A Chopin Etude on Super Steroids

The Studies on Chopin's Études are a set of 53 arrangements of Chopin's études by Leopold Godowsky, composed between 1894 and 1914. They are renowned for their technical difficulty: critic Harold C. Schonberg called them "the most impossibly difficult things ever written for the piano."

Within this video, the great virtuoso, Francesco Libetta plays Godowsky's Op. 10 No. 1 Etude.

As if the etude wasn't hard enough. haha

[Chopin-Etudes-Cosplay]

0:54 She represents our human race very well here 😂

[peter.]

I'm actually learning this piece right now. It's intimidating, BUT, if you can play the Chopin Etudes, you can certainly play this one. I'm just going to patiently learn the coordination, until I have the notes in my hands. That said, this will probably take me ay least 6 months to play well, and I've learned all the Chopin Etudes for 20 years. Now I'm ready for the Godowsky version. And even with all that experience, this will be difficult.

[tackontitan]

Godowsky's Studies are probably the best possible works for anyone wanting to build a perfect technique.

[shenglee]

I love the girl's reaction at the end.She was completely shocked🤣.

[moderncaleb]

If anyone is new to the Chopin-Godowsky studies, David Stanhope has an epic lecture-style series on YouTube covering them along with the original Chopin Etudes.

[tunamusic]

THE Great Libetta! I studied with him about 15 years ago. He is fantastic!

[AlejandroSanAntonio]

The girl next to him is also a very good pianist. She's Sijing Ye.
I really miss these people. :((((

[Phi]

If you want to be truly awed, listen to Godowsky's Passacaglia on the Theme from Schubert's Unfinished Symphony. It's one of the greatest musical compositions ever composed.

[peter.]

The Chopin-Godowsky Etudes are without a doubt, piano music for pianists. Audiences would get irritated at the extreme density of the music.

[SisselOnline]

Godowsky's Studies are really for sketching your hands and practicing the technique...
but then musically Chopin's original etudes are better, at least for this Op.10-1.

[kholi]

I can’t even play the first line, let alone more than 3 bars of this etude and my man here’s playing in whole octaves!!!

[princianorvz]

This Waterfall Etude becomes a fresh Niagara Falls!

[ahmedquereshi]

Listening to that pile of notes and then listening to Chopin's original increases my appreciation for Chopin, not Godowsky:

[casmartin]

You can see the amazement and sheer appreciation she has for his hands, they're incredible

[JamesVaughan]

Frankly I think the originals are hard enough….

[sunilj]

Ahhh, another rare snippet of Chopin-Godowsky on YouTube.

[vladimirontario]

Chopin’s version is still much better. All genius is simple.

[iridium]

Why does the beginning sound like cocomellon’s intro 😭

[bjornviir]

Libetta plays tons of hard etudes, maybe just to show that he can pull them off. I m not complaining!

[ruthkjaer]

Wow...how did you get to be so great?!!!!❤