Overview
Claude Debussy’s 12 Études for piano, CD 143 (L.136), composed in 1915, are among his last works for solo piano. They represent a pinnacle of refinement, complexity and innovation in the 20th-century piano repertoire. Dedicated to the memory of Frédéric Chopin, these études transcend mere mechanical virtuosity to explore an entirely new sound aesthetic that is subtle, abstract and poetic.
🎹 General overview
Date of composition: 1915
Catalogue: CD 143 / L.136
Dedication: ‘To the memory of Frédéric Chopin’
Number of études: 12
First publisher: Durand, 1916
Language of titles: French
Level: Very advanced / Artistic virtuosity
✒️ General characteristics
Pedagogical and aesthetic objectives
Debussy does not seek gratuitous virtuosity, but rather a refined mastery of timbre, touch and harmonic colours. Each study poses a technical problem linked to a specific musical idea (unlike Chopin or Liszt, who often start from a lyrical or expressive brilliance).
Formal and sonic experimentation
These études demonstrate a deconstruction of classical structures (sonata form, Alberti bass, parallel chords) and an exploration of the possibilities of the modern piano, notably staccato playing, unnatural intervals (tenths, fourths) and timbre.
Harmonic language
These studies push tonal ambiguity to the extreme: they feature artificial modes, floating harmonies and unusual chromaticism, but always with a poetic and rigorous balance.
🧩 The 12 Études, with commentary
For the ‘five fingers’ – after Mr Czerny
An ironic nod to Czerny, this study explores the constraints of playing in a limited register (five notes), while creating elaborate polyphonic textures.
For thirds
Technically very demanding. Reminiscent of Chopin’s Études, but with free rhythmic treatment and unusual harmonies.
For fourths
Unusual: fourths are rarely treated as melodic or harmonic units. The study creates a rough, primitive and modern sound space.
For sixths
Soft, singing sound, dreamlike harmonies. Probably the most ‘Debussy-esque’ in its atmosphere.
For octaves
Virtuosic, but never showy. The treatment of the octaves is not brutal: Debussy makes them sing, breathe and vibrate.
For the eight fingers
Without the thumbs! This forces you to think differently about the keyboard. A lesson in lightness and agility, with textures that seem improvised.
For the chromatic degrees
An endless unfolding of chromatic motifs. This is a piece in which the structure is constantly shifting, like water flowing over glass.
For the embellishments
Baroque ornamentation taken to the extreme. This study is almost a stylised parody of the galant style. The humour is subtle.
For repeated notes
Percussive, unstable, energetic playing. This is not Ravel: here, the repetitions become a moving, almost obsessive musical material.
For contrasting sounds
A confrontation of registers, dynamics and rhythms – a study in balance and contrast, almost a study in piano theatre.
For compound arpeggios
A fluid, complex, mysterious piece. The arpeggios are not linear, but shaped like sound waves.
For the chords
The climax of the work, powerfully structured. Evokes writing for organ or orchestra. The harmonic density is extreme, but with masterful clarity.
🎼 Reception and posterity
Rarely played in their entirety due to their intellectual and technical difficulty, Debussy’s Études have nevertheless influenced generations of composers (Messiaen, Boulez, Ligeti) and pianists (Michelangeli, Pollini, Aimard).
They constitute one of the last great pianistic monuments of the modern era, both a tribute to the past (Czerny, Chopin, Scarlatti) and a look towards the future.
Characteristics of the music
The 12 Études, CD 143 by Claude Debussy, are not a suite in the classical sense, but a coherent collection in which each piece explores a specific pianistic problem, while constituting a complete work, structured and conceived as a sound laboratory. This work marks a turning point in piano music: it condenses all of Debussy’s expertise at the end of his life into an economical, cerebral and modernist style of writing that is nevertheless imbued with poetry and humour.
🎼 GENERAL MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WORK
🎨 1. Abstraction and simplicity
Debussy abandons the picturesque impressionism of his earlier works (Estampes, Images, Préludes) in favour of a more abstract and bare style, almost ascetic. The writing is drier, often reduced to the essentials, sometimes almost pointillist.
‘An etude must be a work of art as well as an exercise in technique’ — Debussy
🧠 2. Technical foundations as formal driving forces
Each etude is based on a specific pianistic element: thirds, octaves, embellishments, contrasting sonorities, etc. Unlike the études of Chopin or Liszt, where technique is often concealed beneath a lyrical or dramatic veneer, Debussy places constraint at the heart of his compositions.
