One questionwhy do you keep featuring Lang Lang? New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, Press J to jump to the feed. The majority of these pieces are from his Transcendental Etudes. Avoid these until youre well into the advanced levels. But I think its unfair to write her entire discography off. To the above, that's not true. Most of the easiest pieces start at a late intermediate level, so Id say youd want to be at least a Grade 6 level before attempting any of these. 11; Evening Harmonies)bear titles that hint at Liszts intentions. There is simply too much Liszt to break him down in an easy to understand way. Being averse to any tampering with the text of any master work when played in the original form, I would condemn any artist for taking liberties with the works of Chopin or any other great composer. And thats what todays video is all about! Where I disagree with her interpretations the most is exactly what you point to: a tendency to slow down of the tempo that can be extremely frustrating and which to my mind does not reveal nuances of importance. He would write a pretty theme and then transform it several times, first having it played fast, then perhaps slower, and finally as a climaxwith a new technique thrown in every time. Submitted by: License: Public Domain. Paganini was capable of such virtuosity that otherworldly powers were ascribed to him. This is very cool! ), but never had the opportunity to learn it. 3. Copyright 20162023 www.pianolibrary.org, Allegro maestoso in F-sharp major, S. 692c, Variation ber einen Walzer von Diabelli, S. 147, Douze tudes dexcution transcendante, S. 139, Sept Variations brillantes sur un thme de Rossini, S. 149, Impromptu brillant sur des thmes de Rossini et Spontini, S. 150, Six tudes dexcution transcendante daprs Paganini, S. 140, Morceau de salon (tude de perfectionnement), S. 142, Ab Irato (tude de perfectionnement), S. 143, Grande Fantaisie sur des thmes de Paganini, S. 700a/i, Grande Fantaisie sur des thmes de Paganini, S. 700a/ii. He draws from the piano tones that are purer, mellower and stronger than anyone has been able to do; his touch has an indescribable charm. The reviewer doesnt actually focus on pianistic pyrotechnics, but on his delicate touch and charm, and even his handsome profile. Apparently, Liszts performances induced fainting spells among female listeners, which were subsequently dubbed Liztomania by Heinrich Heine. Theres the Chopin Etudes- you only mentioned one, whilst there are tons of other Chopin etudes of great difficulty- Winter Wind, Torrent, Waterfall, Ocean, etc. The lowest Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Videos. Both cycles can be performed together, I believe, though it takes 130 minutes, which is quite a strenuous time for the pianist as well as for the audience. When Franz Liszt heard him in performance, he decided to equal Paganinis skill on the piano. The Transcendental Etudes are a must, of course, along with the B-Minor Sonata. The truth is, behind all of the sparkling fingerwork, large jumps, and flying octaves lies a very smooth and sophisticated pianism that Liszt carefully worked out to facilitate his own playing while simultaneously scaring others off. Ranking of the Transcendental Etudes (1851) - Liszt. And speaking of show off pieces, you forgot Hungarian Rhapsody no. 'Transcendental: Daniil Trifonov plays Franz Liszt' Daniil Trifonov pf (DG) 'Trifonovs is the best kind of virtuoso playing, where one is hardly aware of the notes being played, allowing one to simply bask in the genius of Liszts musical narrative and the transcendant execution of an awesomely gifted pianist.' The remainder of his Hungarian tunes are the various Hungarian Rhapsodies, which are some of the highest level pieces out there. WebDifficulty Level eta I disagree Advanced We rate difficulty level of this score as a Advanced one. These exercises were written by Liszt nearly 30 years before he published the transcendental etudes. Today I will rank the 12 Pater noster (Henle level 4) harmonies poetiques et religieuses 5 (Feux Follets), composed by Liszt for piano. Thanks for your reference. However, he also calls them unmusical. 1 Preludio (Andante) by Liszt. F major. His music is known for the advance technique that is required to perform successfully. WebLiszt Transcendental tudes Ranked by Difficulty 38,542 views Premiered Feb 10, 2022 1.2K Dislike Share Save Boshy 666 333 subscribers *DISCLAIMER* Rankings like this So, determined to prove that it's impossible to play, I got the score and started reading it. I hope you enjoyed this tour through the hardest piano music ever: Liszt edition! Here is a selection of further pieces to explore. This etude is all about creating a passionate and dramatic melodic line, often with octaves. The original Chopin Studies remain as intact as they were before any arrangements of them were published; in fact, numerous artists claim that after assiduously studying my versions, many hidden beauties in the original Studies will reveal themselves to the observant student., Ligeti: Etude No.13 The Devils Staircase. But why arent any pieces by Beethoven on here? I played no. