Burgmüller: 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100
25 studies, free to read, hear and print, in the composer's own order.
Open the sheet music libraryFriedrich Burgmüller published these twenty-five studies in Paris around 1851, and they have been in piano teachers' bags ever since. Each one practises a single thing, a scale passage, broken chords, a singing melody over repeated notes, but each is also a real character piece with a name: Arabesque, The Hunt, The Wagtail, Ballade, The Swallow.
They are in Burgmüller's order, which was meant to be learned from the top: the first are for a second or third year of lessons, the last few ask for real fluency. Every one is short, and every one plays back, so you can hear what it is meant to sound like before the fingers get there.
About the pieces
Burgmueller 25 leichte Etuden Op. 100-01
The 25 Easy Studies, Op. 100, in which each piece solves one technical problem and is also a small piece worth playing.
Arabesque - Op. 100 No. 2
From the 25 Easy Studies, the collection that has introduced more students to the idea that a study can also be a piece than any other book of its kind.
La Pastorale
A pastorale is a country piece, usually in swaying compound time over a held bass, meant to suggest shepherds and open air. Burgmuller wrote his 25 Easy Studies so that each one solves a technical problem while still being a small piece worth playing.
La Petite Réunion
The Little Gathering, from the 25 Easy Studies, a set that has introduced more students to the idea that a study can also be a piece than any other book of its kind.
Innocence, Op. 100 No. 5
The fifth of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, a gentle waltz-like piece in 3/4.
Le courant limpide (the crystal clear stream)
The Limpid Stream, from the 25 Easy Studies, and the one that teaches an unbroken running accompaniment under a melody.
La Gracieuse, Op. 100 No. 8
The eighth piece in Burgmüller's 25 Easy Studies, Op. 100, built on a graceful little turn in the right hand.
La Chasse, Op. 100 No. 9
Number 9 of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, is a hunting scene.
Tendre fleur, Op. 100 No. 10
Number ten of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, the tender flower.
La Bergeronnette, Op. 100 No. 11
Number eleven of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100.
L'Adieu, Op. 100 No. 12
Number twelve of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, the farewell.
Consolation, Op. 100 No. 13
Number 13 of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, is a quiet piece of comfort in C major.
La Styrienne, Op. 100 No. 14
One of Burgmüller's 25 Easy Studies, Op. 100, a book still used by young pianists.
Ballade - Op. 100 No. 15
The most dramatic of Burgmuller's 25 Easy Studies, and the one students most often ask to play next.
25 Easy Studies, Op. 100 No. 16: Douce plainte
Number 16 of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, a set written to give young pianists real music to play.
La Babillarde, Op. 100 No. 17
Number 17 of Burgmüller's 25 Easy Studies, Op. 100, whose title means the chatterbox.
Inquiétude
An etude is a study: one technical problem, worked at for the length of a piece, and in the best of them the problem becomes the music. Burgmuller wrote his 25 Easy Studies so that each one solves a technical problem while still being a small piece worth playing.
Ave Maria, Op. 100 No. 19
Number 19 of Burgmüller's 25 Easy and Progressive Studies, Op. 100, is a quiet hymn: a prayer sung in full chords, three to a bar, marked religioso.
La Tarentelle, Op. 100 No. 20
Number 20 of Op. 100 is a tarantella, the whirling Italian dance in 6/8 once said to cure a spider's bite.
L'Harmonie des anges, Op. 100 No. 21
Number 21 of Op. 100, The Harmony of the Angels, is written in triplets from the first bar to the last: broken G major chords that ripple up and down like harp strings, marked armonioso.
Barcarolle, Op. 100 No. 22
Number 22 of Op. 100 is a barcarolle, a Venetian boat song swaying in a gentle 6/8 in A flat major.
Le Retour, Op. 100 No. 23
Number 23 of Op. 100, The Return, is a rush of excitement, marked molto agitato quasi presto: a homecoming in E flat major.
L'Hirondelle, Op. 100 No. 24
Number 24 of Op. 100, The Swallow, is a study in crossing hands: the right hand keeps up a steady flutter of sixteenth notes while the left hand swoops over it to pick out the melody high above, marked m.
La Chevaleresque, Op. 100 No. 25
Number 25, the last of Op. 100, is The Chivalrous One, marked allegro marziale: a proud little march in C major with dotted rhythms, crisp staccato chords and grace notes like a flourish of trumpets.