Tag: Recommended Piano Etudes Collection Compositions Book

Overview

Franz Liszt’s “12 Grandes Études,” S.137 is an early and ambitious set of études composed between 1826 and 1837, when Liszt was still in his twenties. These pieces represent his initial large-scale effort to combine technical innovation with musical expressivity, and they laid the groundwork for what would later become his famous Transcendental Études, S.139.

🎼 Overview

✦ Title:
12 Grandes Études, S.137 (original version)

✦ Composer:
Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

✦ Composition Dates:
1826–1837

✦ Dedication:
Unspecified, but they reflect Liszt’s early ambition to push pianistic boundaries.

✦ Later Revisions:
These études were heavily revised into:

Douze Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139 (Transcendental Études, 1852)

Some thematic material also reappears in other works, such as the Paganini Études and Concert Études.

🎹 Musical and Technical Characteristics

Virtuosic ambition: These études are technically demanding and aim to expand pianistic possibilities.

Orchestral thinking: Liszt already begins to “orchestrate” at the piano, writing thick textures and multi-layered passages.

Youthful energy: Though not yet fully mature, the pieces are full of brilliance and drama.

Uneven polish: Some movements (e.g., Études 5 and 10) are more musically satisfying than others, which remain more mechanical.

📚 Importance and Legacy

Transitional Work: These études represent Liszt’s transition from a brilliant pianist-composer into a visionary innovator.

Evolution of Style: Comparing S.137 to the later S.139 allows us to trace how Liszt refined his ideas and focused more on poetic content, not just technical display.

Rarely Performed: Today, S.137 is mostly of historical interest. Pianists and scholars study it to understand Liszt’s development, but it is almost never performed in full due to its unevenness and the superior musical quality of the revised versions.

🎵 Structure (Titles Later Added in S.139)

The études are not titled in S.137, but their numbers correspond loosely to those in the final 1852 version. Here’s a basic map:

Étude No. Later Title in S.139 Remarks

1 Prelude Still in rudimentary form.
2 Molto vivace Less mature than final version.
3 Paysage Early version is more formulaic.
4 Mazeppa Already dramatic, but cruder than S.139.
5 Feux follets Complex but not yet refined.
6 Vision Powerful but dense.
7 Eroica Less lyrical than final.
8 Wilde Jagd Precursor to the famous final version.
9 Ricordanza Romantic, though less poetic.
10 Allegro agitato molto Became Appassionata in the 1838 version.
11 Harmonies du soir Not yet impressionistic.
12 Chasse-Neige Already evokes snowstorm imagery.

📖 Conclusion

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137 are a fascinating document of Liszt’s early genius. While they are rarely performed today, they offer valuable insight into:

His evolving technical philosophy,

His push toward musical narrative,

And his ultimate mastery of the concert étude form.

They are a key stepping stone in the lineage that would culminate in the Transcendental Études, among the greatest achievements in Romantic piano literature.

Characteristics of Music

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137 by Franz Liszt are a formative and ambitious early work that lay the foundation for his later Transcendental Études. As a collection, they exhibit a range of musical characteristics that reveal both Liszt’s youthful virtuosity and his burgeoning compositional vision. While they do not yet form a “suite” in the formal sense, they share common stylistic and pianistic traits that give the set coherence as a cycle of études.

🎵 MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COLLECTION — 12 Grandes Études, S.137

1. Technical Virtuosity Above All

These études were composed to demonstrate and expand the limits of piano technique.

Each piece focuses on specific technical challenges: rapid octaves, double notes, hand crossings, wide leaps, arpeggios, and more.

At this stage, many études are still closer to technical studies than fully integrated tone poems.

2. Symphonic and Orchestral Pianism

Even in this early phase, Liszt seeks to make the piano sound like a full orchestra.

Thick, layered textures, wide dynamic ranges, and pedal effects suggest orchestral sonority.

There is frequent use of tremolos, huge chords, and multivoice writing—hallmarks of his mature style.

3. Romantic Drama and Bold Character

Though less poetic than the later versions, the études contain dramatic contrasts, stormy emotions, and heroic gestures.

Works like Étude No. 4 (Mazeppa) and No. 10 are infused with narrative drama and intense emotional drive.

The style blends Beethovenian rigor with the flamboyant flair of Paganini and Berlioz.

4. Formal Experimentation

Many of the études use loose sonata, ternary (ABA), or fantasia-like structures.

They don’t follow a standardized form like Chopin’s Études; instead, Liszt allows the structure to follow the emotional arc or technical idea.

5. Cyclic Unity & Key Relationships

While not a suite in the Baroque or Classical sense, there is a sense of progression and contrast between the études.

The key scheme is not systematic, but Liszt does show awareness of variety and pacing, alternating lyrical, stormy, and virtuosic pieces.

There is a general flow from youthful exuberance (No. 1–2), through narrative and emotional peaks (No. 4–8), to reflective lyricism and desolation (No. 9–12).

6. Early Romantic Ideals

Deeply infused with Romantic spirit—individual expression, the sublime, nature, and struggle.

Emphasis on gesture and atmosphere sometimes outweighs motivic development.

The études reflect the influence of Beethoven, Weber, and Paganini, whom Liszt admired deeply.

7. Pianistic Imagination, Not Yet Mature

Some études feel dense or overloaded, reflecting Liszt’s youthful desire to impress.

In certain pieces, musical substance is secondary to technical fireworks.

Later revisions (1838 and 1852) would strip away excess and reveal more focused musical intentions.

✦ Summary of Collection Characteristics

Feature Description
Style Virtuosic, dramatic, exploratory
Texture Orchestral, dense, often multi-layered
Form Loose, experimental, often rhapsodic
Harmony Romantic, chromatic, bold modulations
Thematic Content Sometimes underdeveloped, but emotionally charged
Technical Focus Emphasizes velocity, leaps, octaves, arpeggios, and bravura figurations
Tone Colors Explores pedal effects, tremolos, dynamic extremes
Emotional Range Heroic, stormy, lyrical, reflective, even tragic

🌟 Conclusion

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137 are not just exercises—they are an early manifesto of Liszt’s pianistic and artistic vision. They stand as:

A musical laboratory for later masterworks,

A display of bravura and ambition, and

A raw portrait of a Romantic revolutionary pushing against tradition.

Despite their imperfections, they reflect Liszt’s aim to elevate the étude into an art form that fuses poetry, drama, and technical brilliance.

Analysis, Tutoriel, Interpretation & Importants Points to Play

A complete, in-depth guide to Franz Liszt’s 12 Grandes Études, S.137, covering musical analysis, technical tutorials, interpretation insights, and performance tips for the entire cycle. This early set (1826–1837) shows Liszt’s explosive creativity, albeit still developing in structural and poetic refinement compared to the final 1852 Transcendental Études, S.139.

🎼 Franz Liszt – 12 Grandes Études, S.137

Full Analysis, Tutorial, Interpretation & Performance Tips
🔢 General Notes on the Cycle
Date: Composed between 1826–1837 (age 15–26); revised into S.139 in 1852.

Style: Early Romantic, virtuosic, orchestral in texture.

Purpose: Push the boundaries of piano technique and set a foundation for future transcendental works.

Character: Technically brilliant but somewhat dense and underdeveloped in comparison to their later revisions.

Étude No. 1 in C Major

🎵 Analysis:
A brilliant fanfare-like prelude that opens the cycle.

Utilizes arpeggios, octave passages, and bold cadences.

Texture is bright, almost ceremonial.

🎹 Tutorial:
Focus on clarity in broken chords and scalar runs.

Practice even finger distribution in wide-spanning arpeggios.

Use strong wrist rotation to avoid stiffness in octaves.

🎨 Interpretation:
Play with heroic optimism; this is a triumphant call to arms.

Use rubato sparingly; aim for rhythmic steadiness.

Étude No. 2 in A Minor

🎵 Analysis:
Proto-Molto Vivace from S.139.

Full of rapid scales, chord bursts, and leaping gestures.

🎹 Tutorial:
Practice two-hand coordination; both hands are active and wide-ranging.

Use arm weight and rotation for fast repeated chords.

🎨 Interpretation:
Convey youthful turbulence and energy.

Balance aggression with control, avoiding chaos.

Étude No. 3 in F Major

🎵 Analysis:
Gentle, lyrical; early form of Paysage.

Has flowing triplets and serene harmonies.

🎹 Tutorial:
Use soft, relaxed wrists for even triplets.

Keep melody above arpeggios—voicing is essential.

🎨 Interpretation:
Pastoral and contemplative.

Evoke a natural landscape, like meadows or a forest breeze.

Étude No. 4 in D Minor – Mazeppa (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Heavy, dramatic, galloping rhythms mimic the Mazeppa legend (man tied to a wild horse).

Proto version lacks the thematic clarity of S.139 but full of ferocity.

🎹 Tutorial:
Work hands separately on gallop rhythm.

Master control in hand leaps and octave jumps.

🎨 Interpretation:
Play with ruthless propulsion; relentless forward motion.

Narrative-driven — tell the story in your phrasing.

Étude No. 5 in B♭ Major

🎵 Analysis:
Precursor to Feux Follets.

Light, nimble, full of grace notes and chromatic runs.

🎹 Tutorial:
Use light fingertip touch—avoid heavy articulation.

Practice slowly and evenly before speeding up.

🎨 Interpretation:
Think fairy lights, flickering—be elusive, mysterious.

Don’t rush—precision > speed.

Étude No. 6 in G Minor – Vision (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Grave and solemn character.

Chordal writing and low register dominate.

🎹 Tutorial:
Focus on voice leading through heavy textures.

Use arm weight, not finger force, for deep chords.

🎨 Interpretation:
Think cathedral organ or a funeral march.

Use pedal to blend, but avoid mud.

Étude No. 7 in E♭ Major – Eroica (early version)

🎵 Analysis:
Grand, expansive, rhythmic.

Early gestures of Liszt’s heroic style.

🎹 Tutorial:
Control dotted rhythms and martellato chords.

Practice octave runs slowly with accuracy.

🎨 Interpretation:
Play like a Beethovenian triumph—bold and noble.

Watch dynamic shaping to avoid monotony.

Étude No. 8 in C Minor – Wilde Jagd (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Chase-like, with staggering leaps, fast tempo, and chromatic movement.

Energetic but rough in structure.

