Noctave
The piece
The six Moments musicaux, D. 780, came out together in 1828, but the third was already in circulation: the Viennese publisher Sauer & Leidesdorf had printed it in 1823 under the title Air russe. In F minor and two beats to the bar, it sounds like a folk dance, with a bouncing detached accompaniment under a short tune decorated with grace notes. Noctave's version follows the text of the first edition.
The left hand takes on the heavy physical work: a staccato bass then a chord, nonstop, adding up to 122 leaps of an octave or more in under half a second. Keep the arm loose and let the hand skim close to the keys between bass and chord rather than lifting it high. In the right hand, the 41 grace notes are played very fast, almost together with the main note, to add bite without breaking the pulse. The four-flat key signature also means watching for naturals, starting with E natural, the leading note of F minor. Keep the left-hand staccato light: this is a dance, not a military march.