The Piano Etude. Historical Perspective, Evolution and Development of the Etude up to the Second Half of the Twentieth Century
The Piano Etude. Historical Perspective, Evolution and Development of the Etude up to the Second Half of the Twentieth Century

Summary/Abstract: The following text is part of my doctoral studies and provides a historical overview of the evolution and development of the piano étude as a genre, until the second half of the twentieth century. The analytical approach proposed herein starts from an attempt to define the genre and continues with a presentation of what we considered to be its roots, namely the prelude and the toccata. The analysis focuses on the chronological evolution of the two aforementioned genres throughout the major music history periods, identifying the aspects that validate them as precursors of the piano étude. The pinnacle of the piano étude was reached during the Romantic period, with the development of the concert étude, invested with strong poetic and expressive resonances. Thus, the piano étude was freed from its essentially didactic or pedagogical label and became a viable and compelling means of artistic expression. Its didactic function continued to be an important component in the works written in the Romantic period or in the first half of the twentieth century, while allowing, however, the free exploitation of ideas and thus expanding the genre’s horizons through the compositional play between synthesis and experiment.

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