Examples:
Étude I: the five fingers → reduced range constraint.
Étude VI: the eight fingers → no thumbs = new ergonomics.
Etude X: contrasting sounds → contrast of registers, dynamics and rhythms.
🎹 3. Innovative piano writing
Debussy redefines piano technique: he favours precise digital playing, subtle polyphony and differentiated touch (dry, pearly, singing, veiled). He seeks new textures through:
the superimposition of sound planes,
broken or compound arpeggios,
repeated notes without pedals,
contrary or opposing movements.
🎭 4. Stylistic devices and historical references
The work is peppered with hidden or ironic references to:
Czerny (Etude I),
Chopin (Etudes II and IV),
the Baroque harpsichord (Etude VIII),
classical counterpoint,
orchestral textures (Etudes XII, X),
and old mechanical exercises.
But Debussy subverts these models: he does not copy, he deconstructs, transforms and poeticises.
🌀 5. Free harmony, floating tonality
The Études employ:
artificial modes,
non-functional chord progressions,
unconventional intervals (fourths, sixths, minor seconds, ninths),
enharmonic alterations and unresolved dissonances.
This produces a floating, open harmony that rejects classical tonal anchoring.
🔍 6. Open structure and form
The forms are often unconventional:
no rigid ternary or sonata forms,
development through motivic variation,
sometimes mosaic or organic form,
importance of silence and sound voids.
The structure follows the logic of the technical material itself, which is often processual.
🧩 7. Overall coherence
Although written separately, the 12 Études form a large cyclical architecture, like Chopin’s Préludes or Études. We can discern:
a movement from the most elementary to the most complex,
a balance between fast and slow pieces, light and heavy pieces,
thematic or gestural echoes between certain études.
🗂️ POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION OF THE ÉTUDES
Debussy does not divide them, but we can suggest a reading in three groups:
🧒 A. Pianistic playfulness and irony (I–IV)
For the five fingers
For thirds
For fourths
For sixths
→ Etudes based on traditional intervals. More readable, sometimes humorous.
⚙️ B. Deconstruction and radicalism (V–VIII)
For octaves
For the eight fingers
For chromatic degrees
For embellishments
→ Experimental work on pure technique and historical style (baroque, classical).
🌌 C. Sonority and abstraction (IX–XII)
For repeated notes
For contrasting sonorities
For compound arpeggios
For chords
→ Poetic exploration of timbre, register and the orchestral qualities of the piano.
📌 CONCLUSION
Debussy’s 12 Études are one of the most innovative works in the piano repertoire, both traditional (in the tradition of Chopin, Czerny and Scarlatti) and visionary. They are:
intellectually stimulating,
technically formidable,
and musically profound.
They are intended for pianists capable of mastering extreme finesse of touch, thinking about sound, and playing with form as much as with sound material.
Analysis, tutorial, interpretation, and important points for playing
Here is a complete analysis, accompanied by tutorials, interpretations and performance tips for the 12 Études, CD 143 by Claude Debussy. Each étude is a stand-alone work based on a specific technical problem, but treated in an artistic and poetic manner.
🎹 ÉTUDE I – For the ‘five fingers’ according to Monsieur Czerny
🎼 Analysis:
Imitation of Czerny’s exercises on 5 notes.
Complex polyrhythms, changing textures.
Playing with repetition and transformation.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work with each hand separately first.
Make sure each finger remains independent, in the same position.
Think about the inner voices: polyphonic balance.
🎭 Interpretation:
Adopt an ironic, almost didactic tone.
Colour each nuance, bring each motif to life.
⭐ Important points:
Digital stability.
Clarity of polyphonic lines.
Rhythmic precision, without rigidity.
🎹 STUDY II – For thirds
🎼 Analysis:
Melodic and harmonic exploration of thirds.
Large extensions, chromaticism.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work in groups of two or three thirds, slowly.
Use flexible fingering and anticipate your movements.
🎭 Performance:
Think in singing lines, not blocks.
Play with the undulation of the intervals, not their mass.
⭐ Important points:
Avoid tension.
Soft, singing tone.
Maintain linear fluidity.
🎹 STUDY III – For fourths
🎼 Analysis:
Ascending/descending fourths, vertical and linear use.
Dry, angular, very modern writing.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work on isolated intervals, then put them together.
