Debussy: Étude No. 6 'Pour les huit doigts', L. 136 [Horowitz 1948]

April 2, 1948: Carnegie Hall, New York City, New York (Live) Debussy wrote 12 études and they are devided into two books, each different in conception. Book I is devoted to exploring the technical problems and musical possibilities iherent in different intervals (thirds, sixths, etc.) No. 6 in G-flat major, "Pour les huit doigts" (For eight fingers) is meant to be performed (the composer's suggestion) without the use of the thumbs, due to the division of the figuration into four-note scale patterns. It finds humor in its rigid insistence on four-note groupings and sudden ending. [Rovi Staff]