🎹 Tutorial:
Use compact arm movement for fast jumps.

Control fortissimo bursts—don’t bang.

🎨 Interpretation:
Think wild hunt, nature untamed.

Let the rhythmic drive dominate, but maintain precision.

Étude No. 9 in A♭ Major – Ricordanza (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Highly lyrical and sentimental.

A love letter—melody is king.

🎹 Tutorial:
Master voicing in right hand melody.

Use finger pedaling and subtle rubato.

🎨 Interpretation:
Dreamy, nostalgic; play with poetic gentleness.

Bring out bel canto lines, like a soprano aria.

Étude No. 10 in F Minor – Allegro agitato molto / Appassionata

🎵 Analysis:
Dark, stormy, akin to Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude in character.

Fast repeated chords, stormy descending passages.

🎹 Tutorial:
Practice repeated chords with wrist bounce.

Avoid tension: break sections for relaxed execution.

🎨 Interpretation:
Think tempest, passion, rebellion.

Dynamics and rhythmic intensity are crucial.

Étude No. 11 in D♭ Major – Harmonies du soir (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Impressionistic in color; anticipates Debussy in its lush harmonies.

Long pedal effects, dreamy textures.

🎹 Tutorial:
Work on overlapping pedal technique.

Prioritize voicing chords: melody floats above.

🎨 Interpretation:
Play as if you’re painting with sound—blurred edges, shimmering light.

Evening mood—serene but wistful.

Étude No. 12 in B♭ Minor – Chasse-Neige (proto-version)

🎵 Analysis:
Evocative of a blizzard—rapid repetitions, swirling texture.

One of the most atmospheric in the set.

🎹 Tutorial:
Focus on finger independence and evenness in tremolo textures.

Practice left-hand control—keep the blizzard swirling, not blaring.

🎨 Interpretation:
Suggest despair and desolation beneath the surface energy.

Use color changes, not just dynamics, to evoke shifting weather.

🎯 Final Performance and Study Tips

Choose Your Battles: Some études are musically undercooked. Focus on Nos. 4, 5, 9, 10, and 12 for concert-worthy performance.

Tone Palette: Work on wide dynamic contrasts and pedal control to access Liszt’s orchestral textures.

Physical Efficiency: These pieces demand smart practice: arm weight, rotation, and relaxation are key.

Historical Insight: Play them with an eye toward how Liszt would later refine the same ideas in S.139—look for the germ of transformation.

Romantic Imagination: Go beyond the notes. Each étude should feel like a scene, mood, or story.

History

Certainly. The history of Franz Liszt’s 12 Grandes Études, S.137 is a fascinating window into the evolution of both a young genius and the Romantic piano idiom itself. These études, composed between 1826 and 1837, represent Liszt’s earliest and most ambitious attempt to define himself as a transformative figure in pianism—not merely a performer, but a composer-innovator.

At the time Liszt began writing them, he was still a teenager—just 15 years old—but already recognized as a prodigious talent. He had been a pupil of Carl Czerny and Antonio Salieri, and his early works showed a blend of Classical training and Romantic ambition. However, Liszt was also deeply influenced by the technological advances of the piano and the rising tide of virtuosity that swept through Europe in the 1820s and 30s, particularly through figures like Paganini and Thalberg.

The first iteration of this set was published in 1826 under the title Étude en douze exercices, and though technically demanding, these early versions were more mechanical in character—intended primarily as finger studies. But by the mid-1830s, something changed. Liszt became increasingly enthralled by the expressive and poetic potential of technical display. He began transforming these études into what would become the 12 Grandes Études, expanding their scope, complexity, and musicality. These revised versions, completed around 1837, were no longer mere exercises—they were epic tone poems for the piano, saturated with Romantic ethos and dazzling showmanship.

The 12 Grandes Études (S.137) were published in 1839 and stood as one of the most technically challenging piano works of the day. However, they remained relatively obscure in performance, due in part to their dense textures and raw musical material—brilliant but often unpolished. Even Liszt recognized that they were more a stepping stone than a final product.

By the early 1850s, Liszt—now in his maturity and having undergone a stylistic and spiritual transformation—revisited the set once more. In 1852, he revised them into the celebrated Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139, smoothing out the harmonic rough edges, improving the formal structure, and giving each étude a programmatic title (e.g., Mazeppa, Feux follets, Harmonies du soir). This final version remains one of the pinnacles of piano literature.

Thus, the 12 Grandes Études, S.137, represent a crucial transitional work—a link between the didactic tradition of Czerny and the poetic transcendence of Liszt’s mature style. They are both historical documents and artistic statements, showcasing a young composer grappling with form, expression, and the limits of human technique.

In essence, these études are Liszt’s first architectural sketches of the vast Romantic cathedral he would later build. They reveal a prodigy in motion—still refining, still discovering—but already reshaping the very language of piano music.

Chronology

The chronology of Franz Liszt’s 12 Grandes Études, S.137—tracing their creative evolution, revisions, and historical context:

1826 – Étude en douze exercices (S.136)

At just 15 years old, Liszt composed his first version of these études.

Published as Étude en douze exercices, S.136.

These were purely technical studies, in the tradition of Czerny and Clementi.

Musical content was minimal; the goal was to build finger technique.

1837 – Grandes Études (S.137)

In his early 20s, Liszt undertook a radical revision of the 1826 études.

The 1837 version, titled 12 Grandes Études, S.137, was no longer mere exercises—they became massive, expressive concert pieces.

This version is extremely demanding, often considered unplayable at the time by most pianists.

Some of these works began to hint at programmatic or poetic content (e.g., the embryo of Mazeppa or Ricordanza appears here).

Published in Paris in 1839 by Haslinger.

1852 – Études d’exécution transcendante (S.139)

Liszt revised the études a second time, resulting in the final form most pianists know today.

Now titled Études d’exécution transcendante (Transcendental Études), S.139.

This version streamlined technical excess, clarified textures, and gave each étude a programmatic title and emotional identity.

For example:

No. 4 became Mazeppa

No. 5 became Feux follets

No. 11 became Harmonies du soir

No. 12 became Chasse-neige

This final version reflects Liszt’s mature artistic philosophy—virtuosity in the service of poetry.

Summary Table

Year Version Catalogue Key Characteristics
1826 Étude en douze exercices S.136 Simple, didactic, Czerny-like studies
1837 12 Grandes Études S.137 Virtuosic, dramatic, unpolished concert études
1852 Études d’exécution transcendante S.139 Programmatic, poetic, refined, and musically transcendent

In Context

These études trace Liszt’s development from child prodigy to Romantic visionary.

The Grandes Études (1837) are pivotal—representing the turning point between his early and mature style.

Today, pianists and scholars study S.137 not just for performance, but to understand the evolution of Romantic piano music and Liszt’s personal growth.

Impacts & Influences

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137 by Franz Liszt, though often overshadowed by their final 1852 revision (Transcendental Études, S.139), had profound impacts and influences—both historically and artistically. These works mark a crucial transformation in the role of the piano étude, and their existence signaled a shift in what Romantic music could achieve.

Here is a deep look at their influence and impact:

🎹 1. Transformation of the Étude Genre

Before Liszt, piano études were primarily technical drills (like those of Czerny, Clementi, or Moscheles). The 1837 Grandes Études were revolutionary in that they:

Combined extreme virtuosity with dramatic musical substance.

Paved the way for études to become concert repertoire, not just pedagogical material.

Influenced later composers to treat études as works of art, notably:

Chopin (Études, Opp. 10 & 25 — composed slightly earlier, but Liszt was aware of them).

Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Ligeti, all of whom wrote poetic études.

🔥 2. Virtuosity Redefined

The 1837 études were considered nearly unplayable at the time. They:

Expanded the technical boundaries of the piano more than anything published before.

Demanded:

Huge leaps

Rapid octave passages

Polyrhythms

Complex hand-crossings

Dynamic control under stress

Inspired a generation of pianists to push technical limits, including:

Sigismond Thalberg

Hans von Bülow

Ferruccio Busoni

🛠️ 3. Bridge Between Youth and Maturity

The 12 Grandes Études reveal Liszt in creative transition.

They display:

His youthful obsession with virtuosity

His evolving poetic voice (some early signs of Mazeppa, Ricordanza, Feux follets already exist here)

They acted as blueprints for his mature works:

Transcendental Études (S.139)

Années de pèlerinage

Sonata in B minor

🎼 4. Harmonic and Structural Innovation

The études show Liszt experimenting with:

Bold chromaticism

Extended harmonic progressions

Form fragmentation and recombination

These traits anticipated later Romantic and even early modernist aesthetics.

The harmonic language here foreshadows Wagner and Scriabin.

📜 5. Historical and Pedagogical Value

Though rarely performed in full due to their complexity, the Grandes Études offer:

A historical document of Liszt’s pianistic vision before refinement.

A source of academic and comparative study with the S.139 version.

Insights into the evolution of Romantic pianism.

🎯 Influence in Summary:

Area Impact

Étude Genre Transformed études into expressive concert works
Pianistic Technique Set a new standard for difficulty and possibility
Compositional Style Bridged classical form with Romantic freedom
Future Composers Influenced Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, Debussy
Performance Practice Encouraged pianists to become both technicians and artists

Even though the 12 Grandes Études, S.137 are often considered a precursor to the final Transcendental Études, their raw ambition, emotional intensity, and technical audacity left an indelible mark on Romantic music—and on the very identity of the piano as a solo instrument of unlimited expressive and technical range.

Popular Piece/Book of Collection at That Time?

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137 by Franz Liszt, published in 1839, were not widely popular at the time of their release—not in performance, nor in terms of sheet music sales. In fact, their initial reception was limited, and they were largely considered too difficult and impractical for most pianists of the era. Here’s why:

🎹 1. Extreme Technical Difficulty

At the time of their publication, the Grandes Études were seen as nearly unplayable by most pianists, even professionals.

They demanded unprecedented virtuosity, stamina, and technical control.

As a result, very few performers dared to include them in concert programs.

Liszt himself was likely the only pianist fully capable of performing the entire set as written in 1837.

📖 2. Sheet Music Sales

There is no historical evidence that the original S.137 études were commercially successful in terms of sheet music sales.

The études were more admired by a narrow circle of elite pianists and pedagogues, rather than the wider musical public or amateur market.

Unlike simpler collections by Chopin or Czerny, the Grandes Études were too complex for home use, limiting their sales potential.