Pay attention to the distance between your hands.
🎭 Performance:
Give it an archaic or mysterious character.
Contrast rough dissonances with calm passages.
⭐ Important points:
Firm articulation.
Control of leaps and dissonances.
Mastery of silence.
🎹 STUDY IV – For sixths
🎼 Analysis:
More fluid, elegant writing.
Similarity to Chopin’s Études.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work on sequences of sixths on ascending/descending scales.
Think about phrasing, not fingering.
🎭 Performance:
Aim for a warm, soft and lyrical tone.
Play with changing tonal colours.
⭐ Important points:
Light slurs, legato.
Clear upper voice, never drowned out.
🎹 ETUDE V – For octaves
🎼 Analysis:
Difficult, but poetic.
Alternation between singing phrases and dry virtuosity.
🎓 Tutorial:
Use the natural bounce of the wrist.
Work on slow sequences without tiring.
🎭 Interpretation:
Think in vocal phrases, not in hammering.
Contrast the quiet passages with the powerful flights.
⭐ Important points:
Mastery of dynamics.
Balance between strength and finesse.
🎹 ETUDE VI – For all eight fingers
🎼 Analysis:
Without the thumbs! This requires you to reconfigure your piano technique.
Transparent sound, fluid writing.
🎓 Tutorial:
Start slowly, keeping your wrists relaxed.
Work on the left hand separately, as it carries the harmony.
🎭 Interpretation:
Play with detachment and elegance.
A certain levitation, a discreet irony.
⭐ Important points:
Lightness of touch.
Equal voices, none dominating.
🎹 ETUDE VII – For chromatic degrees
🎼 Analysis:
Playing on the chromatic slide.
Quasi-liquid texture, like an optical illusion.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work in descending/ascending patterns.
Anticipate each movement, avoid tension.
🎭 Interpretation:
Give a feeling of constant movement, of gliding.
Use the pedals sparingly.
⭐ Important points:
Homogeneous sound.
Flexibility of the wrists.
🎹 ETUDE VIII – For embellishments
🎼 Analysis:
Baroque parody: trills, mordents, grace notes.
Reminder of harpsichordists (Couperin, Rameau).
🎓 Tutorial:
Work slowly on each ornament in isolation.
Think dance, never mechanical.
🎭 Interpretation:
Gallant style, full of spirit.
Irony respectful of the Baroque.
⭐ Important points:
Precision of ornamentation.
Lightness of fingers, supple hand.
🎹 STUDY IX – For repeated notes
🎼 Analysis:
Work on rapid repetition without rigidity.
Sophisticated rhythmic combinations.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work on repeated notes on a single key (changing fingering).
Then integrate the motif into the whole hand.
🎭 Interpretation:
Nervous tension, controlled instability.
Clear resonance, without muddying the pedal.
⭐ Important points:
Finger endurance.
Rhythmic regularity, without automatism.
🎹 ETUDE X – For contrasting sounds
🎼 Analysis:
Playing with extreme contrasts: register, timbre, intensity.
Dialogue between two sound worlds.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work with the hands completely separate at first.
Reconcile the extremes without creating imbalance.
🎭 Performance:
Pianistic stage presence, almost dramatic.
Think about sound spatialisation.
⭐ Key points:
Very marked contrast.
Mastery of dynamic control in the extremes.
🎹 STUDY XI – For compound arpeggios
🎼 Analysis:
Irregular arpeggios, broken lines, hidden voices.
Fluid, almost aquatic texture.
🎓 Tutorial:
Play without the pedal first, then read the hidden voices.
Work on controlling the ascending/descending movement.
🎭 Interpretation:
Aim for a subtle harp effect, never beaded.
Control the rhythmic flow and breathe naturally.
⭐ Important points:
The inner voice must always be clear.
Round, clear tone.
🎹 STUDY XII – For chords
🎼 Analysis:
One of the most difficult pieces.
Dense, monumental orchestral writing.
🎓 Tutorial:
Work slowly on each sequence, hands separately.
Balance the different vertical planes.
🎭 Performance:
Think like an organ or an orchestra.
Play majestically, but with flexibility.
⭐ Important points:
Vertical balance.
Breathing between blocks.
Control of resonance.
✅ GENERAL CONCLUSION
Playing Debussy’s 12 Etudes is:
a total pianistic challenge: touch, articulation, timbre, pedalling, independence.
a journey into modern sound thinking, a bridge between the past (Czerny, Chopin) and the avant-garde.
a work that demands intellectual clarity and poetic imagination.
