far more than the other ones I’ve heard, thankyou for tge beautiful playing.
The "fast" version is the most beautiful thing I've ever heard! Would you please consider making a full recording of the piece at that tempo 🥰🙏🏼
That may be a tall order, considering the faster portion in the middle. I think she can do it, but it would probably be very difficult.
@@shreksthongg speed is not a problem on piano at that level lol when I was learning piano I didn't play any music I just played technique exercises and I would play 1/16th notes at 80bpm which is fast lmao (pressing a key every 0.18 seconds) seconds she definitely also did her exercises to this level and I can play quicker but 1/16 notes at 80 BPM is good enough it's fast enough for any piece a lot of music isn't as quick as it seems when actually sat down and played
@@tryinganna9883 just playing an exercise like hanon is diferent the middle part has technichal dificulties, and also with the tempo
Horowitz's recording has the correct tempo
I prepared this study for my grad concert, but slow around 75 to 80. To me, it sounds like a nostalgic sadness at the beginning, kind of like a happy nostalgic memory at the tempo change, it grows into something that reminds me of a tantrum until the end of the sixths, that part just before returning to the main theme I try to imitate someone sobbing, trying to calm down after the tantrum, and finally returning to that introspective sadness but this time you let it fade away until it is gone.
Edit: I didn't know it was called Tristesse until a month or two before recording my concert, so to me it was a surprise. But I think it is a piece that passes through a path of remembering, crying, sobbing, screaming, calming, remembering and letting go.
I really liked your interpretation, and the tempo you used for the performance fits so nicely. :)
I've yet to learn this piece, but I'm looking forward to incorporating these ideas. You have my sympathies about interruptions as well :D
hai Annique 🌹 I always support your channel, I followed your previous channel and instagram so far. Good luck to you, because there's no reason not to like your piano playing.
❤️
lmao the last scene with your dad is just so cute 😂
I can’t believe it! I requested this video on your last Chopin etude video and you actually made it! This has made my day - thank you so much ;) From an aspiring 17 year old pianist :)
Ooof another interesting topic. Guess I'll be watching this tomorrow 😅
Great video! I was just discussing this piece with someone yesterday about this very same issue. To me, it has never sounded like sadness. It is so much more than that. It is true it contains melancholy, but it is also very warm and passionate. Simply calling it sadness limits you from the real depth of emotions the piece brings. Thanks so much for the amazing content!
I’ve heard this etude played in a variety of tempi but I agree with you that it needs a bit more speed than that which it is usually played. I’ve heard this etude played at a tempo that turned it into a dirge. I especially love your interpretation. A special note on the last crescendo where you’ve borrowed a bit of Beethoven and crescendo to….. nothing! A lovely treatment that really makes your finale to the etude stand out from the herd.
I think your tempo is spot on, I had no idea about the original differences you demonstrated, but I must say that I always thought it was slightly to slow in the intrepretations that I had heard before. Thank you for the performance, just wonderful.
Thanks for this video. It was hard for me to find the "sadness" in this piece to be able to interpret it and your explanation gave it another meaning. Sorry my english, i'm using a translator
Huugee congrats on reaching 100k! Please keep putting out amazing content
These videos are amazing!!! I can’t wait for more Chopin interpretation talk-throughs!
The right tempo is one at which you can sing the melody with good phrasing. You hit it.
Congratulations on the 100k! Well deserved silver play button ❤️
That was a good take on this piece.
The slower, 52 tempo, is far more gripping and seems to pull on greater depths, especially that final go within this piece.
However, the 100 tempo may very well have been the original intent of Chopin, as though it seems more brisk and bright, it could be that that was his intent.
When you think about current pop tunes, most often, when another artist covers an original song, they tend to slow it down.
With that change of tempo, there is a new depth one generally discovers, and of course, you have folks who like it more, about the same, or not at all.
Wonderful playing and great video.
Thank you for sharing.
Chopin would be pleased that someone got it right. That was beautiful.
