Why Do Pianists Disagree About Chopin Étude Op. 10 No. 2?

Chopin’s Étude Op. 10 No. 2 in A minor, often called the Chromatic Étude, is one of those pieces that creates strong disagreement among pianists.

Some pianists look at it and say, “This is short. The pattern repeats. I learned the notes quickly. Why is everyone calling it one of the hardest Chopin etudes?”

That question is worth taking seriously.

A very advanced pianist might be able to learn the notes quickly. That does not mean the piece is easy. It means the pianist is already advanced enough to understand the pattern, read the score, and get the general motion under the fingers.

But Chopin Op. 10 No. 2 is not difficult because it is hard to understand. It is difficult because it is hard to master.

The real challenge is playing it at the proper tempo, with the correct lightness, smoothness, evenness, and control. That is where the disagreement usually begins.

View Chopin - Etude No. 2 - Chromatique - Op. 10, No. 2 on Road to Virtuosity

RTV Difficulty: Level 10

RTV Points: 3,950,000 Points

The piece does not look as hard as it is

Some Chopin etudes announce their difficulty immediately. The Waterfall Etude looks huge on the page. The Winter Wind Etude looks dangerous. The Octave Etude looks physically exhausting.

Op. 10 No. 2 is different. It is short, quiet, and thin in texture. The left hand is not terrifying by itself. The right hand pattern is repetitive enough that a strong pianist can understand the basic idea quickly.

That can make the etude feel deceptively simple at first.

But the main technical problem is very specific: the fast chromatic line is played mostly by the third, fourth, and fifth fingers of the right hand, while the thumb and index finger still help with inner notes and harmony.

In other words, the same hand is doing two jobs at once. The weaker outer fingers must move quickly and smoothly, while the stronger inner fingers must stay light and controlled underneath.

That is not normal chromatic-scale playing. Chopin is deliberately avoiding the easiest fingering solution and forcing the weaker fingers to carry the line.

What different sources say

The disagreement around this etude is not just internet drama. Different teachers, publishers, pianists, and historical sources emphasize different parts of the problem.

“developing the independence of the weaker fingers of the right hand.” Source: Tonebase lesson description for Henry Kramer’s course on Chopin Op. 10 No. 2

Tonebase’s description gets right to the point. This is not just a fast-note etude. It is a finger-independence etude, especially for the outer fingers of the right hand.

“one of the most difficult of all the etudes in the pianistic repertoire.” Source: The Etude Magazine, February 1920

That historical comment is important because it shows that the difficulty of Op. 10 No. 2 is not a modern exaggeration. Pianists were already treating it as a serious technical problem more than a century ago.

Henle gives Chopin Op. 10 No. 2 a difficulty rating of 8 difficult on its 1–9 scale. That is very high, but it is not the maximum Henle rating. Henle gives some other Chopin etudes a 9, including Op. 10 No. 1, Op. 25 No. 6, Op. 25 No. 10, and Op. 25 No. 11.

That matters because it supports a more balanced view. Op. 10 No. 2 is not automatically the hardest Chopin etude for every pianist. But it clearly belongs in the top difficulty range.

“breathtaking evenness” Source: The Guardian, describing Yunchan Lim’s performance of the A minor study

That phrase is useful because it points to the real performance goal. The etude is not only about speed. It is about evenness. When played well, the difficulty almost disappears from the surface.

Pianist forums also show the disagreement clearly. These are not scholarly sources, but they are useful because they show how pianists actually talk about the piece. In one Reddit discussion, the writer warns that all of Chopin’s etudes are hard, even the ones that appear easier in rankings. In another discussion, one pianist places Op. 10 No. 1 and Op. 10 No. 2 above several other Op. 10 etudes in technical difficulty.

So the disagreement is real. Some pianists do not place Op. 10 No. 2 at the very top. Others absolutely do. But almost nobody serious treats it as an ordinary intermediate piece.

Why “I learned it in one day” does not settle the question

When someone says, “I learned this etude in one day,” the first question should be: what does learned mean?

There are several different levels of “learning” a piece:

  • Understanding the notes
  • Playing through it slowly
  • Memorizing the pattern
  • Getting through the piece without stopping
  • Playing it close to tempo
  • Performing it at tempo with control, evenness, and musical shape

Those are not the same achievement.

