Etude # 7: "I flew as in a dream..." by Scott Pender

This beautiful etude--the final of Scott Pender's collection--is a lush, sweeping, utterly romantic and soaring piece.  It's also technically challenging, which is why I worked harder on this one than any of Scott's other Etudes.  It's difficult, but it needs to sound as effortless as breathing.

In his performance notes, Scott writes that the title is a line from Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. "I feel it captures the spirit of this etude," Scott writes, "perhaps my favorite of the set. The romantic middle section elaborates on the lyrical theme first heard in the fourth Etude. I feel strong echoes of Chopin and Rachmaninov in this concluding piece."

As one raised on Romantic piano music and Victorian novels, this Etude has become one of my favorites as well.

To order the music: Scott Pender