I used to play this piece for my grandma when I was a kid. Listening in this tempo, bring me joy and happy memories. I will practice it and gave it to my gran ma for her birthday. Thank you for showing an alternative view, more colorful. Greetings from Chile
Thank you, I mean THANK YOU for your insights and comments on this Etude. I played it years ago, and hope to get back to playing it again. All best wishes from New Zealand! (I am English but married a New Zealander and came here to live, years ago).
I just want you to know, I'm using your fingering as reference rn and it's already making a HUGE difference in my control of the melody.
I finally just started learning this one after putting it off for a near decade (havent played piano since high school) and am using Schirmer/Arthur Friedheim's revised edition off of Amazon. Lots of 4s and 5s for the fingering of the melody. Switching to 2s and 3s has already made the melody so much stronger incomparison, and im still only on the first page!
Without your technique i feel i would have struggled to bring out the voice of my absolute favorite piano song with my weak af pinkies! Thank you!!!
Ur hand movements and amazing!!!
I've never thought of this piece as sad as much as just so beautiful! It almost brought me to tears the first time I heard it, not of sadness but joy.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your rendition! I am learning to play this song right now. Your perspective and interpretation is very helpful. Thank you very much.
I can't remember where I read it but in 2 occasions Chopin expressed his opinion about this particular piece: he said once that this was the most beautiful piece of music he had ever written and one time a student was playing it and he jumped up and exclaimed: "Oh my beloved homeland!!"
Great video!
I think a lot of times Chopin's music is over-celebrated at the expense of just enjoying the music. After all Chopin's music was enjoyable to both educated and uneducated, rich and poor (according to M. A. Szulc). He also sometimes played for people to dance.
Even his Nocturne op. 9 no 2, now played in a sad way, was described as "cheerful" (in Polish "pogodny") in 1879 by Jan Kleczyński - which shows how much Chopin's interpretations have changed over time.
He also had a great sense of humour which you can see in his letters, but also e.g. in the fact that he assigned tempo=69 to some of his pieces - but his sense of humour is also lost in today's interpretations.
Once again thanks for the great video!
Since editions vary with quarter or 8th note = 80-100, I like to determine a middle section speed and adjust my tempo around that (keeping the beat more or less the same thought the piece). I'm really glad this video was made - I can just send ppl this way now when I,m feeling too lazy to debate every point :P. Despite a strong association with rubato, Chopin was a "stickler" about keeping a steady beat and being subtle with rhythmic dynamicism. I like to think he would have approved TY for the concise vid!!! :D
This was very useful. I enjoyed your performance. Fascinating to consider that the composer once notated it to be vivace / lively.
This is the best version I ever ever ever ever.....heard of Chopin Etude Op10,No.3! I love the lovely tempo!
Thank you, I did not know the tempo could (should?) be fast. Another piece which has suffered in this way is Beethoven's Op 27 No 2 first movement, though the effect it seems to me is the opposite. Played at 60 bpm (1/4 note) it is a funeral march (Fischer, Schiff) full of grief; at 40 bpm we have serene beauty matching the nickname applied to it later.
BTW Marten Noorduin's thesis "Beethoven's Tempo Indications" might be a useful resource for a performer; he has collated all the available evidence and made it free to download.
Also Etude Op. 10 No. 6, which has a tempo marking at 69. Which is probably 4 times faster compared to what people actually play.
The 100 bpm sounds like the nightcore version of the 52 bpm. There's a whole new atmosfere when you change the tempo that much, I listen to certain interpretations depending on my mood, so I can't tell wich I prefer overall. I think this is a case wich the composer went "let's see how they will play" and there's no strictly way to play defined.
I think the more important than the specific tempo is the use of appropriate stress and rubato to give the piece movement. I almost wonder if people going overboard with this is how we ended up with the A section too slow and the B section far too fast. I'm certainly no expert, I dropped out of my music education program for life reasons and haven't been in that world for about 15 years, but that's how I've always felt about this piece. I will say though, the way you perform it is exactly how I've always imagined it should be. This is now my favorite recording of my favorite Chopin work, so thank you for that. =)
The slower tempo is nicer 52 I love this this piece faster part in the middle always reminds me of someone who's crying.