🎼 3. Critical Reception and Influence

Though not popular with the general public, the études impressed musical elites and influenced the development of the concert étude.

They were viewed by forward-thinking composers and critics as bold, revolutionary, and even excessive.

However, this admiration did not translate into widespread performance or sales.

🔄 4. Replacement by the 1852 Version

Liszt revised the set in 1852 into the Études d’exécution transcendante (S.139), which became much more popular.

These revised versions:

Were more playable (relatively speaking),

Had poetic titles and clear character,

Had greater structural refinement and musical appeal.

The S.139 version effectively replaced S.137 in concert and publishing catalogs.

Final Thought

The 12 Grandes Études, S.137, were not popular in the conventional sense when first released. But they served a foundational role in Liszt’s artistic development and in the history of piano music. Their true value was architectural, not commercial—laying the groundwork for the more enduring and celebrated Transcendental Études of 1852.

Episodes & Trivia

Here are some fascinating episodes and trivia surrounding Franz Liszt’s 12 Grandes Études, S.137—stories that reveal their significance, mystery, and boldness in Liszt’s early career:

🎩 1. “Unplayable” Even for Virtuosos

When Liszt published the Grandes Études in 1839, even seasoned pianists like Sigismond Thalberg and Charles-Valentin Alkan found them unplayable.

Pianist-conductor Hans von Bülow reportedly said of these works:

“They are not written for ten fingers—but for twenty.”

🎼 2. Liszt Was Likely the Only Person to Perform Them in His Time

It’s quite likely that Liszt was the only pianist in Europe capable of performing the complete S.137 set when they were published.

He used them as part of his blazing concert tours, particularly in Vienna, Paris, and Weimar, but rarely all twelve—they were more of a technical and compositional laboratory than a performance suite.

🖋️ 3. Dedicated to Czerny, the Master Technician

Liszt dedicated the original 1837 version to his teacher Carl Czerny, whom he deeply respected for laying the technical foundation of his pianism.

This shows that despite the radical romanticism and drama of the études, Liszt acknowledged his classical roots in pedagogy.

⚔️ 4. Battle of the Virtuosos: Thalberg vs. Liszt

Around the time Liszt revised and published S.137, he was engaged in a legendary rivalry with Sigismond Thalberg.

Their “duel” at Princess Belgiojoso’s salon in 1837 showcased their contrasting styles:

Thalberg, polished and elegant.

Liszt, thunderous and transcendental.

Some believe the intense virtuosic character of the études was Liszt’s way of out-Thalberging Thalberg.

📚 5. Never Officially Titled Until Later

The 1837 version was simply called Études or Grandes Études—they had no poetic titles.

Liszt added evocative names like Mazeppa, Feux follets, Harmonies du soir, and Chasse-neige only in the 1852 S.139 version, making them more accessible and imaginative to audiences.

🔁 6. From Pedagogy to Poetry

These études represent a unique moment in music history when études ceased to be “school exercises” and became artistic statements.

S.137 can be seen as a “missing link” between Czerny’s didacticism and the emotionally charged concert music Liszt would later champion.

📐 7. Finger-Breakers with Architectural Complexity

Some études from the S.137 set (especially Nos. 4, 5, and 8) are so complex that modern editors still debate their fingerings and practical realization.

For example:

No. 5, a proto-Feux follets, contains leaps and passages with interlocking hands and inhumanly fast chromatic fluttering.

No. 4, the early Mazeppa, uses compound rhythms and massive chords that made editors question Liszt’s sanity.

🎹 8. Influence on Future Etudes

The techniques explored in S.137 later appeared in the études of:

Scriabin (who took Liszt’s textures and extended harmonies even further),

Debussy (in pianistic color),

and even Ligeti (in rhythmic complexity and transcendental effect).

🎵 9. Rarely Performed in Full Today

While the 1852 Transcendental Études are often performed as a cycle, the 1837 Grandes Études are almost never performed in their entirety.

However, individual études are occasionally recorded by pianists like Leslie Howard and Marc-André Hamelin, both of whom have made contributions to reviving S.137 for modern ears.

🌩️ 10. A Young Composer’s Bold Declaration

Liszt was only in his early 20s when he released these études, but they already express his grand ambition:

to expand what was technically and emotionally possible on the piano,

and to set the stage for virtuoso-composer identity that would define the Romantic era.

Similar Compositions / Suits / Collections

Frédéric Chopin’s Études (Opp. 10 and 25)

Composed around the same time as Liszt’s S.137, Chopin’s études are equally revolutionary but take a different path. Where Liszt’s are architectural and stormy, Chopin’s are poetic and refined. They require tremendous technical skill, but their musical depth and economy of gesture stand in contrast to the overt grandeur of Liszt. Chopin essentially redefined the étude as art, which Liszt would echo but with a far more dramatic and symphonic voice.

Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Études in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39

Alkan, a recluse and contemporary of Liszt, composed a set of études that rival—and arguably exceed—Liszt’s S.137 in difficulty and ambition. His set includes a full four-movement symphony and concerto for solo piano, as well as studies of extreme technical complexity and structural depth. These works reflect the same desire to push the boundaries of piano writing and expression.

Carl Czerny’s Technical Studies

As Liszt’s teacher, Czerny laid the groundwork for S.137 through exhaustive technical regimes like The School of Velocity (Op. 299) and The Art of Finger Dexterity (Op. 740). While far less poetic or harmonically adventurous, Czerny’s influence is essential—his mechanical rigor enabled Liszt to later transcend it.

Sigismond Thalberg’s Fantasias and Études

Thalberg was Liszt’s chief rival in the 1830s and 40s. His études and fantasies, such as L’art du chant appliqué au piano, explored lyrical phrasing within a virtuosic context. Though not as harmonically daring as Liszt, Thalberg’s refined pianism and “three-hand illusion” style (melody with both accompaniment parts simultaneously) challenged Liszt to refine his own technique.

Franz Liszt’s Later Works

Liszt eventually revised S.137 into the Transcendental Études, S.139, simplifying and refining their form while adding programmatic titles. Additionally, his Paganini Études, S.140, derived from violin caprices, achieve a similar transcendental level of virtuosity. His 3 Études de concert (S.144) and 2 Études de concert (S.145) also share the demanding textures and poetic ambition of the earlier set.

Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux (Opp. 33 and 39)

These are spiritual successors to Liszt’s vision. Rachmaninoff fuses sheer virtuosity with lush, often brooding expressivity. His études tell stories (as “tableaux”) without titles, as Liszt’s S.137 originally did. Op. 39 in particular is dark and stormy, showing the Romantic lineage in full force.

Alexander Scriabin’s Études (especially Opp. 8 and 42)

Scriabin’s early études reflect the influence of Chopin and Liszt, while his later works transform the étude into something mystical and harmonically radical. The intense emotion and technical extremity of some of his pieces—like Op. 8 No. 12 or Op. 42 No. 5—evoke the transcendental aim of Liszt’s S.137.

Leopold Godowsky’s Studies on Chopin Études

Godowsky took Chopin’s études and reimagined them, layering contrapuntal complexity, left-hand versions, and mind-boggling technical innovations. These studies, written around the turn of the 20th century, continue the Lisztian tradition of transcendental difficulty taken to its absolute extreme.

Claude Debussy’s Douze Études

Though harmonically and stylistically different, Debussy’s études push pianistic color and texture to new places. Like Liszt, Debussy considered the étude not just a technical drill, but a platform for profound musical exploration.

György Ligeti’s Études (Books I–III)

Jumping to the 20th century, Ligeti’s études are often cited as the heir to Liszt’s transcendental legacy. They are rhythmically and technically extreme, and though modern in language, they retain Liszt’s core idea: that the étude can be a vessel for visionary artistry and virtuosity.

Kaikhosru Sorabji’s 100 Transcendental Studies

These works are some of the most massive and difficult ever written for the piano. Inspired by Liszt’s title and spirit, Sorabji’s studies are intellectual, layered, and often of unplayable difficulty, continuing the lineage of transcendental aspiration in music.

In sum, Liszt’s 12 Grandes Études, S.137, did not exist in isolation. They were born from the technical rigor of Czerny and the artistic vision of Chopin, and they inspired future generations—from Alkan and Rachmaninoff to Ligeti and Hamelin—to use the étude as a canvas for both virtuosity and poetry.

(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)

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Overview

Franz Liszt’s Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S.140 (commonly referred to as the Transcendental Études after Paganini), is a set of six études composed between 1838 and 1851, based on themes from Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin. These études represent Liszt’s attempt to transfer the extraordinary virtuosity of Paganini’s violin technique to the piano, thereby elevating piano technique to unprecedented heights in the 19th century.

🔹 Overview of Transcendental Études after Paganini, S.140

✦ Composition History:

First version (1838): Liszt initially wrote a set of six études as Grandes études de Paganini, published as S.141. These were extremely difficult and less refined in terms of musical content.

Revised version (1851): He refined and reissued them as Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S.140. This second version is more musically balanced while still being technically demanding.

🔹 Structure of the Set (S.140):

1. Étude No. 1 in G minor – Tremolo

Based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 6.

Features rapid tremolos and wide leaps.

Explores timbral effects and sonorous colors of the piano, evoking violin-like tremolo.

2. Étude No. 2 in E-flat major – Andante capriccioso

Based on Caprice No. 17.

Light, elegant, and playful, with a songful melody that disguises its technical intricacies.

Contrasts virtuosic flourishes with lyrical sections.

3. Étude No. 3 in G-sharp minor – La Campanella (“The Little Bell”)

Based on Caprice No. 24 and also draws from Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Op. 7.

Famous for its glittering bell-like effects and extreme leaps in the right hand.

One of Liszt’s most popular piano works; it later inspired numerous other composers.

4. Étude No. 4 in E major – Arpeggio

Based on Caprice No. 1.

Consists of shimmering, fast arpeggios covering the entire keyboard.

Tests endurance and evenness of tone, as well as musical clarity in motion.

5. Étude No. 5 in E major – La Chasse (“The Hunt”)

Based on Caprice No. 9 (La Chasse).

Emulates the sound of hunting horns and galloping rhythms.

Demands finger independence and dynamic control.

6. Étude No. 6 in A minor – Theme and Variations (on Caprice No. 24)

Based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 24.

A formidable set of variations on one of the most famous themes in classical music.

