Transcendental Études S. 139 (1826, rev 1837, rev 1852)
Etudes were originally studies for increasing technical efficiency on the piano. Starting in the early Romantic era, composers like Chopin and Liszt wrote a series of etudes to be played in concert. Transcendental Études is Liszt's set of 12 etudes. ("Transcendental" had a special meaning to romantics (e.g. the New England transendentalists Ralph Wado Emerson and Henry David Thoreau.)
Claude Debussy's Études for piano (1915) conform to the "one facet of technique per piece" rule, but exhibit unorthodox structures with many sharp contrasts, and many concentrate on sonorities and timbres peculiar to the piano, rather than technical points.
Etude Description (by a Wall Street Journal critic):
No. 1, Preludio, is a mere 40 bars, a flash of lightning that dares the player to begin the 75-minute
journey.
No. 2 is without title, a whirlwind seemingly inspired by the infernal violinist Niccolò Paganini.
No. 2 is without title, a whirlwind seemingly inspired by the infernal violinist Niccolò Paganini.
No. 3, Paysage (Landscape), is a lovely pastoral, a study in legato and various textures; later,
human passion breaks through the bucolic atmosphere.
No. 4, Mazeppa, is a startlingly graphic six minutes, inspired by Victor Hugo’s poem of the
same name. This maelstrom is an exhausting workout for wrist and arms.
No. 5, Feux Follets (Will-o’-the-wisp), is one of the finest double-note études in the piano
No. 5, Feux Follets (Will-o’-the-wisp), is one of the finest double-note études in the piano
literature, shimmering with colored broken glass splintering in thin air. Its difficulties
are heartbreaking.
No. 6, Vision, a work of impressive pomp, is a powerful chordal study within sweeping
No. 6, Vision, a work of impressive pomp, is a powerful chordal study within sweeping
arpeggiations.
No. 7, Eroica, is my least favorite musically, less heroic than grandiose.
No. 8, Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt), is a colossal explosion, painting the proverbial German
nocturnal hunt. Hearing it, I think of Lao Tzu’s words, “riding and hunting makes
my mind go wild with excitement.”
No. 9, Ricordanza (Remembrance), is an almost excruciating piece of nostalgia, with richly
ardent ornamentation. The composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni likened it to a
packet of yellowed love letters.
No. 10 is without title. The tempo marking is allegro agitato molto, feverishly breathless;
at one moment, Liszt writes in the score “disperato.” The left hand must overcome
treacherous pitfalls.
No. 11, Harmonies du Soir (Evening Harmonies), is nearly 10 minutes of ecstatic, luxuriant
lyricism, perfumes of a summer evening, from evanescent impressionist textures
to massive chords.
No. 12, Chasse-Neige (Snowscape), a sobbing melody with tremolando accompaniments in the
right hand, is a fatal picture of Romantic desolation as snow envelops the earth,
the wind moaning in tragic chromatic scales.
No. 7, Eroica, is my least favorite musically, less heroic than grandiose.
No. 8, Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt), is a colossal explosion, painting the proverbial German
nocturnal hunt. Hearing it, I think of Lao Tzu’s words, “riding and hunting makes
my mind go wild with excitement.”
No. 9, Ricordanza (Remembrance), is an almost excruciating piece of nostalgia, with richly
ardent ornamentation. The composer and pianist Ferruccio Busoni likened it to a
packet of yellowed love letters.
No. 10 is without title. The tempo marking is allegro agitato molto, feverishly breathless;
at one moment, Liszt writes in the score “disperato.” The left hand must overcome
treacherous pitfalls.
No. 11, Harmonies du Soir (Evening Harmonies), is nearly 10 minutes of ecstatic, luxuriant
lyricism, perfumes of a summer evening, from evanescent impressionist textures
to massive chords.
No. 12, Chasse-Neige (Snowscape), a sobbing melody with tremolando accompaniments in the
right hand, is a fatal picture of Romantic desolation as snow envelops the earth,
the wind moaning in tragic chromatic scales.
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