Your final tempo is very good and you play this etude wonderfuly :-)
Just in case, there's a historical theory that is called the "double beat theory" which says that metronomic indications should be read twice slower today because at the time of Chopin and Beethoven they were counting 1 beat when we count 2 (they were adding 1 every two beats of the metronom, for example only when it bounces on the left side). So 100 for chopin would be our current 50.
There are many very good arguments in favor of this theory, and also many good arguments against it so it is quite controversial.
But whether it's right or wrong is not very important imho, the interesting part is that it makes us rethink how we hear this music, and very often, taking (what we hear today as) a super slow tempo is a wonderful way to rediscover the music we are so familiar with.
If the tempo was vivace…I can imagine the central part would be a bit like carrying a large basket of washing down the stairs backwards. Extra marks for not dropping any!
You play so beautifully Annique ❤
yayy my favourite etude, I've been waiting for this one
I still believe "Tristesse" may fit but not as well as people would think. True emotion isn't just about "ohh so sad" it's also about reminiscing of the past, of all the joy you had that have now faded away.
I just switched to a music major leaning towards music therapy and piano has been my main instrument but only been playing for a year and a half. I love that you go into such detail in your videos and apply the analyzation to the piece. It is very inspiring. Thank you:)
Perfect! The song No Other Love... i understand was lifted from that Chopin masterpiece... Magnificent! Just love it... the way you're playing it... Posture and all... and slow motion llifting of your fingers off the keys at the end... Is just so charming!
I still like it slower like most of the recordings. The melody feels like the songs you hear where the music is happy but the content is really sad. I love the version you made at the end. 😊
Love your tempo on this, and that you spent the time to research it. Thanks!
The three last phrases of that
Statement section without
Being trestisaes ?? (Spelling)
Work so well , to lift your spirit
To believe in what your doing.
Thank you anique !!!
Quite like the temp you finally chose but would be interested to hear the whole thing at 100. Probably my favorite Etude. I suspect if we had an opportunity to hear Chopin actually play his own music many would be very disappointed.
I loved your interpretation - all your choices made musical and emotional sense to me, and you had ample technique to present the musical flow with grace and subtlety. Thank you for sharing this!
As someone who hasn't heard this piece before, I liked the 'original' 100. It gave me the vibe of someone having a bad day going outside and being melancholy while surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people going about their day. Almost lamenting the fact that the world didn't come to a crashing halt because of their sadness.
I always play the tempo you use at 8:11, lento ma non troppo, because that's the way I've heard it played most often and that's the way I feel the piece. It is also closer to a normal heartbeat rhythm. Music follows the rhythm of nature and this piece is intuitively closely aligned with that rhythm. It also makes for more contrast with the poco piu animato. Those are just my uneducated thoughts. I'm just a cello-playing pianist. I love your interpretation.
Congratulações pela execução dessa belíssima peça de Chopin.
The chromatic part felt like seeing someone paint crazy colors more than play the piano.
Love your interpretation
Yay 100,000 subscribers! Congratulations
What a noble interpretation, without a hint of hysteria in the middle section, which I detest so much.
Thank you for your wonderful explanation and interpretation of this piece!
I play this piece myself too; it also means a lot to me personally, and I agree with you that the name given to it does not decribe this piece. Playing it too slowly is like adding way too much sugar to it, it becomes sticky and unbalanced.
I play it at about the same tempo as you play it, which is much faster than a lot of recordings but I like it much better like that. Also, the first part is not sad at all! The middle part is neither sad, it‘s passionate, agitated and even a bit brutal at the climax but not sad! The piece beginns with a good mood, gets into a big turmoil and has a conciliatory end. But sadness? no, not really, unless you want to bury it under a ton of sugar 😉.
love your tempo! your explanation helps me realized the importance to consider both the intention of composer and the interpretation of the pianist. Thanks for the beautiful play!
I actually think the 100 tempo is the best, never heard this before so fresh ears but it sounds better
Its very interesting how habit forces us in one ‘true’ path! I’ve only ever listened (or played) this piece at probably around 60 bpm - very slow and romantic. Kind of crazy to hear a first time listener give their input!