Virtuosity, variety, and structural clarity are key aspects.

Precursor in spirit to Rachmaninoff’s and Brahms’ own variations on the same theme.

🔹 Key Characteristics:

Technical demands: Tremolos, wide leaps, fast octaves, rapid scales, arpeggios, and huge stretches.

Virtuosity with expression: Unlike some purely technical études, these combine showmanship with musical content.

Violin-to-piano translation: Liszt effectively translates Paganini’s violin idioms into pianistic textures.

Legacy: They influenced future piano études, including those by Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, and Busoni.

🔹 Performance and Pedagogical Significance:

These études are considered among the most challenging piano pieces ever written.

They serve as both showpieces and technical studies for professional pianists.

La Campanella is particularly popular in concert due to its sparkling character and virtuosic appeal.

Characteristics of Music

The Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S.140, by Franz Liszt is a cycle of six virtuoso piano études that reflects both Paganini’s dazzling violin technique and Liszt’s revolutionary pianistic vision. As a sui generis suite, it displays musical cohesion through thematic material, while each étude stands on its own as a miniature tone-poem or technical showcase. The musical characteristics of the collection can be grouped into several key dimensions:

🎼 MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COLLECTION

1. Virtuosic Transcription and Transformation

These études are not mere transcriptions of Paganini’s caprices but transformative recompositions, capturing the spirit of Paganini while infusing Liszt’s pianistic and harmonic language.

Liszt reimagines violin techniques (e.g., ricochet, tremolo, harmonics) in idiomatic piano language: fast octaves, wide leaps, repeated notes, and delicate bell effects.

2. Extreme Technical Demands

The études incorporate:

Rapid jumps and wide hand stretches (up to tenths or more)

Tremolos (No. 1)

Rapid repeated notes and leaps (No. 3 La Campanella)

Shimmering arpeggios (No. 4 Arpeggio)

Orchestral textures with multiple layers

Cross-hand playing and finger independence

Despite the virtuosic nature, musical phrasing and voicing are never sacrificed—Liszt uses technique in service of expression.

3. Thematic Unity via Paganini’s Caprices

Each étude is based on a specific Caprice by Niccolò Paganini, forming a unifying conceptual foundation.

Études No. 3 (La Campanella) and No. 6 (Theme & Variations) both use Caprice No. 24, creating cyclical balance—with the latter functioning almost like a finale.

4. Character Pieces with Descriptive Titles

Some études bear programmatic titles:

No. 1 – Tremolo: Evokes shimmering effects and suspense.

No. 3 – La Campanella: Mimics bell sounds with brilliant staccato.

No. 5 – La Chasse: Emulates the atmosphere of a hunting scene with horn calls and galloping rhythms.

These evoke distinct moods and scenes, contributing to the suite-like character.

5. Advanced Harmonic and Textural Innovation

Use of chromaticism and modal shifts for color and expression.

Dense textures layered with inner voices and accompaniment patterns.

Harmonic progressions often emphasize brilliance, surprise, and virtuosic contrast.

No. 6 (Theme & Variations) showcases Liszt’s use of variation form as both a technical display and musical development.

6. Formal Variety within the Suite

Each étude explores a different formal archetype:

No. 1 – through-composed

No. 3 – variation with rondo-like elements

No. 4 – arpeggio etude with extended motivic development

No. 6 – formal theme and variation

Despite being études, they also function as concert pieces with dramatic shape and climactic architecture.

7. Orchestral Piano Writing

Liszt treats the piano as an orchestra: imitating bell tones, horn calls, string tremolos, and tutti effects.

The études demand control over a wide range of dynamics, timbres, and articulations, often in quick succession.

8. Liszt’s Romantic-Aesthetic Vision

Reflects the Romantic ideals of transcendence, virtuosity, individuality, and the elevation of instrumental technique to a form of poetic expression.

The entire set encapsulates Liszt’s heroic ideal of the pianist as both virtuoso and artist-philosopher.

🔚 Conclusion:

The Transcendental Études after Paganini, S.140, are more than just technical studies—they are poetic transformations that elevate Paganini’s violinistic material to the highest level of 19th-century piano artistry. They form a cohesive yet diverse set, where brilliance, color, imagination, and pianistic innovation meet to create one of Liszt’s most inspired achievements.

Analysis, Tutoriel, Interpretation & Importants Points to Play

🎹 1. Étude No. 1 in G minor – Tremolo

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 6.

Main feature: constant tremolos in both hands with expressive melodic fragments interwoven.

Evokes orchestral and violin tremolo textures.

🎓 Tutorial:
Practice slow and even tremolos using rotation, not finger tension.

Balance melody over accompaniment tremolos.

🎭 Interpretation:
Build dramatic tension through dynamic contrast.

Let melodic fragments sing through the haze of tremolos.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Use arm weight to relax during long tremolo passages.

Focus on smooth wrist motion and stamina building.

🎹 2. Étude No. 2 in E♭ major – Andante capriccioso

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 17.

Playful and elegant, featuring right-hand leaps and delicate runs.

🎓 Tutorial:
Begin hands separately to secure voicing and leaps.

Focus on clear articulation and rhythmic grace.

🎭 Interpretation:
Light, capricious character—almost like a scherzo.

Use rubato for charm without disrupting flow.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Secure jumps with subtle wrist drop technique.

Avoid over-pedaling—clarity is essential.

🎹 3. Étude No. 3 in G♯ minor – La Campanella

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2, Rondo (La Campanella).

Trademark: repeated high D♯ “bell” tones, with wild leaps and glittering passagework.

🎓 Tutorial:
Practice slow motion of right-hand jumps to internalize geography.

Isolate the bell note and train voicing around it.

🎭 Interpretation:
Crystal-clear sparkle and charm—never forceful.

Phrasing should be light, floating, and effervescent.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Relaxed wrist and forearm crucial for jump accuracy.

Thumb under control in fast chromatic passages.

Use shallow pedaling to preserve brightness.

🎹 4. Étude No. 4 in E major – Arpeggio

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Caprice No. 1 (also arpeggio-focused).

Cascading arpeggios across entire keyboard with inner melodic strands.

🎓 Tutorial:
Practice arpeggios slowly with rhythmic variations.

Identify melodic lines within arpeggios and voice them clearly.

🎭 Interpretation:
A shimmering waterfall of sound—impressionistic and fluid.

Maintain energy and clarity without sounding mechanical.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Let arm guide the hand through arpeggio sweeps.

Economy of motion is vital—use forearm rotation and finger gliding.

🎹 5. Étude No. 5 in E major – La Chasse (“The Hunt”)

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Caprice No. 9.

Evokes horns, galloping rhythms, and hunting scenes.

🎓 Tutorial:
Hands separately to internalize rhythm and articulation.

Practice horn calls with powerful but controlled attacks.

🎭 Interpretation:
Heroic and vibrant with rhythmic drive.

Maintain precision during quick alternations between hands.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Detached, staccato articulation for the “galloping” effect.

Moderate pedal to enhance resonance without blurring accents.

🎹 6. Étude No. 6 in A minor – Theme and Variations (on Caprice No. 24)

🔍 Analysis:
Based on Paganini’s Caprice No. 24.

Theme and a series of technically diverse variations (chords, octaves, runs, trills, polyphony).

Like a finale to the suite—summing up previous techniques.

🎓 Tutorial:
Learn the theme and each variation hands separately.

Identify recurring motifs and harmonic anchors.

🎭 Interpretation:
Expressive variety is key—each variation has a unique mood.

Pacing and dramatic arc are essential to keep the listener engaged.

🎯 Performance Tips:
Use contrasting tone colors for each variation.

Be prepared for rapid technical shifts.

Maintain rhythmic consistency even in fiery passages.

🧠 General Tips for the Entire Set:

🎼 Interpretation Strategy:

View the set as a concert cycle: from mystical (No. 1) to lyrical (No. 2), dazzling (No. 3), flowing (No. 4), heroic (No. 5), and culminating in grandeur (No. 6).

Let Liszt’s orchestral imagination guide your dynamics and voicing.

🎹 Technical Foundations:

Prioritize economy of movement and relaxation—never rely on finger strength alone.

Focus on finger independence, arm-weight control, and agility.

Consistent voicing and tone control across texture-heavy passages.

📚 Pedagogical Role:

Considered a high-level or even post-conservatory challenge.

Ideal for preparing advanced pianists for repertoire by Rachmaninoff, Godowsky, or Busoni.

History

The Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S.140, have a rich and transformative history that reflects Franz Liszt’s evolution as both a pianist and a composer, as well as his lifelong reverence for the violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. These études are not only technical marvels but also the product of Liszt’s quest to redefine the expressive and virtuosic potential of the piano.

The origin of these works dates back to the early 1830s, a time when Paganini’s sensational performances across Europe had left an indelible mark on the musical world. Liszt, then a rising star in Paris, attended a performance by Paganini in 1831 and was profoundly shaken by what he saw. He reportedly declared that Paganini’s dazzling display on the violin awakened in him the ambition to become the Paganini of the piano. This admiration became the creative spark that led Liszt to attempt transferring Paganini’s violinistic brilliance into the pianistic idiom.

Liszt’s first attempt materialized in 1838 with a set of six études titled Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, catalogued as S.141. These original versions are among the most challenging works in the entire piano repertoire—filled with audacious technical demands, complex textures, and unprecedented leaps and passages. However, their difficulty was so extreme that even the greatest pianists of the time found them almost unplayable.

Nearly two decades later, in 1851, Liszt returned to the Paganini études with a new perspective. By this time, he had entered a more mature compositional phase—less concerned with sheer display, and more interested in poetry, clarity, and structural refinement. He revised the entire set, producing the definitive version now known as S.140. In this version, Liszt retained much of the virtuosic spirit and flamboyant style of the earlier studies but made them more pianistically idiomatic and artistically balanced. He simplified some passages, clarified textures, and reworked sections to highlight not only technical prowess but also color, atmosphere, and musical narrative.

Each of the six études in the final version is based on a caprice or theme by Paganini—most notably the famous Caprice No. 24, which inspired both the third and sixth études. But Liszt did not merely transcribe Paganini’s music; he transformed it. He used the violin material as a springboard for his own pianistic invention, infusing the études with orchestral imagination, Romantic expressivity, and harmonic daring.