A pianist might learn the notes quickly because the piece is short and patterned. But the real test is whether the etude can be played lightly, evenly, quietly, and legato at the required speed without tension.

That is where Op. 10 No. 2 becomes serious.

The technical problem is narrow, but extreme

Some difficult pieces are hard in many obvious ways: big chords, long jumps, thick textures, loud climaxes, and heavy endurance demands.

Op. 10 No. 2 is more focused. It attacks one very specific weakness with almost no mercy.

The main challenges include:

  • The third, fourth, and fifth fingers carry the fast chromatic line.
  • The thumb and index finger still have to play inner notes without becoming heavy.
  • The right hand must stay relaxed while doing two different jobs.
  • The line must sound smooth and connected, not punched or nervous.
  • The texture is thin enough that unevenness is easy to hear.
  • The piece must stay light even when the hand wants to tighten.

This is why the etude can feel strange. It is not always the piece that looks most difficult. It is the piece that exposes one of the most uncomfortable parts of the hand.

Tempo changes everything

At a slow tempo, Op. 10 No. 2 can feel manageable. The pianist has time to think, reset, and prepare the next small motion.

But the piece is not meant to stay at practice tempo.

Once the tempo rises, the etude becomes a test of efficiency. Any extra motion becomes expensive. Any tension grows quickly. Any unevenness in the outer fingers becomes obvious.

This is why a pianist may feel good after learning the notes slowly, then become frustrated when trying to bring the piece up to speed. What works slowly may not work at the actual performance tempo.

The old Etude Magazine article specifically points to the need for lightness, suppleness, and even pianissimo. That is the heart of the issue. Speed alone is not enough. The sound must still be controlled.

Why some pianists rank it lower

It is also fair to say that Op. 10 No. 2 will not feel equally difficult to every pianist.

Some hands are naturally better suited to the 3-4-5 chromatic motion. Some pianists have trained finger independence for years. Some players are more frightened by wide arpeggios, octaves, thirds, or huge endurance pieces.

That is why difficulty rankings vary. One pianist may suffer more in Op. 10 No. 1. Another may find Op. 25 No. 6 almost impossible. Another may feel that Op. 10 No. 2 is the worst because it causes tension so quickly.

This does not weaken the case for Op. 10 No. 2 being extremely difficult. It actually explains the disagreement. The etude is specialized. If its specific problem matches your weakness, it can feel brutal. If your hand is naturally comfortable with that motion, another Chopin etude may feel harder.

Why RTV gives it such a high point value

On Road to Virtuosity, Chopin’s Étude Op. 10 No. 2 is listed as Level 10 and worth 3,950,000 points.

That does not mean every pianist will spend the same amount of time on it. It means the final performance standard is extremely high.

RTV points are not just measuring how quickly someone can decode the score. They are measuring the full challenge of learning and performing the piece well.

For this etude, that includes:

  • Speed
  • Evenness
  • Outer-finger independence
  • Relaxation under pressure
  • Legato control
  • Lightness of touch
  • Performance reliability
  • The ability to keep the piece musical instead of mechanical

This is where the RTV point system is useful. A broad level tells you that the piece is advanced. The point value shows how difficult it is inside that advanced level.

Op. 10 No. 2 is not rated so highly because it is long or visually huge. It is rated highly because it demands a rare kind of control at a very high standard.

Learning the notes is not the same as mastering the piece

This etude is a perfect example of why piano difficulty can be misunderstood.

A piece can be short and still be extremely hard.

A piece can be learned quickly and still take years to master.

A piece can look simple on the page and still expose deep technical problems.

That is the real lesson of Chopin Op. 10 No. 2.

The question is not only, “Can I play the notes?”

The better question is, “Can I play the notes at tempo, quietly, evenly, legato, relaxed, and musically?”

For this etude, that second question is where the true difficulty lives.

Final thought

Chopin Étude Op. 10 No. 2 creates disagreement because it sits in the gap between learning and mastering.

Some pianists may learn the pattern quickly. That does not make the etude easy. It only means the first stage went well.

To truly master the piece, the pianist must make the weaker fingers of the right hand sound smooth, fast, light, and effortless. That is a much higher standard.

This is why Road to Virtuosity gives Op. 10 No. 2 a serious Level 10 evaluation. The piece is not judged only by how fast someone can learn the notes. It is judged by what it takes to perform the etude convincingly.

Sources referenced