History
Claude Debussy composed his Twelve Études, CD 143, in 1915, during a period of his life marked by pain, illness and war. He was suffering from cancer, the world was plunged into the chaos of the First World War, and yet, in the midst of this darkness, he wrote one of his most innovative and ambitious cycles for the piano.
Debussy, who had largely avoided the study genre in the style of Chopin or Liszt, chose to devote himself fully to it at the end of his life. He did not do so out of a desire for gratuitous virtuosity, but to explore the very essence of the piano, its mechanical as well as its poetic possibilities. The work is intended as a pianistic testament: a way for Debussy to convey his thoughts on the art of touch, tone colour and instrumental gesture.
In his dedication letter to his publisher Durand, Debussy wrote:
‘These études… are, in chronological order, a work of old age, but I hope they will not smell of dust… They will serve, I hope, to exercise the fingers… with a little more pleasure than Monsieur Czerny’s exercises.’
This ironic nod to Czerny should not obscure Debussy’s deep admiration for the history of the piano. He looked to the masters of the past – Chopin, Scarlatti, Couperin – while inventing a totally new language. His Études are not mere technical exercises. They are a laboratory of sound invention, where every technical constraint (thirds, octaves, embellishments, etc.) becomes a pretext for poetic exploration. Each étude is like a miniature work in its own right, but together they form a vast kaleidoscope, traversed by a play of allusions, radical contrasts, and a pianistic thinking that is both intellectual and sensory.
The cycle is divided into two books of six studies. The first is more directly related to finger technique — five fingers, thirds, fourths, sixths, octaves, eight fingers — like a poetic rewriting of piano methods. The second book, freer and more abstract, deals with more expressive notions: chromatic degrees, embellishments, contrasting sonorities, repeated notes, compound arpeggios, and finally chords. This progression also reflects an evolution from introspection to orchestral density.
What is fascinating is that this late work is also, paradoxically, a work of beginnings. It heralds future languages – those of Messiaen, Boulez, and even Ligeti – by experimenting with texture, timbre, and harmony without ever losing sight of the pianist’s body and mind.
Debussy died three years later, without being able to fully appreciate the immense impact of these Études. But today they are recognised as one of the pinnacles of 20th-century piano literature, combining technical rigour, stylistic refinement and expressive depth.
Impacts & Influences
Claude Debussy’s Twelve Études, CD 143, had a major impact on the piano world and on the evolution of 20th-century music, far beyond their initial discreet reception. A pivotal work, these Études are both rooted in the tradition of the past – Chopin, Liszt, Scarlatti, Couperin – and resolutely forward-looking. Their influence is evident on several levels: pianistic, aesthetic, harmonic and even philosophical.
1. A new approach to the piano étude
Until Debussy, études were often seen as tools for virtuoso or technical learning. With Chopin, Liszt and Heller, they became artistic, but retained an essentially technical purpose. Debussy changed the game: he transformed technical constraints into poetic and sonic pretexts. For example:
The Étude pour les tierces does not merely exercise thirds; it creates harmonically rich landscapes of unexpected depth.
The Étude pour les sonorités opposées questions the very contrast between timbre and resonance.
This approach inspired a new generation of composers to think of virtuosity not as an external performance, but as an internal exploration of the instrument.
2. Direct influence on Olivier Messiaen and the French school of the 20th century
Messiaen, a great admirer of Debussy, recognised the importance of the Études in his own musical development. He found in them the idea that music can be a meditation in sound, where each note is unique and the structure derives from colours and resonances. This sensitivity to timbre permeates works such as Vingt regards sur l’enfant Jésus and Études de rythme.
Other French composers (or those trained in France) such as Dutilleux, Jolivet, Boulez, and even Ligeti were influenced by this formal freedom and refinement of texture.
3. Towards spectral music and contemporary music
Debussy’s explorations of sound, particularly in his Études, with their contrasting timbres and chords, already foreshadowed the work of spectral composers (Grisey, Murail): the idea that sound itself—its evolution, its harmonics, its density—is a carrier of form and meaning.
Debussy did not theorise this, but he illustrated it intuitively, through touch, pedal work and the use of superimposed low and high registers.
