The unofficial Tonebase-piano-wide Liszt Complete Transcendental Etudes project!
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!
71 replies
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Liszt of participants:
No. 1 - "Preludio": Noel Nguyen
No. 2 - "Molto vivace": Noel Nguyen
No: 3 - "Paysage": Thurmond, me
No. 4 -"Mazeppa": Judy Kuan
No. 5: - "Feux Follet": Yihan
No. 6: - "Vision": Doug Weiss?
No. 7 - "Eroica": Volunteers needed
No. 8 - "Wilde Jagd": Alexander Weymann
No. 9 - "Ricordanza": Volunteers needed (I can volunteer if no one else does)
No. 10 - "Allegro agitato molto": Yuchao Zhou
No. 11 - "Harmonies du soir" Astrida
No. 12 - "Chasse-neige": Alexander Weymann
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I would love to participate but over the last week I came down with my reoccurring wrist injury so I have to sideline myself for hopefully not too long. It will have to be a wait and see before I can commit to something but I certainly will be joining you in spirit.
I do have a suggestion though. I know the focus here is maybe only on the Transcendental Études (1851)? This was the third and final version of these Studies. Before it came the 12 Grandes Etudes (1837) which are largely harder than the final 1851 version so we'll avoid these. However, the Etude in 12 Exercises, Op. 1 and was Liszt's first attempt at this set and was written when he was only 15 years old. The framework of the later versions is there and mostly recognizable but also very simple and more playable for those who aren't willing to play death defying studies (also known as some of the hardest music written for the instrument).
So not as spectacular and exciting as the final versions but maybe we could have an option for more intermediate players that could try their hand at any of the Op. 1 Studies as an alternate tip of the hat to Liszt.
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After Doug's mention of the most difficult version (1836), I had to go try it. I confirm that it is much less playable (and in many places unplayable at the final tempo), but also less effective musically IMO, than the 1851 version. I ran into the same problem at times with Rachmaninoff's Sonata no.2, but to a much lesser extent in both ways, so I managed to soldier on until I fully learned the harder version, because it was worth it. With the Liszt... no way! It's inhuman, and inhumane. But I found a good use for the harder version. Practicing it makes the 1851 version feel easier in comparison, and I might be on my way to solving one of the (gazillion) tough spots.
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I saw the notification about your post in my e-mail an hour ago and thought: "well, that's obviously crazy, but very exciting, so I'll reply with a few measured and cautionary points to consider" - but in the meantime, this has already taken off like a runaway train! Unbelievable. So exciting! I'm definitely in. 😄
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Two more thoughts:
1.) This project, of course, does nothing to address the oft-heard criticism that Tonebase Piano focuses too much on late-intermediate and advanced players - but that criticism will just have to be addressed elsewhere, won't it? 🙂
2.) Another point of criticism voiced repeatedly, and one to which I, as a physician who is on inpatient service and on 24/7 call - and thereby essentially out of commission for all things piano - 2 out of every 4 weeks, can very much relate, is that 4 weeks (or, heaven forbid, 2 weeks) are not enough time to meaningfully complete a challenge. Therefore, I think this should be a 12-week challenge, and if we are indeed aiming for a watch party at the end of July, it needs to start at the beginning of May latest.
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We need volunteers for Vision, Eroica, and Ricordanza.
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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?