Listening to Chopin's "Black Key" Etude and Seeing a Different Side of HimAugust 15, 2026 (Saturday). Reiwa8

This week, Chopin's music has been playing in the dining room and common areas.

Tomorrow, Sunday, will be the last day of Chopin.
From Monday, we will begin listening to music by a different composer.

Today, I listened to Chopin's Etude No. 5 in G-flat major, Op. 10 No. 5, commonly known as the "Black Key" Etude.

I had heard the name before, but listening to it today, I was honestly surprised.

I thought, "Is this really Chopin?"

The Chopin I had imagined was slower, quiet, gentle, and a little sad.

The "Waltz of Farewell" felt very much like the Chopin I had imagined.
The "Etude of Farewell" also begins quietly and beautifully, becomes intense in the middle, and then returns to a quiet and beautiful ending.

But the "Black Key" Etude was different.

It was so fast.
The right hand seemed to run lightly across the keyboard.
It sounded playful, almost mischievous, and sparkling.

I thought, "I didn't know Chopin could write music like this."

I learned that the piece is called the "Black Key" Etude because the right hand plays almost entirely on the black keys of the piano.

It feels as if the young Chopin was enjoying himself, thinking,

"What would happen if I wrote a piece using almost only the black keys?"

Until now, I had thought of Chopin as someone who wrote quiet, gentle, and slightly sad music.

But after listening to the "Black Key" Etude today, that image changed a little.

Maybe it did not really break.
Maybe it simply became larger.

I realized that Chopin had another side.

He was young.
He was full of talent.
He loved the piano.
And he also had a playful side.

I could almost imagine him running lightly across the black keys and saying,

"Wouldn't this be fun?"

That was Chopin, too.

As my time listening to Chopin comes to an end, I am glad that I discovered this side of him.

If I had only listened to the "Etude of Farewell," I might have remembered Chopin simply as a composer of beautiful and sad music.

But today I thought,

"I didn't know he could be this playful."

Before saying goodbye to Chopin, I found one more side of him that I had never known before.

Tomorrow, I will listen to Chopin again.

And on Monday, a new kind of music will begin.

There is only one more day left in my week with Chopin.

The "Black Key" Etude was an unexpected piece for me, but it has become a piece I will not easily forget.

YouTube:
Chopin - Etude Op. 10 No. 5 "Black Keys" / Rousseau

Listen to Chopin's "Black Key" Etude on YouTube

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