The unofficial Tonebase-piano-wide Liszt Complete Transcendental Etudes project!

Noel_Nguyen
updated 6 days ago
71replies

My dear piano friends,

It is with trembling hands that I am writing this. But this HAS to be done, if only because I'm getting old and in a few years I won't be able to tackle this repertoire anymore.

As you may have read in the other thread, I recently came up with this manic idea, but it's doable, isn't it?

The objective is to record and share performances of all 12 Etudes Transcendentales, between all of us, on volunteer basis of course, as a celebration of our love for the piano, Liszt, and Tonebase.

To stay within the existing formats, this could be officially launched as a community challenge in June, with the watch party being set for July 31st (Liszt's death anniversary, because I can't wait until October for such an exciting project!).

We know that Feux Follets is in Yihan's repertoire ( ), Paysage in Thurmond's ( ), Wilde Jagd soon to be in 's, and nos 1 & 2 soon to be in mine.

And we can count on and the other pros here to save the day if needed😁.

So, are you in? Suggestions/thoughts welcome!

- Pediatrician
- a_weymann
- 5 days ago
- Reported - view
How do I find this thread from the Tonebase Piano Community main menu? It looks like it’s under “General Discussion”, but when I go to General Discussions directly, it doesn’t come up. And there’s no way for me to bookmark or prioritize it. The only way to find it is to click on one of its posts under “Recent Activity”. There has to be a more direct way to access the thread, right?
- Noel_Nguyen
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Here's the direct link:
  
  https://piano-community.tonebase.co/t/60yp4gf/the-unofficial-tonebase-piano-wide-liszt-complete-transcendental-etudes-project
- Pediatrician
  
  a_weymann
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  thank you!!
- Astrida_Gobina
- 5 days ago
- Reported - view
Omg, how crazy this is! Count me in with Harmonies du soir. Will start practicing tonight. Cheers!
- Doug_Weiss
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Excellent choice. I was strongly considering Harmonies du Soir as well! That is, only because Alexander selfishly chose Chasse-Neige (AND Wilde Jagd) before I could speak for them and Judy ruthlessly strong armed the spot for Mazeppa and of course, everyone else who spoke for my favourite Etudes (all of them). That's OK though. I forgive you all and am immensely looking forward to this event...
- Noel_Nguyen
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  😂Doug, something tells me you are born to play Vision and Eroica.
- Astrida_Gobina
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I guess Ricordanza should be comparatively manageable, too.
- Doug_Weiss
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Well, I beg to differ. You're half right. I was born to play Vision and Ricordanza. That is after I learn Harmonies du Soir, Mazeppa and Chasse-Neige. ;-)
- Doug_Weiss
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Manageable, probably but definitely not so quickly. For me, these are projects that will be measured in years.
  
  Actually, this morning I spent some time with the Op. 1 set and I am sure that the Ricordanza is among my favourite (next to Chasse-Neige) and very playable. These two are quite recognizable (as a beginning sketch) to the later mature works. Harmonies du Soir and a few others though I don't think you could find many connections to the later work.
- Astrida_Gobina
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  they all are a challenge and could be a lifetime goal. In my teens, I played no.1 and thought it was quite easy. Not anymore. But ok, we live once. It’s worth an adventure. Since we are not pirates, our pleasures are in black and white. So, thank you again!
- Pediatrician
  
  a_weymann
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  my former teacher, who sometimes played 7-12 in recitals, used to say that Ricordanza was one of the hardest.
- Astrida_Gobina
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  good I did not pick that one then.
- Noel_Nguyen
- 5 days ago
- Reported - view
Temporarily usurping Maria's role as the Liszt keeper, because of my current dopamine rush:

Liszt of participants:

No. 1 - "Preludio": Noel Nguyen

No. 2 - "Molto vivace": Noel Nguyen

No: 3 - "Paysage": Thurmond, Maria

No. 4 -"Mazeppa": Judy Kuan

No. 5: - "Feux Follets": Yihan

No. 6: - "Vision": Volunteers needed

No. 7 - "Eroica": Volunteers needed

No. 8 - "Wilde Jagd": Alexander Weymann

No. 9 - "Ricordanza": Maria PRN

No. 10 - "Allegro agitato molto": Yuchao Zhou

No. 11 - "Harmonies du soir": Astrida

No. 12 - "Chasse-neige": Alexander Weymann
- Pediatrician
  
  a_weymann
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Dopamine rush is right! And adrenaline, and…. ah, it’s a wild, happy mélange of catecholamines and neurotransmitters dancing around in my system right now.
- Maria_F
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  technically, chatecholamines are a type of neurotransmitter (unless you consider them strictly to be hormones).
- Pediatrician
  
  a_weymann
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  good point! should have said: “and OTHER neurotransmitters”…. 😄
- Noel_Nguyen
  
  5 days ago
  
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  I'll be content with calling my blood the dopamine soup.
- Maria_F
  
  5 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I had to write many essays about neurotransmitters for biochemistry.
- Mom, fitness instructor, lover of music
  
  Michelle_Russell
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Thurmond and his teacher were talking about this challenge last night, and they are considering whether or not #7 is in Thurmond’s near future.
- Noel_Nguyen
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  I sure hope it is😁, but please don't choose it just because of the challenge. His pianistic development should be the top priority.
  
  I do believe his hand size is perfect for those flying octaves, but that's just my biased opinion😅.
- Mom, fitness instructor, lover of music
  
  Michelle_Russell
  
  4 days ago
  
  Reported - view
  Not to worry. His teacher has been careful in choosing appropriate challenges, and even a bit strict about things he’s not yet ready to tackle. Thurmond has had a leap in ability in the past few months, so his repertoire choices are expanding. One of his dreams has been to play these etudes! His teacher is thinking about which one will be good (if any) right now - once this month of piano mentorship is over, we’ll see what new rep he’s going to do. Thanks.
- Sachi
- 4 days ago
- Reported - view
I’ve been practicing s136 no.2. I would like to join this challenge with this piece. Currently I’m away from piano: visiting family in NZ which is far away from home, the opposite side of the earth from Europe where I live. This challenge will give me great motivation to get back to piano when I return towards the end of this month.
Thank you Noel & Dominion and the friends in this thread!