Chopin, Etude in C-sharp minor, Op. 25, No. 7

Étude Op. 25, No. 7 in C-sharp minor is a solo piano technical study composed by Frédéric Chopin in 1834. Markedly different from Chopin's overall scheme of technical virtuosity, this étude focuses instead on perfect sound and phrasing, particularly for the left hand. It is essentially a nocturne, played lento, in an absorption that baulks any eruption of emotion. It is a dramatic scene, one of the most beautiful works in the whole piano literature, a song of happiness irredeemably lost. Chopin’s contemporaries listened in wonder to the new poetic utterance of this meditation, these sombre, mysterious dreams. The Etude is alternatively known as the "Cello".