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I would appreciate any help in locating a source of recommended fingering for the left hand of this piece.

I have a copy of the Henle Urtext edition but this has nothing for the LH.

Thankyou.

Hi Roger,

None of the editions that I have (or have seen) of this etude offers more than sparse fingering for the left hand. I think it's taken for granted that one will use 5 for the lowest note and the thumb for the highest note of each figure, and the choice for the inner notes (generally between 4 and 2, or 3 and 2) will be obvious.

Where it's not clear-cut, the decision between 4 or 3 generally depends on the distance of the reach to or from the bass note; occasionally 542123 or 532124 may be warranted. Much depends on individual preference and the conformation of one's hand.

I wouldn't normally recommend a Klindworth edition of Chopin, but this one of 25/1 from IMSLP is probably as generously fingered (and, unfortunately, the engraving as cramped!) as any:

http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/6/69/IMSLP00317-Chopin_-_OP25_1.PDF

Steven

The Cortot (Salabert) edition of the Etudes, Op. 25 does include some fingering for the left hand, and it coincides with what Steven has suggested above. It's a little more generous in fingering than the Klindworth on IMSLP.

Regards,

Steven and Bruce,

Steven,

I shall seek out that edition. Thank you.


BruceD,

Thank you for the link. I think the bit that I really wanted to know - not tried it yet - was 542123 and 532124.

I had started learning this piece using my full LH span but after seeing the video clip of Son yeol-eum playing with fingers passing over her thumb, thought this might be the correct way.


Regards,

Roger.

I just played through the Etude and I don't find any measure where passing fingers over the thumb would be an advantage for me. While some of the stretches are indeed big stretches, there is something to be said for maintaining a consistent fingering pattern and a consistent hand position throughout rather than changing the pattern - unless hand size absolutely dictates it. There are a couple of measures where, trying fingers over thumb seems to work, but then getting back to the original pattern in short order causes problems in continuity and fluidity of sound for me.

Regards,