The 42 études ou caprices ("42 étude

Étude

An étude , is an instrumental musical composition, most commonly of considerable difficulty, usually designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular technical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popularity of the piano...

s or capriccios

Capriccio (music)

A capriccio or caprice , is a piece of music, usually fairly free in form and of a lively character...

") for solo violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 were composed by Rodolphe Kreutzer

Rodolphe Kreutzer

Rodolphe Kreutzer was a German violinist, teacher, conductor, and composer of forty French operas.-Biography:...

around 1796. Although Kreutzer was a prolific composer with some 50 stage works and dozens of other pieces to his credit, the 42 études remain his best known work and today are part of standard teaching repertoire.

The earliest extant edition of the collection, from 1807, comprises 40 pieces. Kreutzer's authorship is broadly accepted for two other études, nos. 13 and 25, that were included in some early editions. One of Kreutzer's most important didactic goals was developing fluency in contraction and extension of the left hand; thus his pieces anticipate the challenges of the modern violin.

The collection's contents is as follows:

• No. 1 in A minor, Adagio sostenuto
• No. 2 in C major, Allegro moderato
• No. 3 in C major, Allegro moderato
• No. 4 in C major, [Allegro]
• No. 5 in E-flat major, Allegro moderato
• No. 6 in C major, Moderato e sempre martellato
• No. 7 in D major, Allegro assai
• No. 8 in E major, Allegro non troppo
• No. 9 in F major, Allegro moderato
• No. 10 in G major, Allegro
• No. 11 in E major, Andante
• No. 12 in A minor, Allegro moderato
• No. 13 in A major, Moderato
• No. 14 in A major, Moderato

• No. 15 in B-flat major, Allegro non troppo
• No. 16 in D major, Moderato
• No. 17 in B-flat major, Maestoso (Moderato)
• No. 18 in G major, Moderato
• No. 19 in D major, Moderato
• No. 20 in A major, Allegro
• No. 21 in D major, Moderato e sempre marcato
• No. 22 in A-flat major, Moderato
• No. 23 in B-flat major, Adagio (quasi Cadenza)
• No. 24 in G minor, Allegro
• No. 25 in G major, [Allegro moderato]
• No. 26 in E-flat major, Moderato
• No. 27 in D minor, Moderato
• No. 28 in E minor, Grave

• No. 29 in D major, Moderato
• No. 30 in B-flat major, Moderato
• No. 31 in C minor, Vivace
• No. 32 in F major, Andante
• No. 33 in F major, Andante
• No. 34 in D major, Moderato
• No. 35 in E-flat major, Marcia (Moderato)
• No. 36 in E minor, Allegretto
• No. 37 in F minor, Allegro vivace
• No. 38 in D major, Moderato
• No. 39 in A major, Allegretto
• No. 40 in B-flat major, Allegro
• No. 41 in F major, Adagio
• No. 42 in D minor, Allegro (Fuga)

External links

• 42 études at Sheila's Corner: performance recommendations for each étude