Written by Mr Romantic himself, Frédéric Chopin, the Polish maestro of the keyboards. When you are feeling a little down and melancholy threatens to set in, put on some Chopin. His pieces exude joy.
Chopin wrote this étude himself. That’s what it means when you play a Chopin, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. piece: these guys wrote the pieces and actually played them. Can you imagine Herr Chopin coming home from a day at the keyboards to greet his wife. ‘How was your day, dear?’ ‘Oh, I wrote another Étude [study]. It’s my 12th this year. What’s for tea, honey?’ If he was that blasé then he would have been even more of a genius. If you are hungry for Chopin, buy Ashkenazy’s complete Chopin—13 cds!
Mr Kissin is a Russian, great breeding for a pianoforte master. And he is in elite company: he was selected as on of the top 50 pianists in the 20th century. So you won’t ever catch him getting’ extra cash at the local piano bar.
Just check out the left hand of young Evgeny: it’s doing double time, full of speed and power. Wow! The kid can play. The right hand spends its time doing full-orbed chords. Kissin plays them like it’s a walk in the park. Not really: check out his concentration.
This is one special Chopin piece he’s chosen: it’s earned the nickname Revolutionary. It’s a classic Chopin tune: precise and demanding. What a spectacular finish. At 2.45 it’s a short study, but you better get it right: there must be hundreds of notes played in that brief time, and they all have to hit the mark. Bravo Evgeny!!
Ralph's World of Music 