The Paganini Études are more than virtuosic exercises—they are testaments to Liszt’s dual identity as both a performer of transcendental ability and a composer of visionary artistic ambition. They capture his lifelong dialogue with the figure of Paganini, his devotion to pushing the boundaries of technique, and his desire to create works that transcend the instrument while remaining fully pianistic.

In the end, these études stand as a monument to the idea of the transcendent artist—one who dares to turn impossibility into poetry.

Popular Piece/Book of Collection at That Time?

When Franz Liszt’s Études d’exécution transcendante d’après Paganini, S.140, were published in 1851, they were not popular in the conventional or commercial sense, and the sheet music did not sell particularly well at the time. While the music world certainly recognized their brilliance, the set was too technically demanding, even by Liszt’s own standards, for widespread popularity among pianists of the era.

🕰️ Context of the Time (1850s)

In the mid-19th century, piano music was a booming market, especially for works suitable for domestic music-making, salon concerts, and conservatory training.

Music publishers were generally more interested in pieces that were accessible to amateurs and students, or at least playable by the top-tier professionals.

Liszt’s Paganini Études were so extreme in their technical demands that very few pianists—essentially only Liszt himself and a handful of prodigies—were capable of playing them effectively. This severely limited their practical use and commercial potential.

🎹 Why Weren’t They Popular Initially?

Extreme Difficulty: These études are among the most difficult works in the piano repertoire, especially La Campanella and the sixth étude on Caprice No. 24.

Avant-garde Aesthetic: Liszt’s orchestral imagination and the sheer innovation in pianistic texture went beyond what most audiences and pianists were used to.

Virtuoso Culture in Transition: By 1851, Liszt was moving away from the stage as a performing virtuoso and focusing more on conducting, composing, and teaching. His legendary performing years (1830s–40s) were over, and younger pianists weren’t yet ready to tackle this repertoire.

Limited Audience for the Sublime: Unlike his paraphrases of operatic themes, which were extremely popular and widely published, the Paganini Études were less accessible both emotionally and technically.

🧾 Sheet Music Sales

The Paganini Études were published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1851.

There is no historical evidence to suggest that the sheet music was a commercial success at the time.

In contrast, Liszt’s more accessible works, like the Liebesträume, Hungarian Rhapsodies, or Consolations, enjoyed far better reception and sales.

🎼 Legacy and Later Reception

It wasn’t until the 20th century, with pianists like Vladimir Horowitz, Marc-André Hamelin, and Evgeny Kissin, that the Paganini Études began to enter mainstream concert programs.

Today, La Campanella (Étude No. 3) is by far the most famous of the set and often performed as a standalone showpiece.

The entire set is now recognized as a milestone of Romantic piano literature, admired for its inventiveness, brilliance, and the way Liszt reimagined Paganini’s violinism on the piano.

✅ In Summary:

Was it popular in its time? — No, due to extreme technical difficulty and limited commercial appeal.

Did the sheet music sell well? — No strong evidence suggests high sales; it likely had limited distribution and a niche audience.

What is its status today? — Revered as one of Liszt’s greatest contributions to piano literature, especially among advanced and concert pianists.

Episodes & Trivia

Here are some notable episodes, historical anecdotes, and fascinating trivia surrounding Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études after Paganini, S.140—a set of works filled with myth, ambition, and virtuosity:

🎻 1. Liszt’s “Paganini Epiphany”

In 1831, Liszt attended a performance by Niccolò Paganini in Paris. The impact was seismic. After hearing Paganini’s astonishing violin playing, Liszt was reportedly so overwhelmed that he locked himself away for weeks, obsessively practicing the piano to match that level of virtuosity. He famously exclaimed:

“What a man, what a violin, what an artist! He is a demoniac being. He is a god!”

This experience directly inspired the creation of the Paganini Études. He wanted to become “the Paganini of the piano.”

📝 2. Two Versions: S.141 and S.140

The first version, composed in 1838 (S.141), was so incredibly difficult that it was virtually unplayable—even Liszt himself rarely performed it.

In 1851, Liszt revised the set into the version we know today (S.140), making it more playable and musically mature, though still extremely challenging.

Some pianists today attempt to perform the original 1838 version, which is nearly superhuman in technical demand.

🔔 3. La Campanella’s Bell

The most famous étude in the set, No. 3 La Campanella, is inspired by the “little bell” motif from Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2. Liszt transforms this bell into a dazzling, crystalline treble note that recurs throughout the piece.

Trivia: That high bell note (usually D♯7) is one of the highest written notes in the standard piano repertoire.

Pianists like Horowitz and Kissin made this piece iconic for its difficulty and brilliance.

👻 4. Paganini and the Supernatural

Liszt loved the Romantic idea of the artist as a demonic genius. Paganini was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil to achieve his violin mastery—a myth Liszt leaned into and mirrored with his own public image.

Liszt used this mystique to enhance the aura of his Paganini Études: they’re not just exercises—they’re a form of sorcery on the keyboard.

🎹 5. Performance Rarity

For most of the 19th and early 20th centuries, very few pianists dared to perform the entire set live. Even today, complete performances of all six are rare and usually reserved for virtuosic recitals or competitions.

La Campanella is the exception—it’s now a staple encore piece.

📖 6. Manuscript Curiosity

In early sketches of the Paganini Études, Liszt experimented with extended techniques like:

Cross-hand trills.

Rapid tremolos spanning multiple octaves.

Wild leaps inspired by violin double stops.

These sketches show how deeply he was trying to translate violin technique into pianistic vocabulary.

🎼 7. A Virtuoso’s Badge of Honor

Among professional pianists, mastering even one of the Paganini Études is considered a major achievement. The full set is sometimes referred to as a “rite of passage” for high-level virtuosos, especially for competitions like the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition or Cliburn.

📽️ 8. Hollywood Cameo

Liszt’s La Campanella occasionally appears in pop culture:

Featured in anime like Your Lie in April.

Used in movies to signify genius or madness.

Sometimes remixed or referenced in game soundtracks and virtuoso YouTube performances.

🧠 9. Influence on Other Composers

Liszt’s Paganini Études paved the way for later virtuosic theme-and-variation works:

Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934).

Brahms’ Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35.

Lutosławski, Blacher, and others followed suit, proving how Caprice No. 24 became a “holy grail” for composers.

Similar Compositions / Suits / Collections

Here are compositions, suites, or collections similar to Liszt’s Transcendental Études after Paganini, S.140—works that, like it, blend extreme virtuosity, transformative transcription, and Romantic imagination. These fall into various categories: based on Paganini’s themes, transcendental in style, or composed in a similar spirit of pianistic challenge and brilliance.

🎻 Similar Paganini-Inspired Works

1. Johannes Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35 (1863)

Uses Paganini’s Caprice No. 24.

Two books of devilishly hard variations.

Known as the “Études for the Left Hand” due to their demands.

Dense textures, intricate voicing, and extreme finger independence.

2. Sergei Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 (1934)

Orchestral variations for piano and orchestra.

Combines bravura and lyricism with lush orchestration.

Famous Variation 18 is a romantic inversion of the Paganini theme.

3. Witold Lutosławski – Variations on a Theme by Paganini (1941, for two pianos)

Compact and powerful.

Brilliant reworking with dissonant harmonies and rhythmic bite.

4. Marc-André Hamelin – Etude No. 6 “After Paganini”

Modern-day take on Paganini Caprice 24.

Combines modern harmonic language and extreme virtuosity.

🎹 Virtuosic Piano Etudes in Liszt’s Spirit

5. Franz Liszt – Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139 (1852)

12 transcendental studies (including Mazeppa and Feux Follets).

Monumental set, lyrical and virtuosic.

S.139 and S.140 are companion cycles in ambition and difficulty.

6. Franz Liszt – Grandes études de Paganini, S.141 (1838)

The original version of S.140: much harder and rarely performed.

If S.140 is a diamond, S.141 is the raw, uncut crystal.

7. Charles-Valentin Alkan – 12 Études in All the Minor Keys, Op. 39 (1857)

Contains Concerto for Solo Piano and Symphony for Solo Piano.

Monumental, complex, and Romantic in scope.

Like Liszt, Alkan sought orchestral textures on the piano.

8. Leopold Godowsky – Studies on Chopin’s Études (1894–1914)

53 studies transforming Chopin’s Études into super-études.

Includes left-hand-only versions, counterpoints, and polyphonic rewrites.

9. Kaikhosru Sorabji – 100 Transcendental Studies (1940–44)

Massive modern tribute to Liszt’s transcendental ideal.

Stylistically complex, nearly unplayable in places.

🎶 Theme-and-Variation Works of Similar Brilliance

10. Aaron Copland – Piano Variations (1930)

Stark, modern, and virtuosic in a different idiom.

Contrasts Liszt’s Romanticism with lean, angular power.

11. Frederic Mompou – Variations on a Theme of Chopin

Based on Chopin’s Prelude in A major.

Evokes Liszt’s lyrical and spiritual sides.

👼 Showpieces with a “Demonic” Flair

12. Mily Balakirev – Islamey: Oriental Fantasy (1869)

Often considered one of the most difficult Romantic piano pieces.

Paganini-like speed and flash, fused with Eastern themes.

13. Igor Stravinsky – Three Movements from Petrushka (trans. for piano by Stravinsky)

Harsh, explosive, and extremely demanding.

A 20th-century showpiece for the modern “transcendentalist” pianist.

📚 Summary Table

Work Composer Link to Liszt S.140

Op. 35 Paganini Variations Brahms Paganini theme, extreme technique
S.141 Paganini Études Liszt Original (harder) version
Godowsky on Chopin Études Godowsky Super-études, radical transformation
Op. 39 Études Alkan Monumental and transcendental
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Rachmaninoff Orchestral Romantic variation on Caprice 24
100 Transcendental Studies Sorabji Lisztian ambition to the extreme

(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)

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Overview

The Transcendental Études, S.139 by Franz Liszt are a set of twelve virtuosic piano études that stand as one of the most demanding and visionary works in the piano repertoire. Completed and published in 1852, these études represent the pinnacle of Romantic pianism and Liszt’s philosophy of pushing the piano beyond conventional limits—technically, musically, and emotionally.