This was the first time I heard the piece as well and I totally agree! The fast version is amazingly beautiful and so happy!
I love the way you think about pieces and listen those ideas!
I think you said it well. Chopin called for "lively" with a tempo indication and then changed it to "slow, but not too slow" without. Maybe he discovered the multi-facetedness of his composition after the fact? In a way the composition is bipolar :) . The question, looking at the context of the other étüdes around this one, is what he wants us to practice with this piece. He always demanded metronome steadiness to the left hand and allowed more freedom in the right hand to become more improvisational in terms of storytelling versus rhythm versus beat. Metronome tempo indications with Van Beethoven have been debated for a long time and the simple explanation for his strange numbers is that he read the tempo on the wrong side of the weight on the upright pendulum stick.
When you play it at speed 100, I can imagine this to be a more frivolous piece of happiness, but may require more capricious right hand, when the slow version becomes sad indeed.
No, I don't like the 80 version as it is too much in between - it still reminds me too much of the slow performance.
Bravo for your interpretation of this piece. I really enjoyed your playing and tempo. Music is more that just a collection of notes. Music conveys human emotions like passion, love, anger, regret, longing and many other emotions. This is why when you hear computer created music, the emotional part of the music is missing because a computer does not feel emotions. For example, a waltz. There needs to be that flow to the music, the 1, 2, 3 and 1, 2, 3. If played to fast, people can't keep up and when played to slow, well, it just loses something and is not real. This Chopin Etude is conveying an emotion of elation and joy that people should be feeling. The speed is most important to the enjoyment of this feeling. I think you nailed the tempo correctly and are feeling what Chopin was trying to convey in his music.
This piece was always one of my less favourite chopin etudes. I actually have a list in which I ordered the etudes I want to learn, and this etude took one of the last places. After hearing your performance I will absolutely put it on a higher place again.
Btw. Correct if I am wrong, but I thought that Chopin wrote those faster tempos for the etudes to be played as ETUDES. Learning those techniques in faster tempo without making mistakes. But if you play it for people, you would rather always choose a slower tempo. So, the faster tempo is for your hand and their fingers, and the slower tempo is for the people and their hearts.
I like the last sentence of your comment!
Wonderful video about one of the most beautiful piano compositions and how a musician ought to work out how to perform. Love it. Something to consider that is not mentioned is the difference between the piano of Chopin's day and the modern piano. They sound quite different and specifically in ways that affect choice of tempo. I once visited a musical instrument museum, in Berlin I think, and one of the attendants played several of the historic pianos for me (obviously visitors are not allowed). In particular one from Schubert's day, and he played the piano part of the song Der Leiermann (Winterreise). The sound and effect was completely different from a modern piano, and this affects the choice of tempo. So, a tempo of 100 might have a similar emotional effect on a Chopin-era piano as 75 or 80 has on a modern one. (Which would be roughly my choice of tempo.) A good follow-up video would be one about No. 2 and No. 4 and how their context might be considered for how to play No. 3. Thanks!
I agree that it is played way to slow these days. However, I liked your take on the speed. It’s a beautiful melody but not a funeral song. Really liking your videos. Keep them coming.
The metronomic indications are an indication and not an obligation. It is above all necessary to interpret the "Lento ma non troppo". 80 is therefore a good idea ;-)
The tempi you chose when you played the etude at the end of your video were absolutely well balanced and perfect ! Yours is one of the finest interpretations I have ever heard.Congratulations !
Yes, it is not a sad piece; however, I feel it is melancholic and I believe it fully expresses the nature of Chopin’s soul.
It's funny, I totally agreed with everything you were saying, but when you played the piece, I actually did feel really sad when I was listening to it. That fast part in the middle sounds to me like someone crying out in despair. When it calms down immediately after, it feels eerily peaceful, as if giving up and accepting fate.
Just the video I needed! Really great!
In my knowledge, Chopin actually hated names to be given to his pieces :D As for the tempo, I play it more close to 80, maybe a little faster, say 85 (I hate using the metronome on Chopin tho) but also use some rubatto and stretto when I feel like. Well, not as much as Lang Lang does, haha.
