Etude c sharp minor op. 42 no. 5
Étude Piano solo
In brief

This C-sharp minor étude has a nervous, incisive character, built from fast filigree lines and sharp accents that alternate with more veiled moments; it leans toward forward-driven drama rather than muted lyricism. Technically, the Trills (2.5/5) call for a relaxed, even alternation of fingers to preserve rhythmic tension without stiffening the hand, and the Half-pedal (2.5/5) requires very short, precise pedaling to maintain attack clarity while connecting the resonance. The piece belongs to Scriabin's set of piano études and sits stylistically among his characterful piano works, though its exact chronological place is not specified here. I do not propose a specific reference recording because I cannot confidently identify a single widely recognized interpretation for this étude.

MusicCoach difficulty
75/100
Advanced
Likely range : 69–80/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 8

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
7
74/100 normalised · 2 obs.
Relative difficulty
78%
Among Alexander Scriabin
91%
Era
60%
Genre
Estimated skills
Pedaling
Half-pedalling
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Technique
Trills
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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