Background

Kalkbrenner published seven collections of etudes (Op. 20, 108, 126, 143, 161, 169, 182) between 1816 and 1847. Op. 108 was a method comprising 12 etudes, sold together with a performance aid called the "guide-mains." The subsequent etude collection, Op. 126, was conceived as preliminary exercises for this method, and Op. 143 as its supplement. This 25 Etudes in Style and Perfection Op. 143 (Paris: Meissonier) was published in June 1839 (also published in Leipzig and Milan, in addition to Paris). It is structured with Nos. 1-13 forming Volume 1, and Nos. 14-25 forming Volume 2. The late 1830s was a period when many pianist-composers competed to publish etudes employing difficult techniques, and Kalkbrenner did not fall behind this trend. Meanwhile, during this period, there was also a notable movement seeking not only technical difficulty but also diversity in the style of etudes. Chopin's 12 Etudes Op. 25 (1837), for example, includes No. 4 with leaping movements reminiscent of ballet music, and No. 7 in a singing style. Kalkbrenner's etudes also contain pieces of diverse character alongside difficult techniques.

Significance of the Title

The "style" in this title, in the musical context of the time, was understood as the character of a work and its expression through performance. On the other hand, "perfectionnement" (perfection) means "moving towards a more complete state." "Complete" here refers to technical perfection in performance, such as in thirds and octaves. Therefore, the significance of this etude's title is that it is an etude for performing works of various characters in a manner appropriate to their character, while simultaneously perfecting technique. In 1842, the composer and critic Georges Kastner published a review of this piece in Le Ménestrel, in which he identified the etude's characteristic feature as its ability to teach both expressive aspects and performance technique (referred to as "mécanisme" in French), stating:

"Those who wish to become teachers and perfect themselves would do well to seek assistance from the 24 great 'Etudes' as much from the point of view of mechanism as from that of expression. The richness and purity of harmony, fresh and outstanding melodies, a leisurely yet scholarly finish, these are the general characteristics of this remarkable publication." (Le Menestrel. Dimanche, 13 mars 1842, neuvieme annee, no.15 p.1-2)

Thereafter, etudes using the word "style" in their titles were successively published. For example, the French pianist and composer Henri Ravina published an etude collection Op. 14 in 1847, bearing the same title as Kalkbrenner's collection. It should be noted here that these two seem to have influenced each other considerably in their etudes. Ravina's Etudes de Concert Op. 1, published in January 1839, six months prior to Kalkbrenner's collection, also contains several similar pieces that Kalkbrenner likely referenced. The relationship between the two will be mentioned as appropriate in the individual piece descriptions.

Below, each piece will be described, focusing on its style and technical characteristics.