4. A redefinition of musical form
The Études do not follow a fixed pattern (such as ABA or sonata form) but develop through transformations and organic growth. This way of thinking about music as a living organism rather than a mechanical structure would have a profound influence on post-tonal languages and 20th-century formalism.
5. An expansion of the pianistic gesture
Debussy explored ways of playing that were still rare or non-existent in the pianistic tradition:
Use of the entire keyboard in an orchestral manner.
Playing with extreme dynamics, subtle pedalling and inner voices.
Techniques that foreshadowed ‘playing in timbre’ or even clusters (found in Cowell and Ligeti).
6. The role in modern piano teaching
Beyond their impact on composers, these Études have become an essential milestone in higher piano education. Today, they are studied alongside those of Chopin and Ligeti for their ability to develop:
The pianist’s inner listening.
The management of touch and weight.
The balance between virtuosity and subtlety.
In summary
Debussy’s Études, CD 143, reinvented what an étude could be: no longer a tool or an exercise, but a complete work of art, training the fingers as much as the ear, the intellect as much as the imagination. Their influence is profound, widespread and enduring — they paved the way for a poetic modernity that rejected dogma and preferred ambiguity to system.
They are a bridge between late Romanticism and avant-garde music. A living legacy.
Was it a successful piece or collection at the time?
No, Claude Debussy’s Twelve Études, CD 143, were not an immediate popular or commercial success when they were published in 1916. Their reception was rather limited, and the score did not sell particularly well at the time.
Why were they so unsuccessful when they were released?
There are several reasons for this:
🎼 1. The unfavourable historical context
Debussy composed the Études in 1915, in the midst of the First World War.
France was devastated, concerts were rare, and the atmosphere was one of anxiety rather than celebration of new works.
Debussy himself was seriously ill (with colon cancer) and physically and mentally weakened. He was unable to perform them in public or promote them as he might have done previously.
🎶 2. A complex and demanding work
Unlike pieces such as Clair de lune or Rêverie, the Études are not immediately appealing.
They are intellectual, technical, very modern — sometimes abstract — and very difficult to play, which makes them inaccessible to the general public and amateurs.
Even professional pianists of the time were sometimes baffled by their language.
🖋️ 3. A sober publication with no promotion
The publisher Jacques Durand published the Études without much publicity, as he sensed that it would not be a bestseller.
Unlike Debussy’s more ‘salon-friendly’ works, the Études were perceived as a work for specialists.
📉 4. A mixed critical reception
Some contemporary critics recognised the intelligence of the work, but found it impenetrable or cerebral.
Others compared it unfavourably to Chopin, finding Debussy too modern or too analytical for the study genre.
What happened next?
It was after Debussy’s death, especially after the 1940s and 1950s, that the Études gained their reputation:
Thanks to great performers such as Walter Gieseking, Claudio Arrau, Michelangeli, Pollini, Aimard and Jean-Yves Thibaudet, who championed them in concert.
They entered the advanced conservatory repertoire and were recognised as a pinnacle of 20th-century piano literature.
Their influence on Messiaen, Boulez and modern composers also contributed to their re-evaluation.
In summary:
No, Debussy’s Twelve Études were not a commercial or public success when they were released.
But yes, they are now considered an absolute masterpiece of modern piano, a treasure trove of invention and refinement, and have become essential for pianists of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Episodes and anecdotes
Here are some notable episodes and anecdotes about the Twelve Études, CD 143 by Claude Debussy, which shed light on their genesis, their intimate context, and their place in his life and in the history of music:
🎹 1. Debussy called them: ‘études, like those by Monsieur Chopin’
In August 1915, in a letter to his publisher Jacques Durand, Debussy wrote with a touch of humour and pride:
‘These Études claim to be useful… and are intended to become “twelve fingers” – which means that their technique is entirely pianistic, without acrobatics or gymnastics.’
Debussy wanted to distinguish his work from the purely technical exercises of Czerny and Hanon, while paying homage to Chopin, whom he deeply admired. This nod reveals his lofty aesthetic intention, rather than a simple compilation of exercises.
✍️ 2. Written in a few weeks during a quiet retreat
Debussy composed the Études very quickly, between 23 August and 29 September 1915, while staying in Pourville-sur-Mer, Normandy. This quiet, isolated place helped him find some inner peace at a difficult time – the war was raging and he had been suffering from cancer since 1909.
He wrote to his friend André Caplet:
‘I am working like a slave, and I am happy: it protects me from myself.’
