Étude Op. 10, No. 12 in C minor known as The Revolutionary Étude, is a solo piano work by Frédéric Chopin written circa 1831. It is the 12th of his first set of etudes - "Douze Grandes Etudes" dedicated to "son ami Franz Liszt" (his friend Franz Liszt). The two sets of Études, Opus 10 and 25, are known collectively as the Chopin Études, although Chopin also contributed three other lesser known études.
The étude appeared around the same time as the November Uprising in 1831. Chopin was unable to have a strong participating role because of his poor health, and allegedly he poured his emotions on the matter into many pieces that he composed at that time - the Revolutionary Étude standing out as the most famous example. Upon conclusion of Poland's failed revolution against Russia, he cried "All this has caused me much pain. Who could have foreseen it!"[1]
Unlike études of prior periods (works designed to emphasize and develop particular aspects of musical technique, cf the much feared but essential School of Velocity, or the Five Finger Exercises by Hanon) the romantic études of composers such as Chopin and Liszt are fully developed musical concert pieces, but still continue to represent a goal of developing stronger techniques.