Individual Piece Descriptions

• No. 1 F major 4/4 Leggiero e vivace
  An etude for broken octaves. It is one of the pieces with a relatively small number of measures in the entire collection, serving a role similar to a prelude. Kalkbrenner had long advocated for both hands to acquire homogeneous functionality, and the octave figuration is applied to both hands here as well.
• No. 2 F minor 12/16 Moderato
  An etude for arpeggios and hand leaps. The main motif, consisting of a chord followed by five notes in unison, is dramatically developed in the middle section through skillful modulations to distant keys. In the recapitulation, the opening motif first gains weight through chord leaps in the left hand, and then the five unison notes are played in octaves by both hands, forming a climax. Though short, it is a meticulously constructed piece based on a single idea.
• No. 3 B-flat minor 4/4 Presto
  An etude for rapid repetitions of chords and octaves. It is written in a similar manner to Ravina's Etudes de Concert Op. 1 No. 2, published in the same year. The middle section includes a small difficult passage requiring chromatic scales played with triads.
• No. 4 B major 4/4 Moderato
  An etude for leaping chords. While chord leaps are the main technical challenge, a sweet melody is skillfully interwoven between the chords. In the middle of the piece (mm. 17-19), imitation of the opening motif can be observed between different voices, indicating a meticulous development despite its brevity. It is a colorful piece reminiscent of orchestral instruments.
• No. 5 A minor 6/8 Allegro furioso
  An etude for rapidly leaping arpeggios and octaves. It is characterized by a weighty style that explores high volume by sounding chords across the piano's wide range.
• No. 6 F-sharp major 2/4 Moderato il canto molto espressivo e marcato
  An etude in a singing style that differentiates between different voices. From the perspective of notation and technical purpose, this piece corresponds to Chopin's 12 Etudes Op. 10 No. 3. The uppermost voice, which is the singing voice, is highlighted, while the inner voices form the background. In contrast to the sweet atmosphere of the main theme, the middle section, based on minor keys and constantly modulating, is dominated by a somber and passionate mood. It is a programmatic piece inspired by opera arias of the time.
• No. 7 C minor 4/4 Allegro furioso
  An etude for playing arpeggios while holding octaves. An 8-measure march-like introduction is followed by a severe theme. Even within the continuous repetition of the same figuration, rich ingenuity, such as emphasized suspensions in the inner voices (e.g., mm. 26, 28), draws the listener's attention. The C major middle section is based on a Baroque chamber concerto-like idea, entirely different in style from the main theme. This passage, composed mainly of simple scales, presents no discernible technical challenges to overcome. This section was likely inserted due to an expressive demand to ensure stylistic diversity within a single piece by juxtaposing different styles with the main theme.
• No. 8 C major 12/8 Allegrissimo
  An etude for light arpeggios. Long arpeggios in the right hand form the main theme, and light passages of sixteenth-note diatonic and chromatic scales are occasionally assigned to both hands. Immediately before the recapitulation, a passage in thirds for both hands, frequently used by composers of this generation, forms a minor technical challenge. However, arpeggios are applied almost exclusively to the right hand, with the left hand playing arpeggios only in the last few measures of the final page. Compared to the etudes of the early 1830s, which emphasized the homogeneity of both hands, some flexibility is observed here.
• No. 9 E-flat major 3/4 Poco Allegro
  An etude for chords and leaps. It consists throughout of a succession of sixteenth-note chords. While not seeking rhythmic diversity, it utilizes a wide range through chord leaps and allows a sweet melody to sing.
• No. 10 E minor 3/4 Allegro e molto staccato
  An etude for ornamental arpeggios, staccato, repeated notes, and left-hand leaps. A light, dance-like piece. When the theme is repeated, it requires rapid repeated notes with 4-4 fingering. Similar to No. 7, a middle section in a contrasting style to the main theme is introduced, featuring a slow E major polyphony.
• No. 11 C major 4/4 Moderato quasi Adagio
  An etude for arpeggios, thirds, and sixths. In a highly graceful singing style. Though only 22 measures long, it incorporates various techniques such as ornamental passages and glissandos.
• No. 12 A-flat major 4/4 Molto Allegro
  An etude for hand crossing. The right hand consistently provides the accompaniment with quintuplet arpeggios, while the left hand plays the bass and melodic lines, crossing over the right hand. Similar techniques can already be seen in Chopin's friend J.-C. Kessler's Etudes Op. 20 (1828) and Ravina's even more radical Etudes de Concert Op. 1 (No. 11). Kalkbrenner, older than them, tackles this technique in competition with the younger generation.
• No. 13 F-sharp minor 4/4 Moderato e Legato
  An etude for playing broken octaves and highlighting an inner voice melody with the thumb. The main section consistently consists of right-hand broken octave figurations forming the melody, while the left hand plays light arpeggios. In the latter half of the main section, there is a beautiful moment of modulation to the parallel major, F-flat major (mm. 21-22). The F-sharp major middle section, unlike the main section with its contemporary flavor, is written in a classical style, and similar to Nos. 7 and 10, stylistic contrast can be found here as well. It demands an immediate "change of playing style" within a single piece.
• No. 14 B minor 2/4 Molto Allegro
  An etude for hand crossing, leaps, octaves, arpeggios, and thirds. In contrast to the crisp, energetic main section with chords and octaves, the style of the middle section, presented in the parallel major of B major, is contrasting to the main section. The middle section consists of a sweet melody adorned with arpeggios and third figurations, but the opening motif is not forgotten and is interwoven, ensuring overall unity.
• No. 15 C major 3/4 Brillante