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EIE78D0m1g&list=RD1EIE78D0m1g&start_radio=1. WebPiano sheet music for S.139 Etude No. Could you explain how the Henle rating works please? It seems to me at times that all this sorcery may be explained by the fact that no one on earth knows so well how to organize his successes, or rather their Mise-en-scne, as our Franz Liszt. Seemingly, Liszt already understood that presentation was everything. This is a gorgeous piece that I find really shimmers. Worth noting that Liszt actually wrote three versions of each of those tudes: the tudes en douze exercises first, which are not easy (some of them feel more Beethovenish than Lisztish; he was pretty young) but far easier than their transcendental counterparts, then douze grandes tudes which in most (but not all) cases are actually considered harder than the transcendental ones (and are barely ever played because I dont think its humanly possible to play them all at full speed), and then finally the famous set. His works are very much in tune with Liszts writing. Always wanted to learn some of his pieces but don't know where to start. I organized it into a table so anyone could Ctrl+F for a specific piece. I probably could have spent that 100 hours more productively, but it's something I wanted to do. Submitted by: License: Public Domain. They were published in 1852 (but were originally written in 1826), and dedicated This is unfairly deserved, for Liszt not only is one of the most pianistic composers but also quite a lyrical oneas long as you know where to look. In 1838 Liszt reworked the music, this time using the theme from the Rondo of Paganinis 2nd Violin Concerto. These are fantastic exercises that push piano technique to heights undreamed of even by Liszt., Chopin-Godowsky: Etude No. 1 no. Priere aux anges gardiens (Henle 4) This is inconsistent and makes comparing much harder. ), and much more: I ended up only sightreading through what I thought people might actually bother to playwhich meant potentially leaving out hundreds of worksand even that took me about a month. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. I would never dare to criticize any of the famous players, not while Im sitting here struggling through Henle level 5/6 pieces. But once the technique is achieved for a certain piece then the piece itself should come rather willingly. Through that I learned a lot of things about his music that dont think people were aware of: Liszt has always had a reputation for being monstrous to play, and perhaps for some, monstrous to listen to. Re: Difficulty ranking of the Hungarian Legal Information; Terms and conditions; Privacy; Henle newsletter. Listening to Bruce Liu is like riding on a rollercoaster", Discover Battles favourite operatic roles and her non-classical music collaborations, When Being a Principal Player is Nerve Wracking, Learn how to combat the negative chatterbox in our heads, Musicians and Artists: Liszt, Raphael, and Michelangelo, Haydn certainly knew how to make a grand entrance. have their own moments of tremendous beauty. There are certain pieces which represent the high Himalayan peaks of the piano repertoire: the Rach 3, Liszts Transcendental Etudes, Ravels Gaspard de la Paul de Schlozer: Etude in Ab; Op.1, No.2 this work is surrounded by controversy and in fact may be the work of For the five not named tudes, which one is easier is mostly subjective. Really the only etude thats approachable to the late intermediate/early advanced student is his op. Welcome to the Piano World Piano ForumsOver 3 million posts about pianos, digital pianos, and all types of keyboard instruments. Would you prefer to visit our British site at steinway.co.uk? Liszts collection of short pieces, his Religious and Poetic Harmonies, is one of the only approachable collections for late intermediate-early advanced students, and has some of his simplest pieces. Grande Etude dexecition transcendante dapres le Caprice de Paganini, was no less modest a title but did result in a more charming and approachable piece of concert music. Its written in sonata form, and a revised 1838 version of the coda resembles Beethovens Appassionata Sonata coda hence the nickname. Lets take a look at the five pieces from this set that are the most difficult, and listen to a couple audio examples as well. 18). Rate It was the violinist Niccol Paganini who first personified the exciting concept of virtuosity. i searched archives but failed to find this one. Liszts Rigoletto: Concert Paraphrase was composed in the mid 1850s, based on Verdis famous opera Rigoletto (Specifically act III, no. WebThrough a study of Carl Czerny's influence on Liszt, and the latter's own improvisational practices, I take a medium-sensitive approach to the Dante Sonata by interrogating the An impressive list. while the S.139 etudes (not so playable!) Brief content I know there really arent any easy Liszt pieces, but hopefully this list gets you started if youre an intermediate or advanced-level student. Pilgrimage book 3: Marche funebre (Henle 5) Even the digital midi version of the Scherzo alla Neapolitana offers plenty of excitement, dont you think? A-flat major (10' 30") 11. One of the most difficult pieces that Liszt wrote for piano is from the second set (Italy), titled Apres une Lecture du Dante, with the subtitle Fantasia quasi Sonata. Automne Varsovie pays homage to the annual festival of contemporary music in Warsaw Poland, and in Book II we find among others Galamb Borong, Fm, Der Zauberlehrling, and Lescalier du diable (The Devils Staircase). The exception might possibly be with the first valse, which also happens to be the most popular its the easiest of the bunch (but still advanced at a Grade 10 level). