étude
noun
\ ˈā-ˌtüd
, -ˌtyüd\
, -ˌtyüd\
Definition of étude
1
: a piece of music for the practice of a point of technique
2
: a composition built on a technical motive but played for its artistic value
Examples of étude in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Within minutes, Michael Smith of San Francisco took a seat at the piano in the Garden of Fragrance and began pounding out an etude by Philip Glass. — Steve Rubenstein, SFChronicle.com, "Friday morning in San Francisco and the sound of pianos blossom," 12 July 2019 Unfortunately, many of the pieces lack the crisp bite of the etudes. — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, "Music / Post No Bills Lavinia Meijer rethinks the typically ornate sound of the harp for a minimalist repertoire," 5 June 2018 Rather like the Ligeti etudes, Beethoven’s towering Sonata No. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Pianist Aimard illuminates works of genius from different musical eras," 7 Mar. 2018 Ligeti wrote three final etudes by 2001, but even without them Aimard’s third collection stands as one of the most authoritative, bracing documents of the works today. — Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader, "Celebrated Ligeti interpreter Pierre-Laurent Aimard concludes the University of Chicago’s season-long celebration of the 20th-century composer," 23 Feb. 2018 The vast estuaries where abstraction and representation blend, where art-star status and starving-artist street cred commingle, meld and cohere in the show's etudes on charcoal hues, obsidian, tar, gunmetal, fog and silver. — Special To The Oregonian, OregonLive.com, "Many shades of gray define new exhibit at Elizabeth Leach Gallery," 7 Jan. 2018 Instead of a sensual explosion, the object of Florent Schmitt's symphonic etude was to conjure the ghostly fear that infuses an eponymous poem by Edgar Allen Poe. — Zachary Lewis, cleveland.com, "Cleveland Orchestra, guests offer noteworthy Ravel, Prokofiev on late-summer Blossom night (review)," 21 Aug. 2017 Leleux’s additional offering was a twittering solo encore, the third of six Etudes for Oboe by Gilles Silvestrini, which sought to evoke Claude Monet’s painting of the bustling Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. — Alan G. Artner, chicagotribune.com, "Grant Park Orchestra moves indoors, to success," 5 Aug. 2017 Begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday, with pianist Asiya Korepanova presenting Franz Liszt’s 24 etudes for piano. — Chris Kaltenbach, baltimoresun.com, "The best Baltimore-area events this week: Baltimore Pride, Journey and 'All Eyez On Me'," 11 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'étude.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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