  An etude for thirds, sixths, and octaves. A light and graceful piece characterized by a consistent rhythmic motif. Among the etudes included in Kalkbrenner's Method Op. 108, it corresponds to No. 11 in terms of both technique and style, but this one is richer in technical variety.
• No. 16 Preludio C-sharp minor 3/4 Moderato e espressivo
  An etude for polyphony. This piece is given the special title "Prelude." Although not strictly so, contrapuntal considerations are evident throughout. Kalkbrenner, who was familiar with J. S. Bach's keyboard works, harmonizes past and contemporary styles here. He had long believed that playing polyphonic works was essential for learners to train the independence of each finger. This was to embody and preserve normativity by imprinting contrapuntal works, which were considered compositional norms, onto the body. The hemiola at the end of the piece is highly impressive.
• No. 17 F minor 2/4 Tempestoso
  An etude for repeated chords and chromatic scales. The rapidly repeated chromatic scales were a topos among 19th-century musicians, evoking wind or storm. The expression of this piece is particularly reminiscent of the storm scene in Rossini's William Tell Overture (1829), which would have been known to all Parisian musicians of the time. The middle section, in the parallel major of A-flat major, presents a brave yet graceful octave melody, forming a strong contrast with the main theme.
• No. 18 A major 12/16 non troppo allegro il canto ben marcato
  An etude for contrasting arpeggios in both hands. This figuration is similar to that of Chopin's 12 Etudes Op. 25, No. 1 (commonly known as "Aeolian Harp"), published in 1837, and the piece's swaying, wind-like character is also similar. Not only in the uppermost voice, but also in the inner voices and bass, melodies are skillfully hidden, requiring delicate consideration as to which melodies to highlight or leave in the background.
• No. 19 E-flat major 2/4 Molto Appassionato
  An etude for rapid arpeggios and octaves. The right hand is written with a consistently repeated figuration of 32nd-note arpeggios + 8th-note octaves, but from the middle section in the subdominant key, 32nd-note arpeggios are also applied to the left hand. A highly contemporary and brilliant piece.
• No. 20 G major 3/4 Moderato
  An etude for trills. A small piece in the style of an orchestral ensemble with four voices; the trills in the main theme evoke a flute, while the trills in the middle section, beginning in A minor, suggest a bassoon. In the latter half of the main theme (mm. 5-8), the latter half of the middle section (mm. 13-15), and the subsequent recapitulation of the theme, there is a duo of "flute" and "bassoon" placed in the soprano and tenor ranges, accompanied by another high and low instrument.
• No. 21 G minor 2/4 Risoluto e agitato
  An etude for differentiating between an octave melody and an accompaniment voice in the right hand. The left hand is exclusively responsible for accompaniment and secondary melodies. The melody of the middle section, beginning in C minor, appears new at first glance, but it is actually only a slight modification of the theme's rhythmic and melodic shape, based on the same idea, showing consideration for the internal unity of the piece. It is the left hand that diversifies the consistency of the figuration; for example, the inner voice melody appearing in measures 21-22 and the horn figuration appearing in measures 43-46 add depth to the piece.
• No. 22 G-sharp minor—A-flat major 2/4 Presto, molto agitato
  An etude for repeated notes and staccato. The repeated notes (D-sharp) at the beginning of the theme are all instructed to be played with the 5th finger, one of the techniques Kalkbrenner often supported to emphasize staccato. The middle section features several skillful modulations. It initially centers on C-sharp minor, then modulates to C-sharp minor and G-sharp minor, which is reinterpreted as A-flat minor, returning to the G-sharp minor theme. The recapitulation is also meticulously crafted, modulating to A-flat major, the enharmonic parallel key of the tonic, where both hands play arpeggios and repeated note figurations, and the piece concludes in this key.
• No. 23 E minor 3/4 Molto allegro
  Similar to No. 15, an etude focused on thirds. However, the character of the piece is entirely different. While No. 15 had a light character based on staccato, this piece primarily requires playing thirds and fourths legato. Staccato notes are occasionally inserted within the legato passages, also serving as practice for various articulations.
• No. 24 B-flat major 4/4 Vivo e agitato
  An etude for octave leaps. Characterized by a light, ballet-like style due to the leaping left-hand figuration. In the repeated middle section (mm. 9-12) and recapitulation, the former features octave leaps carried by the left hand. In the coda, the trill figuration from No. 20 briefly appears.
• No. 25 C minor—C major Toccata 4/4 Allegrissimo
  An etude for legato and agile hand movements. It also includes many technical challenges such as arpeggios, repeated notes, and octave leaps. Etudes titled "Toccata" can be found in Kalkbrenner's Method Op. 108 No. 10, and in the final piece, No. 24, of Zimmermann's 25 Etudes (1831), a colleague from the conservatory born in the same year. Toccata-etudes of this period do not show a consistent tendency in meter or key, but they share a perpetuum mobile-like movement. This No. 25 is the longest and most brilliantly written piece in the collection, likely intentionally crafted to conclude the collection.
  The entire piece consists of four sections separated by double bar lines (A-B-A'-C), taking on a rondo-like form. At the beginning, the rapid triplet-based rhythm and imitative opening strengthen the impression of a gigue. From this perspective, a similarity can be found with No. 6 of Method Op. 108. The opening feigns a fugue, but strict fugal writing is not applied thereafter. After A is repeated by a repeat sign and concludes in E-flat major, episode B in B minor begins. B, like A, begins with imitation, and the octave leaping figuration seen in Etude No. 1 is applied to both hands. It briefly modulates to C major but immediately resolves to the C minor tonic chord, introducing A'. The C major section can also be seen as an extended coda. Here, brilliant right-hand runs, accompanied by light left-hand accompaniment, as heard in piano concertos of the time, are developed, forming a spectacular climax towards the end of the piece.