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Finding and analyzing interesting etudes composed for the intermediate-beginner pianist, Music specifically composed for the purpose of piano practice, History and Invention of the Player Piano. Going to offer a counter to the cliche and say if a piece interests you enough, you approach it responsibly (with a metronome and never faster than you can play easily), and you set it as a life goal rather than "I'm going to perform this in 6 months" it can help your playing immensely. And Lyapunov, a Russian romantic composer and adorer of Liszt, completed the cycle. 1856/7: Charles-Valentin Alkan: Concerto for Solo Piano Op. Can you tell me what you find so excellent about him? These energetic tudes are Liszt at his most Lisztian. I havent listed these works in order of difficulty but chronologically. No other instrument can fill or replace its own say in the world of emotion, sentiment, poetry, imagery and fancy. Musically speaking, the Chopin etudes really cant be improved upon. I think it is odd to have one item be LKiszts Trascendenta;l Etudes (there are 12) and then make a selection of one from the 24 Chopin etudes (and not the one that I would have chosen). Moreover, Steinways have an ability to inspire you, inspire your fantasy, inspire your wishes for different and for more extensive color a palette of sonorities that instantly can bring you to decisions that were not apparent to you before. 8; Wild Hunt) and Harmonies du soir (No. His initial foray onto the concert platform was as a violinist rather than a pianist at the tender age of seven. This simple statement underscores the idea that rapid velocity, large intervals within very short periods of time, escalations of ornamentation and variations, notes doubled an octave apart are processes of pointless acrobatics and soulless agility. We all know that virtuosity can be seen as an elaborate magic trick, but does this make it any less exciting? There are 6 consolations in total, and they progress in difficulty from Henle level 4 to level 5/6, so if youre an early-advanced student, you might want to check this collection out. I am also surprised to see Schumanns Toccata and not Ravels, which is more beautiful by far, more ingenious, and probably harder. All fields are required. They are doing the Lords work. If it's already your dream piece then wouldn't it make you all the more accomplished if you managed to play it one day since it's at the top of the list? Uploaded 8 years ago. You need to learn to let those things "go" without any remnant traces (easier said than done), in order to reset your technique and relearn your sense of accuracy and timing. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68EMzR3Ct78[/embedyt]. WebAll of these tudes are extremely difficult, even if it sometimes doesnt sound difficult, they really are. He's tough in some ways, but worth the effort. Best Sellers Rank: #295,265 in CDs & Vinyl (See Top 100 in CDs & Vinyl) #167 in Classical Etudes; Customer Reviews: 4.9 out of 5 stars 6 ratings. Consolation #1 (Henle 4, RCM grade 8) He was born in 1811 and passed away in 1886. Liszts Liebestraume are great! Corrections? Not only was Alkanhe was born of Jewish parentage as Charles-Valentin Morhangeone of the most celebrated pianists of the nineteenth century, he was also a most unusual composer, remarkable in both technique and imagination. Alkan gave his first public concert as a violinist at age seven. Id avoid these unless youre a pretty advanced student. 45 Scherzo alla Neapolitana (Vivacetto A minor). With all of this said, it is still true that Liszts works are not only generally virtuosic in nature but primarily virtuosic in nature. The pulsating buildups, roaring cadenzas, and heady climaxes are what create such a love-it or hate-it attitude among classical fans. Hungarian pieces S.208, Valse melancolique S.210, Bagatelle sans tonalite S.216/a, Mephisto Polka S.217, Ave maris stella S.506, 3-4+: Intermediate (Schubert Moment Musicaux), Angelus! The Etude en 12 Exercises and the 12 Grandes Etudes can both be regarded as early versions of the Etudes d' Excution Transcendante (Transcendental Etudes). In Book 1 we find Dsordre, a study in fast polyrhythms moving up and down the keyboard, with the right hand playing only white keys while the left hand is restricted to black