Noctave
The piece
The last of the twelve Études of Op. 10, published in 1833 with a dedication to Franz Liszt, this piece owes its “Revolutionary” nickname to later listeners, not to Chopin. Its principle: the left hand races down and up the keyboard in sixteenth notes, legatissimo, while the right hand hurls out a theme in octaves and chords, con fuoco. The text follows the Peters edition revised by Herrmann Scholtz, checked against the first Paris edition by Schlesinger.
More than two thirds of the notes are in the left hand, at nearly eleven attacks per second: this is above all a study for the left hand. Its runs climb and fall over a wide range, with many thumb crossings, so settle the fingering once and for all and stick to it. Practise the left hand alone, slowly at first, aiming for an even, connected sound rather than power. The right hand has demands of its own: 185 octaves and chords that must be thrown as a single block, in dotted rhythm, without lifting the shoulder. Once the hands are together, let the left lead: it is the engine of the piece.