80 is comfortable
Yes!
All of the tempos are amazing for me and it all sounds beautiful. Thank you for this video
Fryderyk Chopin wrote this piece shortly after moving to Paris. Later it was called "Tristesse" - which means "sadness". This etude is highly appreciated as a manifestation of Chopin's love for his beloved and only homeland - Poland. In this way - tristesse is a shape of Love... being played in a tempo of love...
Idil Biret's is my favorite interpretation. It feels very close to the 80bpm version you played. Nostalgic and longing, yet still pretty and sweet. The tempo feels right for the stormy parts of the piece, as well.
Awesome video, really looking forward to learning more about Chopin's Etudes!!!!!!!!
What an odd coincidence! As it happens, my nine-year-old, who's just started learning to play, was going through all the demos on our digital piano and listening to this piece on it this morning; I couldn't remember what it was, though I knew it was Chopin, so searched for it, and downloaded the score to show her, and had a little go at the first section. I was astonished at how much more difficult to play it is than it sounds! I guess the pedagogic point with this étude is being able to play a tune crisply all on 4 and 5 while keeping the rocking accompaniment beneath it smooth on 1 and 2 and so on. And then your video showed up!
I love the quaver = 80 tempo, btw.
Tiny point of English - the printed book with the dots in it is called "the score", not "the scores".
I think you have it spot on. I tried to play this piece but it's so difficult for me. I started out slow and the middle was even slower. My piano teacher was always getting me to play difficult stuff; Liszt's Liebesträume was another. I didn't come close to mastering that either.
It is « Tristesse »because Tino Rossi’s song (1939)called Tristesse on Chopin étude-
I've always loved Chopin since I was about 8. It's strange that he gave it such a fast tempo and I agree with you, many people play it too slow. I also think people tend to do too much rubato with the main tune, but rubato is just so subjective. I liked the speed you played it. If the software you use allows you to adjust volumes I highly recommend you adjust the volume of the piano relative to your voice. I couldn't hear the piano and had to have my cursor ready on the volume control :)
Beautifully played... thank you!!
Interesting, just a couple seconds in duration from Yunchan Lim’s, which seems slower. Maybe it’s his slightest of hesitation. Both renditions are masterful! Love your channel keep up the wonderful content and delivery😊
80 is definitively the best !!! How right you are !! In addition sad music is written in the Minor mode and here we are in E Major, Not sad at all
This is one of my favorite Chopin pieces. I enjoyed watching your video. Very fun and entertaining 😊 Excellent performance 👍Good luck for your final exam!
Amazing!! You have played the exact tempo for me. I loved it.
Like "Mad World," "Tristesse" works both fast and slow.
I loved it... thank you for this review and tips..so clean
They should add a new tempo category. "Lento, but not on life-support"
I've been of the opinion that many well-known classical musicians use tempo rubato in both directions far too liberally, which then becomes the new normal for the piece's performance. Other musicians then try to "out-rubato" the last performer and it goes off the rails of what the composer intended. 100bpm going to 52bpm here is a great example.
IM THE FIRST WHO COMMENTED. CONGRATS ON THE 100K! DESERVED ANNIQUE 🎊🎉
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Edit: lol I'm the second. Anyway i discovered this beautiful piece because of you! Love your version of it
We already commented on another video
@@Alexis-pl8dg i did too. I just wanna greet her again 😀
Wow you might have the best interpretation ive encountered (in my opinion of course)
Thanks for sharing this piece, it's one of my favorite
❤❤
Thanks for enlightening us. Found out that even Chopin didn't like the name given.
I really love your videos! Greetings From Costa Rica!
Magari la tristezza che intendeva Chopin era quella che ti stringe il cuore nonostante tu sia in mezzo alla gente, circondato dalla frenesia del mondo, dalle persone, dall'illusione di spensieratezza.
Ah yes! I wholeheartedly agree with your tempo choice and reasoning. The super slow tempo gives it the gratingly saccharine quality of lounge music that can easily ruin a wonderful piece. Wonderful playing too! Thanks for making this video ❤