The second Etude, an allegro in A minor, was composed and notated together with the first. They form a couple, linked by key relationship and contrasting character. If the first might evoke the element of the sea, then this one seems to summon some ethereal wind. In fact, it brings the billowing of pure airiness, devoid of acoustic material. Chopin based its design on the structure of a chromatic scale. The A minor Etude is intended to give practice in the crossing of fingers and the full use of the fourth and fifth fingers, just as the task of its predecessor (the C major) is to practice the extension of the right hand.It has a startling conclusion, known as the Picardy effect. The change of mode from minor to major occurs parallel to the introduction of light into the half-light, a smile onto a face immersed in thought.Author: Mieczysław TomaszewskiA series of programmes entitled ‘Fryderyk Chopin's Complete Works’Polish Radio 2