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I have just a few questions regarding the Chopin Etudes that require nothing more than your own opinion.

1. What is the most musically easy to play?
2. What is the most technically easy to play?
3. What is the most musically difficult to play?
4. What is the most technially difficult to play?
5. What one(s) are your most favriote to listen to?
6. What one(s) are your most favriote to play?

OK! I love analyzing music like this:

1. You can't really put a judging on musical ease of play... especially in Chopin. However... if I HAD to choose one, it'd be Op. 25 no. 3, the nature of the etude lends itself to more technical concentration... although I still go by my belief that they all are difficult musically.

2. Technically... Op. 10 no. 9, and most of the slow ones.

3. Difficult musically... Op. 10 no. 2, because with the EXTREME difficulty of the etude, it's hard to infuse musical nuances, plus that it's hard to shade a piece like that.

4. Technically... Either Op. 10 no. 2, or Op. 25 no. 6. My 3-5th fingers can't move that quickly, and for some reason my hand just simply cannot do thirds that quickly mechanically.

5. I LOVE listening to Op. 10 no. 1. It reminds me of Bach and grand organ pieces. Op. 25 no. 8 also is a favorite, the melody in sixths is charming and the ending is great.

6. Considering I can't play the VAST majority of his etudes, I'll just say Op. 10 no. 5, even though I HATE this piece (just as Chopin did). It's the most difficult one of the etudes I can play. Pretty pathetic eh?

No its not pathetic! At least you can play it, I cant!

Hey! I can only play 2 of them and I just barley struggle my way through them, playing them below speed and making a couple of mistakes along the way. These two are: Op10 No3 and Op10 No12. As for Op10 No5, I love that piece! Its not of among my top 5 of the etudes, but I do like it. My top 3 fariotes all come from Op25 and they are Nos 5,6 and 11 (winter wind) and them the other two to make up the top 5 of my favriotes are Op10 No12 (revolutionary) and Op10 No8 or No3. Also, its not pathetic that Op10 No5 is the most difficult Chopin etude you can play. His etudes are very difficult, so consider yourself good instead of pathetic.

Hey jgoo,

I have now played around with each single one of them, and there's about 3 or 4 that I can almost play completely pretty near tempo.

Remember this is just my opinion.

1.
I think the most musically easy to play is:
Op25#8 One of the most difficult etudes technically, but musically it just goes from beginning to end without any surprise, almost no shading at all here either. Everything just has to be the same perfect legato.

2.
The most technically easy to play in my opinion is
Op25#2 When you look at it you see that there's always not more than one note in each hand. The only technical difficulty is that for some reason it is hard to play very fast and piano at the same time.

3.
Most musically difficult is Op10#6, because I think it sounds horrible if you don't really put all your attention into every single note.

4.
Most technically difficult I cannot really answer because I m just a beginner, but I think for me it will be Op25#6

5.
My favorite is Op25#6. This one just sounds so mysterious, almost godly. It's also in my top 3 favorite piano pieces
I also like the Nouvelle Etude #1.
People often forget about the Nouvelles Etudes, because they were composed to serve as exercises but man! they are more beautiful than most of the Op10 and 25 etudes.

6.
My favorite to play so far is Op25#1 even though I m not done learning it.

1. Most musically easy to play: in my opinion, it is the Opus 10 Number 5 Etude. Little complexity here; just play the triplets and have fun.

2. Most technically easy to play: Opus 25 Number 7. Technically easier than the others, but complex when it comes to musicality.

3. Most musically difficult to play: Opus 10 Number 6. This is a complex piece that poses a major problem for pianists. The important thing here is to play those sustained notes and make sure they carry without making them sound harsh.

4. Most technically difficult to play: this is a tie between the Opus 10 Number 2 and the Opus 25 Number 6. Obviously, you've heard horror stories about these two. What is especially cruel about these two is that the notes require legato and evenness, and the pieces are to be played, for the most part, in a ghostly and ethereal manner.

5. My favorite to listen to: Opus 25 Number 12. I love the surging arpeggios and dark atmosphere of this piece.

6. My favorite to play: Opus 25 Number 5. A lot of fun.