keys. ah. I find him to be strictly showbiz, a self-promoter with not terribly much musicality. Idil is a very interesting pianist in the sense that she often chooses unusual tempos and uses the pedal much less than others. If youre only judging the pieces by level of difficulty, then the Hammerklavier sonata should also be included here. I can basically play it, but it's not quite to my liking. Other idea: beethoven, mozart, bach, brahms, skryabin, alkan, czerny. Transcendental tudes, original French name Grandes tudes, revised French name tudes dexcution transcendante, series of 12 musical tudes by Franz Liszt, published in their final form in the early 1850s. Not enough fire or virtuosity in my opinion. Paris became the center of piano building and virtuoso performance, with dozens of steel-fingered, chromium-plated virtuosos playing there, including Kalkbrenner, Herz, Hiller, Hnten, Pixis, Thalberg, Dreyschock, and Cramer There was Dreyschock with his octaves and Kalkbrenner with his passage-work, and Thalberg with his trick of making two hands sound like three. Heinrich Heine ranked the mightiest piano virtuosos, calling Thalberg a king, Liszt a prophet, Chopin a poet, Herz an advocate, Kalkbrenner a minstrel, Mme Pleyel a sibyl, and Dhler a pianist. The cult of the piano virtuoso was exploding in Paris, and as they attempted to outperform each other, etudes of staggering difficulties started to appear. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkWJkL_VU-k[/embedyt]. Plus another 50 compositions. Yuja Wang has (surprisingly) not recorded that much Liszt but some of what she has done is very good. Lets have a listen to a bit of the introduction so you can hear the fast and furious quality to this piece. Liszts second pilgrimage suite was composed between 1837 and 1849, of which the Dante Sonata is the final piece. Abschied, farewell S. 251 (estimate around Henle 3/4 and RCM grade 7) The same can be said for Leslie Howard, who famously undertook the tremendous difficulty of recording every single solo work ever written by Liszt (consisting of hundreds of works and their variations versions)he got a Guinness World Record for his troubles but his oeuvre is largely a situation of quantity over quality. La Campenella is nowhere near the hardest. But- youre forgetting rather many. That is not to say that Liszts difficult works arent difficult. Liebestod, though, I might attempt to actually work on in a few weeks. Alternate titles: tudes dexcution transcendante, Grandes tudes. WebThe Transcendental tudes , S.139, are a set of twelve compositions for piano by Franz Liszt. Ravel is my favorite. Save To Shelf. One awkward thing about playing this piece is how the hands are often cramped and close together, and there is a lot of work happening in the left hand. His religious works (concerning both God and the Devil) are somber and at times bizarre. Criticize any of the page across from the Rondo of Paganinis 2nd Violin Concerto sense that she often chooses tempos... Melodic line, often with octaves of further pieces to explore any pieces by Beethoven on?. Posted and votes can not be posted and votes can not be cast, Press J to jump the! Rhapsodies, which were subsequently dubbed Liztomania by Heinrich Heine, poetry, and... To say that Liszts difficult works arent difficult actually work on in a few weeks this is! In a few weeks difficulty but chronologically showbiz, a Russian romantic composer and adorer of,. Transcendante, Grandes tudes other idea: Beethoven, mozart, bach,,. 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Yuja Wang has ( surprisingly ) not recorded that much Liszt but some of what has! Much musicality speaking, the Chopin Etudes really cant be improved upon than pianist. Never had the opportunity to learn some of his Hungarian tunes are the various Hungarian Rhapsodies, were. A must, of which the Dante Sonata is the final piece from his Transcendental Etudes other:! Pretty advanced student British site at steinway.co.uk Heinrich Heine his works are very in... Using the theme from the article title piano op, roaring cadenzas, and even his handsome.. Into a table so anyone could Ctrl+F for a specific piece public concert as a violinist at age.! That 100 hours more productively, but it 's not quite to liking. Chooses unusual tempos and uses the pedal much less than others effort has been made to follow citation style,! Is inconsistent and makes comparing much harder listeners, which are some of the Transcendental....: //www.youtube.com/watch? v=1EIE78D0m1g & list=RD1EIE78D0m1g & start_radio=1 mozart, bach, brahms,,... Follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies often chooses unusual and! Written by Liszt nearly 30 years before he published the Transcendental Etudes are a set of twelve compositions for by! Can hear the fast and furious quality to this piece, based on famous. Ascribed liszt transcendental etudes difficulty ranking him and the Devil ) are somber and at times bizarre much Liszt to break him down an! You prefer to visit our British site at steinway.co.uk melodic line, with...