Compare performersFrédéric Chopin
Chopin, Étude Op. 25 No. 9, in three recordings
Étude in G♭ major, Op. 25 No. 9
D’Albert, Cortot and Neeman play the étude’s four-note figure as it moves through new keys and registers.
Recordings in
this comparison
Choose a recording and press Play. Selecting another card continues playback from the matching point in that recording.
Eugen d’Albert
D’Albert was Liszt’s pupil and the composer of Tiefland, an opera first staged in Prague in 1903.
Alfred Cortot
Cortot studied with Émile Decombes, who had received advice from Chopin; he later made teaching editions of Chopin’s piano music.
Edward Neeman
Neeman accompanied American Ballet Theatre on its 2014 Japanese tour; he also makes duet arrangements for himself and his wife, Stephanie.
Loading the player…
Each strip shows changes in volume within one recording.
The Butterfly Étude is built on a four-note figure, with detached octaves in the right hand over a leaping left hand. Chopin carries the same figure through new keys and into different registers of the keyboard. Eugen d’Albert, a pupil of Liszt, is heard here alongside Alfred Cortot and Edward Neeman.
Tempo map
Time taken compared with Edward Neeman, c. 2014: above 1×, the performer takes longer over the same music; below it, less time.
- Eugen d’Albert, 1912–13
- Alfred Cortot, 1920
- Edward Neeman, c. 2014 · reference
Passages compared
Each version plays in card order, for up to 12 seconds of reference music or until the next marked passage, whichever comes first.
- 01
Opening four-note figure
0:03 in the referenceThe right hand mixes connected notes with clipped octaves, while the left hand jumps between bass notes and chords.
- 02
Harmonic movement
0:12 in the referenceThe harmony begins to move, though the right hand keeps the four-note rhythm of the opening.
- 03
D♭ pedal in the bass
0:22 in the referenceD♭ repeats in the bass while the right hand moves through new harmonies above it.
- 04
Return of the opening, octave bass
0:32 in the referenceThe opening figure returns with a fuller bass, the left hand now playing octaves before its chords.
- 05
Coda over a G♭ bass
0:48 in the referenceAfter the loud rising passage, the bass holds G♭ and the right hand resumes its short, detached figure.
Length of each recording
- Eugen d’Albert, 1912–131:41
- Alfred Cortot, 19202:43
- Edward Neeman, c. 20141:09
These times include the lead-in and final fade. Cuts, repeats and disc-side breaks also affect a recording’s length.
Recording notes
Eugen d’Albert, 1912–13
D’Albert was Liszt’s pupil and the composer of Tiefland, an opera first staged in Prague in 1903.
Eugen d’Albert, piano
1912–13
Alfred Cortot, 1920
Cortot studied with Émile Decombes, who had received advice from Chopin; he later made teaching editions of Chopin’s piano music.
Alfred Cortot
22 April 1920, Camden
Edward Neeman, c. 2014
Neeman accompanied American Ballet Theatre on its 2014 Japanese tour; he also makes duet arrangements for himself and his wife, Stephanie.
Edward Neeman, piano
c. 2014
Further reading
- Internet Archive — recording item
- Symposium 1146 — printed original-carrier discography
- Wikimedia Commons — recording file
- Cortot’s complete original side — dossier
- Mieczysław Tomaszewski, Chopin Institute — the recurring figure and changing keys of Op. 25 No. 9
- Chopin Institute digital score — Breitkopf & Härtel first edition; articulation, repeated bass notes and return at bar 25
- Museum of Music History — d’Albert’s studies with Liszt and the première of Tiefland
- Larousse — Cortot’s teachers and teaching editions
- Australian National University — Neeman’s 2014 ballet tour and duet arrangements
How the recordings are matched
The matching follows sequences of pitches, using a method called dynamic time warping. Every recording is mapped to the reference, so switching between two versions goes through that shared clock. Where several reference times match one point, the middle time is used.
- Eugen d’Albert, 1912–13: match score 0.920. Matched passages available.
- Alfred Cortot, 1920: match score 0.871. Matched passages available.
Switching stays within the matched span, and trimmed recordings keep their original clock times. Match scores describe similarity in the sound.