Chopin - Etude Op. 25 No. 6 (Double Thirds)

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This etude is known as a "Double Third" etude because the right hand plays double thirds throughout the piece. It's technically challenging yet musical at the same time. It's one of Chopin's 24 etudes from his second book of etudes, Op. 25.

Here's a passage from "Speaking of Pianists" on this etude. The book was written by Abram Chasins who was married to Constance Keene, my former teacher at Manhattan School of Music whom I studied with for a year. She gifted me this book written by her late husband when I was 19 years old. I still have the book.

(Excerpt from a book, "Speaking of Pianists" written by Abram Chasins in 1967)
Rachmaninov was a dedicated and driven perfectionist. He worked incessantly, with infinite patience. Once I had an appointment to spend an afternoon with him in Hollywood. Arriving at the designated hour of twelve, I heard an occasional piano sound as I approached the cottage. I stood outside the door, unable to believe my ears. Rachmaninov was practising Chopin’s etude in thirds, but at such a snail’s pace that it took me a while to recognise it be- cause so much time elapsed between one finger stroke and the next. Fascinated, I clocked this re- markable exhibition: twenty seconds per bar was his pace for almost an hour while I waited riveted to the spot, quite unable to ring the bell. Perhaps this way of developing and maintaining an unerring mechanism accounted for his bitter sarcasm toward colleagues who practised their programmes ‘once over lightly’ between concerts.

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