Twelve Studies, Op. 25 played by France Ellegaard (piano)
Chopin was nineteen when he wrote the first of his piano Studies in 1829; the first set, Op. 10, was completed by 1831. The second set, Op. 25, was composed during the years 1832-6, soon after he had settled in Paris. This set of twelve Studies begins with the one in A flat (which Schumann said was ' rather a poem than a study '), and includes the Studies in F minor, G sharp minor (in thirds), D flat (in sixths), G flat (' Butterfly's Wings '), B minor (in octaves), A minor (' Winter Wind '), and the great final Study in C minor. H.R.