s its character is concerned, reminds one of Etude, op.
25, No. 3.

The secondary part, in major, begins. Its kernel is formed of
a beautiful broad melody, which, if soulfully conceived and
delivered, will sing its way deep into the heart of the
listener. For the accompaniment in the right hand we find
chord arpeggiations in triplets, afterward in sixteenths,
calmly ascending and descending, and surrounding the melody as
with a veil. They are to be played almost without
accentuation.

It was Louis Ehlert who wrote of the celebrated study in G sharp minor
op. 25, No. 6: "Chopin not only versifies an exercise in thirds; he
transforms it into such a work of art that in studying it one could
sooner fancy himself on Parnassus than at a lesson. He deprives every
passage of all mechanical appearance by promoting it to become the
embodiment of a beautiful thought, which in turn finds graceful
expression in its motion."

And indeed in the piano literature no more remarkable merging of matter
and manner exists. The means justifies the end, and the means employed
by the composer are beautiful, there is no other word to describe the
style and architectonics of this noble study. It is seldom played in
public because of its difficulty. With the Schumann Toccata, the G
sharp minor study stands at the portals of the delectable land of
Double Notes. Both compositions have a common ancestry in the Czerny
Toccata, and both are the parents of such a sensational offspring as
Balakirew's "Islamey." In reading through the double note studies for
the instrument it is in the nature of a miracle to come upon Chopin's
transfiguration of such a barren subject. This study is first music,
then a technical problem. Where two or three pianists are gathered
together in the name of Chopin, the conversation is bound to formulate
itself thus: "How do you finger the double chromatic thirds in the G
sharp minor study?" That question answered, your digital politics are
known. You are classified, ranged. If you are heterodox you are eagerly
questioned; if you follow Von Bulow and stand by the Czerny fingering,
you are regarded as a curiosity. As the interpretation of the study is
not taxing, let us examine the various fingerings. First, a fingering
given by Leopold Godowsky. It is for double chromatic thirds:

[Musical score excerpt]

You will now be presented with a battalion of authorities, so that you
may see at a glance the variou