24 Études, Op. 70

Moscheles's most important and most influential work: twenty-four études for piano, published 1826. They were the dominant teaching and concert study collection of the 1820s and 1830s, filling the role for a generation of pianists that Clementi's Gradus ad Parnassum had filled for the previous generation. Each of the twenty-four studies addresses a specific technical challenge while maintaining a sustained musical character throughout — Moscheles's version of the principle Czerny had stated less convincingly and that Chopin would take infinitely further. The subjects include: octave playing, thirds and sixths, trills, cantabile voicing over rapid accompaniment, rhythmic independence, and the various forms of passage-work. Chopin studied them carefully, acknowledged them as a model for his own Op. 10, and dedicated his Op. 10 set to Liszt while Op. 25 was inspired in part by Moscheles's example.

Each étude in Op. 70 has a clear technical focus — identify it before you begin, and practise specifically for that quality. But never neglect the musical character: Moscheles was explicit that the studies should be played as music, not as exercises. The cantabile studies require a singing, sustained tone even in the left hand; the octave studies need arm weight transferred cleanly from note to note; the passage-work studies need an even, flowing quality that never sounds mechanical. Practise slowly until the musical character is clear before building up to tempo.