🔹 Overview

✦ Title:
Transcendental Études (Études d’exécution transcendante), S.139

✦ Composer:
Franz Liszt (1811–1886)

✦ Year of Final Publication:
1852 (final revision of earlier versions from 1826 and 1837)

✦ Dedication:
Carl Czerny – Liszt’s former teacher

🔹 Historical Background

Liszt composed the earliest version of these études in 1826 at age 15 (published as Étude en douze exercices, S.136). He revised them into a much more difficult version in 1837 (Douze Grandes Études, S.137), and finally refined and “musicalized” them into the 1852 version (S.139) that balances virtuosity with expression.

🔹 Musical and Technical Character

These études are more than technical drills—they are mini tone poems, each with a unique poetic or narrative character. They explore transcendence not just through finger dexterity but through deep musical expression, structural innovation, and emotional range.

Each étude is highly individual and carries a descriptive title (except No. 2 and No. 10, which Liszt left untitled but which have acquired nicknames).

🔹 The Twelve Études (S.139)

No. Title Key Character Summary
1 Preludio C major A brief and energetic prelude introducing the cycle
2 (Untitled) A minor Fiery and stormy with double-note technique
3 Paysage F major Pastoral, serene evocation of countryside landscapes
4 Mazeppa D minor Programmatic, wild gallop; based on Victor Hugo’s poem
5 Feux Follets B♭ major Flickering, ghostly; known for extreme difficulty and delicacy
6 Vision G minor Grand and solemn; evokes cataclysmic, majestic imagery
7 Eroica E♭ major Heroic and declamatory with martial rhythms
8 Wilde Jagd C minor “Wild Hunt”; turbulent and relentless, full of octave leaps
9 Ricordanza A♭ major Nostalgic, lyrical, and ornamented like a bel canto aria
10 (Untitled) (“Appassionata”) F minor Passionate and intense, often compared to Chopin’s style
11 Harmonies du soir D♭ major Richly harmonized, impressionistic textures; groundbreaking
12 Chasse-neige B♭ minor Evokes a snowstorm; swirling and haunting atmosphere

🔹 Technical Innovations

Demands extreme virtuosity, endurance, and color control

Explores double-note passages, hand-crossings, wide leaps, octave runs, and pedal finesse

Often uses advanced textures and sonorities not common before Liszt

🔹 Legacy and Influence

Set a new standard for the concert étude as an art form

Inspired later composers like Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Debussy

Anticipates 20th-century pianism, especially in Feux Follets and Harmonies du soir

🔹 Performance Considerations

Generally considered among the most difficult pieces ever written for piano

Requires not only technical prowess but also poetic insight, structural control, and emotional range

Often played individually or in subsets due to difficulty and length

Characteristics of Music

The Transcendental Études, S.139 by Franz Liszt form not just a set of studies but a monumental suite of self-contained yet thematically and emotionally connected piano compositions. Their musical characteristics reflect Liszt’s philosophy of transcendence—not only as a technical challenge but as a spiritual, poetic, and expressive ideal.

🎼 MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COLLECTION

🔹 1. Virtuosity as Expression

Liszt transcends the idea of études as technical drills. These pieces transform technique into expressive devices:

Scales, arpeggios, octaves, trills, and leaps serve narrative or atmospheric purposes

Each étude is a character piece, often with a programmatic or poetic element

🔹 2. Contrasts of Character and Mood

The études cover a wide emotional spectrum:

From explosive (No. 4 “Mazeppa”, No. 8 “Wilde Jagd”)

To intimate (No. 3 “Paysage”, No. 9 “Ricordanza”)

To mystical or impressionistic (No. 11 “Harmonies du soir”, No. 12 “Chasse-neige”)

Liszt weaves a narrative arc through contrasting moods, suggesting a spiritual or epic journey.

🔹 3. Programmatic and Poetic Elements

Most études are titled and allude to extramusical imagery:

“Feux Follets” (Will-o’-the-Wisps): light, elusive

“Mazeppa”: based on Victor Hugo’s poem about a man tied to a wild horse

“Ricordanza”: nostalgia and reverie

“Chasse-neige”: swirling snow, desolation

These études could be seen as tone poems for solo piano—a concept Liszt would later champion in orchestral music.

🔹 4. Innovative Harmony and Texture

Liszt’s harmonic language is adventurous and chromatic:

Uses enharmonic shifts, altered chords, and ambiguous tonality (especially in Nos. 5, 11, and 12)

Explores coloristic textures: pedaling effects, impressionistic sonorities

“Harmonies du soir” anticipates Debussy and Scriabin

🔹 5. Formal Variety

The études employ a variety of forms and structures:

Ternary (ABA) forms in lyrical pieces like “Ricordanza”

Sonata-like or developmental forms in “Mazeppa” and “Eroica”

Rhapsodic or improvisatory shapes in “Feux Follets” or “Vision”

Despite being études, the pieces are architecturally sophisticated, integrating virtuosic display with structural depth.

🔹 6. Technical Innovation

Liszt introduces groundbreaking technical devices:

Double-note runs (No. 2)

Wide leaps and hand crossings (No. 4)

Ghostly finger independence (No. 5)

Massive chordal textures and orchestral voicing (Nos. 6, 7, 11)

Each étude is a laboratory of pianistic invention.

🔹 7. Thematic and Tonal Cohesion

Though not a cyclic work in the strict sense, the études are unified by key relationships and motivic echoes:

Key progression loosely follows a modulatory arc, creating contrast and balance

Certain gestures (e.g., fanfare motives, swirling figures) recur in different guises

Some scholars argue for a quasi-symphonic structure or a poetic journey from light (No. 1 “Preludio”) to desolation and transcendence (No. 12 “Chasse-neige”).

🧭 Summary

The Transcendental Études, S.139 are:

A synthesis of poetry and pianism

A cycle of expressive, technically radical miniatures

A cornerstone of Romantic piano music that combines sheer difficulty with visionary artistry

They foreshadow the evolution of impressionism, symbolism, and the modernist piano tradition, while still grounded in Liszt’s unique Romantic voice.

Analysis, Tutoriel, Interpretation & Importants Points to Play

A comprehensive guide to Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études, S.139, including analysis, tutorial, interpretation, and key performance tips for each étude. This overview focuses on their technical challenges, musical essence, and interpretive demands.

🎼 Franz Liszt – Transcendental Études, S.139 (1852)

✅ General Performance Strategy (for the Whole Set)

Prepare mentally and physically: These études require not just finger skill, but stamina, memory, and emotional control.

Study each étude separately as a self-contained musical universe.

Practice hands separately, slowly, then integrate.

Use the score analytically: mark harmonic pivots, thematic returns, and fingerings.

Pedaling must be controlled and varied—Liszt often writes for orchestral-like sonority.

Tone control is essential—dynamics should be expressive, not just loud.

🎵 Étude No. 1 – Preludio (C major)

✦ Analysis:
A short preface (about 1 minute).

Brilliant fanfare gestures, repeated chords, and rapid scalar passages.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Practice rhythmic clarity in repeated chords.

Use forearm rotation to avoid tension.

✦ Interpretation:
Bold, radiant, and declamatory.

Treat as a “curtain-raiser” to the cycle.

🎵 Étude No. 2 – (Untitled) (A minor)

✦ Analysis:
Fast, stormy, and aggressive.

Features double-note runs, syncopations, and leaping left hand.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Double notes: practice legato trills in thirds and sixths.

Control balance between hands.

✦ Interpretation:
Keep it ferocious but not noisy.

Maintain rhythmic drive.

🎵 Étude No. 3 – Paysage (F major)

✦ Analysis:
Pastoral and lyrical.

Evokes nature with long melodic lines and gentle undulations.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Keep left hand legato and flowing.

Right-hand melody needs subtle shaping.

✦ Interpretation:
Tranquil and introspective, like gazing at a calm landscape.

🎵 Étude No. 4 – Mazeppa (D minor)

✦ Analysis:
Based on Victor Hugo’s poem: wild gallop, rise to greatness.

A full-fledged tone poem with octaves, leaps, and thematic transformation.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Practice octave jumps hands separately.

Slow practice is critical for precision in motion.

✦ Interpretation:
Start relentless and desperate, end triumphant.

Bring out the transformation in character.

🎵 Étude No. 5 – Feux Follets (B♭ major)

✦ Analysis:
Light, mysterious, dazzling.

Emphasizes finger independence, staccato skips, and delicate passagework.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Play hand movements close to keys.

Use fingertip control, avoid arm weight.

✦ Interpretation:
Think of flickering fire or fairy lights.

Never heavy—tone should shimmer.

🎵 Étude No. 6 – Vision (G minor)

✦ Analysis:
Majestic, dark, apocalyptic.

Full chords, grand themes.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Use arm weight for chordal passages.

Pedal carefully to avoid blurring.

✦ Interpretation:
Play like a massive organ or orchestra.

Noble, tragic tone.

🎵 Étude No. 7 – Eroica (E♭ major)

✦ Analysis:
Heroic march with dotted rhythms and fanfares.

Bold thematic material and left-hand octaves.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Dotted rhythms must stay tight.

Alternate wrist and finger technique for power and stamina.

✦ Interpretation:
Think of a triumphal entry or procession.

Noble defiance, rhythmic precision.

🎵 Étude No. 8 – Wilde Jagd (C minor)

✦ Analysis:
Depicts a wild hunt.

Rapid octaves, hand crossings, and broken chords.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Drill fast passages hands separately, aiming for evenness.

Plan pedaling to control resonance.

✦ Interpretation:
Keep ferocity and clarity balanced.

Unrelenting energy, vivid narrative.

🎵 Étude No. 9 – Ricordanza (A♭ major)

✦ Analysis:
Tender and nostalgic.

Highly embellished melodic writing—bel canto style.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Study ornaments slowly, group notes.

Phrase with rubato and breathing.

✦ Interpretation:
Play like a romantic reminiscence.

Poetic and lyrical; avoid sounding mechanical.

🎵 Étude No. 10 – (Untitled – often “Appassionata”) (F minor)

✦ Analysis:
Fiery, passionate, dramatic.

Large-scale structure with complex development.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Balance voicing in thick textures.

Careful tempo control in accelerandos and ritardandos.

✦ Interpretation:
Brooding intensity, Chopin-like storminess.

Shape climaxes carefully.

🎵 Étude No. 11 – Harmonies du soir (D♭ major)

✦ Analysis:
Impressionistic, rich harmonic color.

Uses arpeggios, chromaticism, and wide voicing.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Study pedaling in layers: half-pedals, flutter-pedal, dry pedal.

