L’Avalanche

Op. 45 No. 2 in A minor, the most famous of all Heller's studies and one of the most widely played piano pieces in 19th-century parlours and teaching studios. The piece depicts an avalanche through a relentless descending-scale figure in the right hand that builds from pianissimo to fortissimo before a thunderous climax and a sudden quiet close. It is a study in evenness of touch and gradation of tone through rapid scale passages, but also a genuinely dramatic character piece with a clear narrative arc. The simplicity of the technical demand — even right-hand scales — makes it accessible to intermediate students, while the musical and dynamic control required to bring it off convincingly remain challenging at any level. Published 1845; still in continuous use as teaching repertoire.

The long crescendo in L'Avalanche must be genuinely gradual — resist the temptation to rush it. The piece is marked Allegro, but at the fastest tempo the scales should still be even and the individual notes clearly articulated. The climax (bars 25-30 in most editions) should be genuinely loud and impactful: students often play it too timidly after the long build-up. The quiet ending is dramatic in its contrast and needs a real piano dynamic that differs clearly from the pianissimo beginning. Practise with hands separately to achieve evenness in the right-hand scales before playing at tempo.