The Études were therefore a refuge for him, almost a form of artistic and spiritual survival.
🖤 3. The Études are dedicated to Chopin… but it is a ghost dedication
Debussy died in 1918, two years after the Études were published. He had planned to write the following dedication on the title page:
‘In memory of Frédéric Chopin.’
But he forgot to have it printed before the score went to press. This dedication therefore does not appear on the original score, but was confirmed orally by those close to him, notably his wife Emma and his publisher Durand. This shows just how much Chopin was his supreme model in the genre of the étude.
📦 4. A work that Debussy never heard
Debussy was never able to hear his Études in their entirety, either in concert or by himself at the piano, due to his cancer. He did not have the physical strength to play them all — nor the time. Nor was he able to organise their public premiere.
Some of the Études were played individually, but the complete work was not performed until after his death in 1919, by the pianist Émile Robert.
📖 5. Strange handwritten numbering on the manuscript
On the autograph manuscript, we can see that Debussy added the technical titles of each étude (for thirds, for octaves, etc.) by hand, which indicates that these indications were not originally intended — or that he was hesitant to name them as such.
This reflects his ambivalent relationship with technique: he wanted the music to remain poetic and free, but he also wanted the technical objective to remain visible as a starting point.
🎧 6. An influence on Boulez… from adolescence
Pierre Boulez, a major figure of the avant-garde, recounted that the first time he heard Debussy’s Études as a teenager, it was a revelation. He later said:
‘Modern music begins with Debussy’s Études.’
It was after this discovery that he decided to deepen his study of the piano and modern composition… and ultimately to explode the tonal language.
🎹 7. Gieseking recorded them but refused to play the complete works in concert
Walter Gieseking, famous for his interpretations of Debussy, recorded them in the studio but refused to play them in public in their entirety. He found some of them too abstract for a post-war audience. This reflects the debates surrounding their accessibility.
✨ In summary:
The Twelve Études were conceived in the urgency of a painful personal and historical moment, but with rare artistic rigour. Behind their abstraction lies an act of creative resistance in the face of war, illness and the end of life. These are not simply educational works, but Debussy’s final piano testament, marked by moving anecdotes, silences, regrets — and an absolute faith in the beauty of sound.
Similar compositions
Similar works in terms of artistic purpose and modernity of language:
György Ligeti – Études for piano (Books I–III)
→ Directly inspired by Debussy, these études combine rhythmic complexity, harmonic exploration and avant-garde sound textures.
Olivier Messiaen – Quatre études de rythme (1949)
→ Studies in sound, duration and colour, influenced by synesthesia and Hindu rhythm.
Pierre Boulez – Twelve Notations for Piano (1945)
→ Very short, these pieces explore intervals, textures and articulations in a structural spirit close to Debussy.
Similar works linked to the tradition of the poetic study (after Chopin):
Frédéric Chopin – 24 Études, Op. 10 and Op. 25
→ Fundamental model for Debussy: study = artistic work. Expressive virtuosity, search for sonorities, free forms.
Franz Liszt – Transcendental Études, S.139
→ Great virtuosity and orchestral richness on the piano; each study is a sound painting.
Alexander Scriabin – Études, Op. 42 and Op. 65
→ Fusion of technique and symbolist poetry. Floating harmonies, highly vocal lines.
Similar works in terms of structure as a suite/collection of expressive miniatures:
Claude Debussy – Préludes, Books I and II (1910–1913)
→ Same spirit of highly evocative miniatures. Less technical but just as demanding in terms of touch and colour.
Isaac Albéniz – Iberia, 12 pieces for piano (1905–1908)
→ Virtuoso collection with orchestral textures. Exoticism, polyrhythm and comparable harmonic richness.
Leoš Janáček – In the Mist (1912)
→ Short, expressive pieces combining lyricism and harmonic strangeness. Post-Romantic and Impressionist influences.
Similar works in terms of pianistic demands and technical innovation:
Sergei Rachmaninoff – Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 & 39
→ Highly expressive, powerful and visionary études, on the borderline between étude, poem and sound painting.
Samuel Feinberg – Études, Op. 10 and Op. 26
→ Complex, introspective études, heavily influenced by Scriabin and Debussy.
Karol Szymanowski – Études, Op. 4 and Métopes, Op. 29
→ Virtuosity and refined chromaticism, sonic poetry. Very close to Debussy’s style.
(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)
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