Program Notes
This program offers a broad portrait of the étude as a genre, tracing its evolution from technical study to expressive concert work. Though the word “étude” suggests discipline and mechanical refinement, composers have long used the form as a laboratory for imagination, transformation, and virtuosity. The first half centers on arrangements and reimaginings of works by other composers. Brahms transforms Bach’s monumental Chaconne into a profound left-hand study, while Schumann and Liszt translate Paganini’s violin brilliance to the piano. Godowsky’s Badinage fuses two Chopin études into a dazzling synthesis, and Hamelin pays homage to Scarlatti through a modern virtuoso lens. Here, the étude becomes a means of translating music across instruments and eras. The second half turns to études built on conceptual foundations. Debussy’s Pour les sonorités opposées explores contrasts of resonance and color, while Philip Glass shapes his study through major and minor polarity. The following works focus on intervallic structures—seconds, thirds, fourths, and octaves showing how a single technical idea can generate an entire musical language. Scriabin’s Alla ballata blends octave virtuosity with the lyrical narrative character of the ballad genre. The program concludes with dance-inflected études: Saint-Saëns’ elegant waltz and Lyapunov’s fiery Lezginka, a folk dance from the North Caucasus.
Program
● Johannes Brahms (1833–1897) Study in D minor (after J.S. Bach’s Chaconne from the Partita No. 2 in D minor, BWV 1004; for the left hand alone)
● Robert Schumann (1810–1856) Étude No. 4 from Six Études after Caprices by Paganini, Op. 10
● Franz Liszt (1811–1886) La Campanella from Grandes Études de Paganini, S. 141, No. 3
● Leopold Godowsky (1870–1938 Badinage (Study No. 47) from 53 Studies on Chopin’s Études (based on Chopin Études in G-flat major, Op. 10, No. 5 and Op. 25, No. 9)
● Marc-André Hamelin (1961– ) Étude No. 6 — Esercizio per pianoforte (Omaggio a Domenico Scarlatti) from 12 Études in All the Minor Keys
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● Claude Debussy (1862–1918) Étude No. 10 — Pour les sonorités opposées from Études, Book II (1915)
● Philip Glass (1937– ) Étude No. 13 from Études for Piano, Book II
● Nikolai Kapustin (1937–2020) Étude No. 4 in Major Seconds from Five Études in Different Intervals, Op. 68 (1992)
● Sergei Prokofiev (1891–1953) Étude in C minor, Op. 2, No. 3 from Four Études, Op. 2 (1909)
● Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928–2016) Étude No. 4 “Kvartit” (Fourths), Op. 42 from Six Études, Op. 42 (1969)
● Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) Étude, Op. 8, No. 9 — Alla ballata
● Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) Étude No. 6 “En forme de valse,” Op. 52 from Six Études, Op. 52 (1877)
● Sergei Lyapunov (1859–1924) Étude No. 10 — Lezginka, Op. 11 from 12 Études d’exécution transcendante, Op. 11