Víkingur Ólafsson

An étude is a short solo instrumental piece, most commonly for piano, designed to develop a specific technical skill while also standing as a musically satisfying work. Emerging in the early 19th century from pedagogical "studies," the concert étude transformed drill-like patterns (arpeggios, octaves, double notes, leaps, rapid scales, polyrhythms) into expressive miniatures suitable for the stage. Typical études are through-composed or ternary in shape, last a few minutes, and center on a single technical focus that is woven into the musical fabric. Although most associated with the piano, the étude tradition extends to violin, winds, brass, and other instruments, where sets of studies target instrument-specific techniques. Over time the genre has ranged from classical tonality (Czerny, Chopin) to late-Romantic and modern harmonic languages (Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Debussy) and into avant-garde textures and extended techniques (Ligeti).

Classical piano is the tradition of composing and performing music for the acoustic piano within the Western classical lineage. It emphasizes formal clarity, tonal harmony, contrapuntal writing, and expressive nuance across the full compass of the instrument. Its core repertoire ranges from Classical-era sonatas and variations to Romantic character pieces, études, dances, and 20th-century impressionistic and modernist works. Pianists exploit dynamics, articulation, pedaling, and touch to shape phrases, imitate orchestral textures, and project both intimate lyricism and large-scale drama.

Baroque is a period and style of Western art music spanning roughly 1600–1750. It is characterized by the birth of functional tonality, the widespread use of basso continuo (figured bass), and a love of contrast—between soloist and ensemble, loud and soft, and different timbres. Hallmark genres and forms of the era include opera, cantata, oratorio, concerto (especially the concerto grosso), dance suite, sonata, and fugue. Textures range from expressive monody to intricate counterpoint, and melodies are richly ornamented with trills, mordents, and appoggiaturas. Baroque music flourished in churches, courts, and theaters across Europe, with regional styles (Italian, French, German, English) shaping distinctive approaches to rhythm, dance, harmony, and ornamentation.

Classical music is the notated art-music tradition of Europe and its global descendants, characterized by durable forms, carefully codified harmony and counterpoint, and a literate score-based practice. The term “classical” can refer broadly to the entire Western art-music lineage from the Medieval era to today, not just the Classical period (c. 1750s–1820s). It privileges long-form structures (such as symphonies, sonatas, concertos, masses, and operas), functional or modal harmony, thematic development, and timbral nuance across ensembles ranging from solo instruments to full orchestras and choirs. Across centuries, the style evolved from chant and modal polyphony to tonal harmony, and later to post-tonal idioms, while maintaining a shared emphasis on written notation, performance practice, and craft.