Voice inner harmonies with sensitivity.

✦ Interpretation:
One of the most poetic and sensuous études.

Think of evening light, blurred colors, mystery.

🎵 Étude No. 12 – Chasse-neige (B♭ minor)

✦ Analysis:
Evokes a snowstorm.

Features tremolos, rapid arpeggios, and chromatic whirlwinds.

✦ Tutorial Tips:
Practice with soft touch, close to keys.

Use pedal to support atmosphere, not smear texture.

✦ Interpretation:
Build gradually into a blizzard-like climax.

Cold, relentless, yet hypnotically beautiful.

🧠 Final Notes

This cycle is a spiritual and pianistic journey—from clarity (No. 1) to transcendence and dissolution (No. 12).

The études require complete command of tone, rhythm, structure, and emotion.

Use them not only to show virtuosity, but to explore color, character, and dramatic storytelling.

History

The Transcendental Études, S.139 by Franz Liszt are more than just a set of piano pieces; they represent a lifetime of pianistic innovation, personal evolution, and Romantic idealism. Their history is a story of ambition, transformation, and transcendence—mirroring Liszt’s own development as a composer, performer, and visionary.

A Journey Across Three Versions

The origins of the Transcendental Études go back to 1826, when the teenage Liszt, still a prodigy under the influence of Czerny and Beethoven, published a set of Études, Op. 6. These early pieces were technically advanced for a boy of 15, yet modest compared to what would come.

Over a decade later, in 1837, Liszt—now a traveling virtuoso and cultural phenomenon—returned to the project with fresh ambition. He expanded the earlier pieces into a new, much more formidable set titled Douze Grandes Études. These were vast, unwieldy, and devilishly difficult—almost unplayable by anyone other than Liszt himself. He had pushed the boundaries of piano technique but at the cost of accessibility.

Then, in 1852, at the height of his maturity and spiritual depth, Liszt revised the études once more. This final version is what we now call the Transcendental Études, S.139. Rather than merely simplifying the 1837 version, Liszt refined and reconceived them. He preserved their technical demands but gave each one poetic identity, musical purpose, and expressive freedom. Some were renamed or given evocative titles, like Mazeppa, Feux Follets, or Chasse-neige—transforming them from pure études into character pieces that invite storytelling, not just dexterity.

Romantic Idealism and the Poetic Vision
Liszt’s aesthetic at the time was steeped in Romantic philosophy, inspired by figures like Victor Hugo, Goethe, and Byron. His friend and companion Marie d’Agoult (writing as Daniel Stern) encouraged his artistic depth, and the literary circle around him valued the blending of music and meaning.

In this context, the Transcendental Études were not merely technical studies, but musical poems. They explore human states: triumph (Eroica), nostalgia (Ricordanza), violence (Wilde Jagd), serenity (Paysage), and dissolution (Chasse-neige). The idea of “transcendence” is not only pianistic—conquering the instrument—but also philosophical: rising above limitations of form, emotion, and self.

The Legacy and Impact

Despite their artistic significance, the Transcendental Études were seldom performed in their entirety during Liszt’s lifetime. They were too demanding and required a new kind of pianist—one who could combine virtuosity with interpretive insight. It was not until the 20th century, through pianists like Vladimir Horowitz, Claudio Arrau, and Maurizio Pollini, that the full cycle gained visibility as a monumental suite.

Liszt dedicated the final set to his pupil Carl Czerny, closing a circle that began in his youth. Yet, he had outgrown Czerny’s model of the étude as mechanical drill. Liszt’s Transcendental Études elevated the genre, influencing generations of composers—Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, Ligeti—who sought to merge technique with imagination.

Ultimately, the Transcendental Études are a testament to Liszt’s dual nature: the firebrand virtuoso and the spiritual seeker. In them, we hear both the fury of the performer and the introspection of the philosopher. Their history is not just the story of a set of pieces—it’s the unfolding of Liszt’s entire artistic identity.

Chronology

The chronology of Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études, S.139 reflects his evolving artistic maturity and the transformation of the étude from a technical exercise into a visionary form of poetic expression. Below is a detailed chronological overview of how this set developed across Liszt’s lifetime.

🎹 1826 – Étude en douze exercices, Op. 6 (S.136)

Age 15, Liszt composed and published his first set of twelve études, titled Étude en douze exercices.

These early works, though technically challenging, follow the classical model of Czerny-style finger studies, with relatively simple musical ideas.

They are in the same keys as the final Transcendental Études and form the structural foundation for later versions.

🔥 1837 – Douze Grandes Études (S.137)

At age 26, Liszt revised the 1826 set into radically expanded, virtuosic concert études, titled Douze Grandes Études.

These études were extraordinarily difficult, demanding wide leaps, hand crossings, and massive chordal textures—essentially tailored for Liszt himself.

The form, drama, and pianistic range became orchestral in conception.

However, they were too complex for most pianists of the time and were rarely played.

✨ 1851–1852 – Études d’exécution transcendante, S.139

Now in his early 40s, Liszt undertook a final revision.

He refined the 1837 études, shortening and clarifying many of them while keeping their essential difficulty and emotional weight.

He gave programmatic titles to most (e.g., Mazeppa, Ricordanza, Chasse-neige), aligning them with Romantic literature and imagery.

Published in 1852 and dedicated to Carl Czerny, his former teacher.

📜 Additional Historical Notes

Liszt had planned a prelude and fugue to accompany the cycle, though only sketches exist.

The 12 études are in a circle of fifths, spanning from C major to B♭ minor.

Liszt never performed the full set publicly in one concert.

The work was rediscovered and widely performed in the 20th century.

Impacts & Influences

The Transcendental Études, S.139 by Franz Liszt have had a profound and lasting impact on the history of piano music, shaping the trajectory of virtuosity, expression, and compositional thought in the Romantic era and beyond. These twelve pieces didn’t just push the boundaries of piano technique—they redefined the étude itself, elevating it into a work of artistic substance and poetic vision. Their influence can be traced across composers, pianists, and aesthetic ideals.

🎹 1. Redefining the Étude: From Drill to Drama

Before Liszt, études were primarily technical exercises (as with Czerny or Clementi), meant to develop hand facility, not to be performed on stage. Liszt’s Transcendental Études were revolutionary because they:

Transformed études into concert repertoire.

Embedded narrative, mood, and imagery into virtuosic textures.

Combined mechanical demands with spiritual and emotional substance.

This reconceptualization paved the way for composers like Chopin, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff, and Debussy to write études as poetic performance works.

🎼 2. Influence on Later Composers

Liszt’s transcendental vision directly or indirectly influenced a lineage of composers who wrote études with artistic and expressive goals:

✅ Romantic and Post-Romantic Composers:

Frédéric Chopin’s Études, while written earlier, were profoundly deepened in spirit by Liszt’s approach.

Alexander Scriabin adopted Liszt’s mystical, virtuosic writing in his own Études, pushing toward transcendental harmonic language.

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux blend visual imagery with pianistic poetry—clearly in Liszt’s lineage.

Claude Debussy’s late études are more abstract, but reflect Liszt’s idea of character études.

✅ Modern and Contemporary Composers:

György Ligeti’s Études of the 20th century—rhythmically complex and philosophically abstract—stand as descendants of Liszt’s transcendentalism.

Kaikhosru Sorabji, Leopold Godowsky, and Marc-André Hamelin also embraced Liszt’s concept of ultra-virtuosity married to deep art.

🎹 3. Impact on Piano Performance and Virtuosity

Liszt raised the bar for piano technique, setting new standards for:

Hand independence

Extreme dynamic contrast

Wide leaps and double-note passages

Speed, articulation, and endurance

The Transcendental Études became a rite of passage for virtuosos. In the 20th and 21st centuries, pianists such as:

Claudio Arrau

Lazar Berman

Evgeny Kissin

Marc-André Hamelin

Daniil Trifonov

have performed and recorded the complete set, demonstrating that virtuosity must serve expression, not just athletic display—a Lisztian ideal.

🧠 4. Philosophical and Artistic Influence

The Transcendental Études embody the Romantic philosophy of transcendence:

The individual confronting and overcoming impossible odds (Mazeppa, Wilde Jagd)

The sublime in nature (Paysage, Chasse-neige)

Memory and nostalgia (Ricordanza)

Heroic struggle and apotheosis (Eroica)

This connects them not only to music, but to Romantic poetry and art, making them interdisciplinary works that bridge music with literature and philosophy.

🌍 5. Cultural and Historical Legacy

These études helped define the Romantic pianist-composer archetype.

They shaped the idea of the recital as a dramatic, spiritual journey—a concept Liszt essentially invented.

They have been interpreted in films, literature, and academic discourse as symbols of human aspiration and artistic elevation.

✅ Summary: Lasting Impact of Transcendental Études, S.139

Domain Impact

🎼 Étude Genre Elevated to concert art with narrative and poetic identity
🎹 Technique Redefined the limits of what pianists could physically and expressively achieve
🧠 Aesthetic Introduced Romantic ideals of struggle, transcendence, and musical storytelling
🧬 Influence Inspired generations of composers from Rachmaninoff to Ligeti
🌍 Cultural Legacy Became emblems of Romanticism and symbols of artistic transcendence

Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études continue to inspire awe, humility, and wonder—both for what they demand from pianists and for what they reveal about the human spirit. Their impact is not only technical but deeply existential, reflecting a vision of music as a path to the sublime.

Popular Piece/Book of Collection at That Time?

At the time of their final publication in 1852, Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études, S.139, were not popular with the general public or the wider community of pianists—certainly not in the way that we understand musical popularity today. Nor were they commercial bestsellers in terms of sheet music sales. Here’s why:

🎭 Reception and Popularity in the 1850s

1. Too Difficult for Most Pianists

The études were still extraordinarily demanding, even in their “simplified” final form compared to the 1837 version (Douze Grandes Études).

Few pianists outside of Liszt himself could even attempt to play them, let alone perform them convincingly.

As a result, they were seen more as curiosities or technical monsters than approachable concert works.

2. Limited Audience for Avant-Garde Music

In 1852, the public taste leaned toward more melodic and lyrical works—think Chopin nocturnes or salon music by Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Liszt’s Transcendental Études were seen as too eccentric, bombastic, or modern.

Music publishers often found such pieces risky to print, since they catered to a very small group of elite pianists.

