Today another Etude. This is a teeny weeny Etude - less than two minutes long, never rising much above a pianissimo. But ALL the etudes are important. And that goes for almost all of Chopin's works. The vast majority of them are under five minutes in length - like a song - but almost every single note is a jewel. "There is more music in a single prelude by Chopin (average length one-and-a-half minutes) than in an entire opera by Meyerbeer" (average length four hours, similar to Wagner), said George Sand. Strange name for a woman, but it worked mightily for her: she probably would never have become so famous, if at all, as 'Aurore Dupin' - her real name - or even attracted Chopin in the same way that she did - and this is far and away that for which she is most remembered since her time, despite her great fame as a novelist in the 19th century. The men's outfits - with top hat at a jaunty angle - no doubt helped as well. Poor thing - she so much wanted to be famous for her writing. But maybe she just wanted to be famous for being famous, the way they do today. Very modern. Listen carefully to every note in this dreamy piece of music, and tell all your Facebook friends about it. It's Important!