3. Liszt’s Changing Career

By the early 1850s, Liszt was retreating from his touring career and turning more toward composition, conducting, and religious/spiritual life.

His earlier celebrity as a piano virtuoso didn’t automatically translate into sales of technically intimidating works, especially as his own public performances became rarer.

📜 Sheet Music Sales

The sheet music for S.139 was published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1852.

It did not sell in large numbers initially, because:

It was too advanced for amateur pianists.

There was little professional demand to perform all 12 in public.

In contrast, more accessible works (like Liszt’s Liebesträume, Consolations, or Hungarian Rhapsodies) sold much better.

🌟 Later Rise to Prominence

It wasn’t until the 20th century that the Transcendental Études began to receive widespread admiration and regular performance:

Claudio Arrau and Lazar Berman began performing and recording the full set.

Pianists like Cziffra, Kissin, and Hamelin helped bring these works into the core virtuosic piano repertoire.

Audiences, critics, and performers grew to appreciate the poetic and philosophical depth, beyond just the technical fireworks.

✅ Summary

Aspect 1850s Reality

Public Popularity Low – not embraced by general audiences
Sheet Music Sales Modest – too difficult for most buyers
Performer Interest Niche – only a few elite virtuosos attempted them
Critical Praise Mixed – admired but often seen as extreme or excessive
Long-Term Legacy Enormous – now considered one of the greatest sets of piano études in history

So no, the Transcendental Études, S.139 were not popular or commercially successful when first published. They were ahead of their time, and it took generations for their true artistic and pianistic value to be fully recognized and appreciated.

Episodes & Trivia

Here are some fascinating episodes and trivia about Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Études, S.139, ranging from their evolution, inspirations, and connections to broader musical and literary culture:

🎬 1. A Project 25 Years in the Making

Liszt began sketching these pieces as a teenager—the earliest versions date from 1826, when he was only 15 years old. He revised them into the ferociously difficult “Douze Grandes Études” (1837), and finally reworked them into the Transcendental Études, S.139 in 1852.

👉 That means he revised the same set three times over 26 years—an unusual commitment even for Liszt.

🎨 2. Poetic Titles by a Poet-Composer

Only in the 1852 version did most of the études receive descriptive titles like Mazeppa, Feux follets, Ricordanza, etc. These were likely added to suggest narrative or emotional imagery, and they reflect Liszt’s deep interest in literature, especially Romantic poetry.

💡 Many believe the titles were inspired by:

Byron (Mazeppa)

Victor Hugo

Goethe and Heine

🐎 3. Mazeppa: Inspired by a Wild Ride

Étude No. 4, Mazeppa, is based on the legendary tale (retold by Byron and Hugo) of a man tied naked to a wild horse and dragged across the steppes as punishment.

🎼 Liszt literally mimics the galloping horse with wild octaves, relentless rhythms, and heroic sweeps. The end of the étude includes the quote:

“Il tombe, mais il se relève… il devient roi.”
He falls, but he rises again… he becomes king.

This reflects the Romantic hero’s journey from struggle to triumph, a core theme of the set.

🔥 4. Feux follets—A Technical Nightmare

Étude No. 5, Feux follets (Will-o’-the-Wisps), is one of the most technically difficult pieces in the entire piano repertoire—not for speed alone, but for its:

Hand-crossings

Unpredictable leaps

Delicate touch and voicing

🎹 Even Liszt’s students found it nearly unplayable at the time.

📜 5. Liszt Removed One Étude from the Set

The original 1837 version had 12 études, each with a key related to the circle of fifths. When Liszt finalized the 1852 version, he removed No. 10 in F major, which left a gap in the key sequence.

Some believe this was for musical or technical reasons, or because the set already had enough weight.

💥 6. The Missing Étude No. 1?

Étude No. 1 (Preludio) is very short and almost improvisational—less than a minute long in many performances. Some believe it serves as a call to arms or a curtain-raiser for the entire cycle, not a “full” étude like the others.

🎵 Its explosive opening is reminiscent of an orchestral fanfare, and it foreshadows thematic material used in later études.

👻 7. “Chasse-neige” as a Metaphor for Oblivion

The final étude, Chasse-neige (Snow-whirl), is haunting and poetic rather than showy. It evokes an avalanche or blizzard, with tremolos and swirling figurations that fade into silence.

Many interpret it as a symbol of death, winter, or the dissolution of the ego—the Romantic sublime taken to a metaphysical level.

📖 8. Franz Liszt as an Étude Pioneer

Liszt wrote more études than any major composer of his era, and the Transcendental Études are part of a broader philosophy for him: that music should be a means of moral, spiritual, and technical elevation—hence “transcendental.”

This ideal later influenced Scriabin, Messiaen, and even Ligeti.

📚 9. They Were Nearly Lost in Time

Despite their ambition, these études were not widely performed or studied until the 20th century. For decades, they were mostly played in parts (Mazeppa, Feux follets) but rarely as a complete set.

Thanks to pianists like Claudio Arrau, Lazar Berman, and Marc-André Hamelin, they were revived and celebrated as masterpieces.

🤯 10. No. 12 Has No Title—but Many Meanings

The final étude, No. 12 in B♭ minor, is simply titled “Chasse-neige”. But in Liszt’s 1837 version, it was titled “L’oubli” (Oblivion).

🧠 Some scholars interpret this as:

The end of memory

A return to silence

A metaphor for the erasure of ego or the passing of time

It serves as a mysterious, poetic close to a cycle that begins with fire (Preludio) and ends in snow (Chasse-neige).

🎹 BONUS TRIVIA: Played Backwards?

Some modern pianists and scholars have proposed performing the études in reverse order, starting with Chasse-neige and ending with Preludio, to emphasize a journey from death to rebirth—a kind of Romantic resurrection.

Similar Compositions / Suits / Collections

If you’re drawn to the epic scale, poetic drama, and technical brilliance of Liszt’s Transcendental Études, S.139, there are several other collections and works—both earlier and later—that share similar goals of virtuosity, expression, and transcendence. Here’s a selection of similar or related compositions, organized by their spiritual, technical, or historical connection to Liszt’s études:

🎹 Similar Étude Collections

🔥 1. Chopin – Études, Op. 10 and Op. 25

Written earlier (1830s), these études established the modern piano étude as a work of both technical and poetic depth.

Chopin’s études focus more on subtle textures than sheer power, but they laid the groundwork that Liszt expanded into the symphonic and transcendental.

🎯 Try: Op. 10 No. 4 (ferocity), Op. 25 No. 6 (dexterity), Op. 25 No. 12 (oceanic power).

🌀 2. Scriabin – Études, Opp. 8, 42, 65

Scriabin’s études evolve from Chopin but move into mysticism and coloristic harmony, like Liszt’s more spiritual later works.

They are often emotionally intense and technically daring, especially in Op. 42 and 65.

🎯 Op. 42 No. 5 is sometimes compared to Liszt’s Feux follets.

🚀 3. Rachmaninoff – Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 and Op. 39

These are tone poems for the piano, blending narrative imagery and Russian grandeur with massive technical demands.

Like Liszt, Rachmaninoff creates études that are both picturesque and pianistically overwhelming.

🎯 Op. 39 No. 1, No. 5, and No. 9 are especially brutal and expressive.

💎 4. Ligeti – Études, Books I–III (1985–2001)

Inspired in part by Liszt’s Feux follets, Ligeti’s études are ultra-modern, but share Liszt’s obsession with texture, rhythm, and transcendence.

They’re often called the “Transcendental Études of the 20th century”.

🎯 Try: Book I No. 3 “Touches bloquées” or Book II No. 10 “Der Zauberlehrling.”

💥 5. Godowsky – 53 Studies on Chopin Études

Perhaps the most insanely difficult études ever written.

They take Chopin’s works and superimpose extra layers of complexity, sometimes for the left hand alone.

Highly “transcendental” in ambition and technique, like Liszt’s S.139.

🎯 Try: Study No. 22 (on Chopin Op. 10 No. 6 for left hand alone).

🎼 Other Lisztian Virtuoso Cycles

🎻 6. Franz Liszt – Grandes Études de Paganini, S.141

Inspired by Paganini’s violin works, these études are as dazzling as S.139, but more focused on technique than narrative.

The famous La Campanella (No. 3) comes from this set.

👑 7. Liszt – Années de pèlerinage, S.160–163

These travel-inspired suites contain some of Liszt’s most poetic, spiritual, and virtuosic writing.

Less étude-like, but deeply connected to the philosophy and lyricism of S.139.

🎯 Try: “Après une lecture de Dante” (Italy II), or “Vallée d’Obermann” (Switzerland I).

🦉 8. Alkan – Études in the Minor Keys, Op. 39

Charles-Valentin Alkan, a friend of Liszt, wrote études that are massive in scale and difficulty.

Includes an entire Concerto for Solo Piano and Symphony for Solo Piano within the set.

🎯 Comparable in ambition and scope to Liszt’s transcendental cycle.

⚔️ 9. Kaikhosru Sorabji – 100 Études transcendantes (1940–44)

One of the most enormous piano projects ever undertaken, these études are hugely influenced by Liszt in name and vision, though in a dense, idiosyncratic style.

Rarely played due to extreme length and difficulty.

🧩 Bonus: Thematic or Aesthetic Cousins

🏞️ 10. Debussy – Études (1915)

While stylistically distant, Debussy’s études are conceptually similar: each étude explores a single pianistic idea, but with coloristic and poetic depth.

⚡ 11. Sorabji, Busoni, and Szymanowski

These later Romantic and post-Romantic composers continue Liszt’s tradition of pushing piano music to extremes—spiritually, emotionally, and technically.

Summary Table

Work Composer Similarity

Études Op. 10 & 25 Chopin Foundational poetic études
Études-Tableaux Rachmaninoff Tone-painting with virtuosity
Paganini Études Liszt Violin-inspired pianism
Op. 39 Études Alkan Gigantic form, difficulty
Études Books I–III Ligeti Modern transcendence
Godowsky’s Chopin Studies Godowsky Hyper-virtuosic variations
Années de pèlerinage Liszt Philosophical travel music
Op. 8 & 42 Études Scriabin Mystical and brilliant
100 Études transcendantes Sorabji Monumental and arcane

(This article was generated by ChatGPT. And it’s just a reference document for discovering music you don’t know yet.)

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