wilde jagd, and liszt excercises

[gee]

I recently heard a recording of Wilde jagd, and was wondering how hard it is compared to the other liszt etudes? Also, i'd like to know what are some of the special technical requirements needed for this piece.

Oh yes, and does anybody know where i can find, or possibly download liszt's technical excercises?

[nicko124]

Transcendental etudes - https://muslib.mmv.ru/download_eng/piano/list_trans.htm (In case you want to look at wilde jagd and determine it's difficulty)

[donjuan]

#8 is definately not the hardest one, although the furious pace can be intimidating, especially if you have to perform it in front of humans.

by the way, you can buy the technical exercises here:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?sku=AP.630&cart=3334676375439889&searchtitle=Sheet%20Music

I bought them myself.... an excellent edition with helpful notes from the editor.  This is evidence that Liszt really did think of everything!
donjuan

[mlsmithz]

Obviously what is difficult for one pianist is not necessarily difficult for another, but 'Wilde jagd' is generally considered one of the less difficult of the TEs.  I can't really rank all twelve, but I tend to group 'Preludio', 'Paysage', 'Vision', 'Eroica', 'Wilde jagd', and 'Harmonies du soir' in the 'less difficult' side and the A minor etude, 'Mazeppa', 'Feux-follets', 'Ricordanza', the F minor etude, and 'Chasse-neige' on the 'more difficult' side.  That's not to say I can play any of them proficiently except 'Paysage' and perhaps 'Preludio' on a good day, but I can sight-read most of the first six and almost none of the last six.

As for special technical requirements, it's something of a grab bag of techniques, as are all of the TEs to some degree, but hand independence is particularly crucial during the hemiola passages halfway through the piece and near the end, and the flying octave leaps in the right-hand just before the second hemiola passage take a bit of practice.  I'm not quite sure what to say about the descending chromatic scales near the beginning - you need to hit every note without losing the momentum of the piece, which can't be done easily using traditional chromatic scale fingering.  I've seen varying opinions on what constitutes an effective approach to those scales - 5-1 twice over, not worrying about hitting every note as it's the gesture that is more important, etc.  You may need to experiment a bit to see what works for you.  That aside there's not too much tricky stuff - just, as donjuan says, the intimidation factor involved in playing it Presto furioso.  Confidence (and not C minor ) is key in this piece.

Take these observations with many grains of salt - my own rendition of this piece is dreadful, though I've been trying to work on improving it.

[mephisto_warrior]

Hey well probably I'm not as advanced a you guys, I'm still stuck with the mephisto waltz, If I Isolate the technical trickiest passages I can do them but not if I play the hole piece, I don't know if it is a stamina problem, I don't know if it's related but is the first lizt piece I do......Probably you are all done wth these kind of begginers problem and hopefully can advise me. 

[orlandopiano]

I tend to group 'Preludio', 'Paysage', 'Vision', 'Eroica', 'Wilde jagd', and 'Harmonies du soir' in the 'less difficult' side

I would agree, but I think Wilde Jagd is definitely the hardest of that bunch.

[ted]

I find this one of the most musically attractive of the twelve because of the contrasting sections and the different rhythmic accentuations. In the first section there is a most interesting repeated group of five, which is nice and unusual. It is a splendid piece for practising accurate chord execution and you can really build the whole thing up to a tremendous climax.

I remember my teacher and I always disagreed about whether to play those little groups of four 32nd notes followed by a quaver with the whole hand ,12345 right, 54321 left, or use something like 1234 - 3 right, 4321-3 left. He reckoned the first was better but I always liked the second because I thought it imparted a better rhythm.

[gee]

Thank you guys for your replies, i have just begun this piece and wonder if it's humanly possible to ever get to the speed of Evgeny Kissin's recording 

mlsmithz, thanks for the revision, seems to be an interesting piece, and is starting to sound quite a bit like la campanella.   

Donjuan, thanks for the link, but i'm going to try to dig around for a free downloadable source, or a cheaper copy before i resort to ordering it. As i am a student, and quite frankly, flat out broke. 

[itsdingy]

Obviously what is difficult for one pianist is not necessarily difficult for another, but 'Wilde jagd' is generally considered one of the less difficult of the TEs.  I can't really rank all twelve, but I tend to group 'Preludio', 'Paysage', 'Vision', 'Eroica', 'Wilde jagd', and 'Harmonies du soir' in the 'less difficult' side and the A minor etude, 'Mazeppa', 'Feux-follets', 'Ricordanza', the F minor etude, and 'Chasse-neige' on the 'more difficult' side.  That's not to say I can play any of them proficiently except 'Paysage' and perhaps 'Preludio' on a good day, but I can sight-read most of the first six and almost none of the last six.

As for special technical requirements, it's something of a grab bag of techniques, as are all of the TEs to some degree, but hand independence is particularly crucial during the hemiola passages halfway through the piece and near the end, and the flying octave leaps in the right-hand just before the second hemiola passage take a bit of practice.  I'm not quite sure what to say about the descending chromatic scales near the beginning - you need to hit every note without losing the momentum of the piece, which can't be done easily using traditional chromatic scale fingering.  I've seen varying opinions on what constitutes an effective approach to those scales - 5-1 twice over, not worrying about hitting every note as it's the gesture that is more important, etc.  You may need to experiment a bit to see what works for you.  That aside there's not too much tricky stuff - just, as donjuan says, the intimidation factor involved in playing it Presto furioso.  Confidence (and not C minor ) is key in this piece.

Take these observations with many grains of salt - my own rendition of this piece is dreadful, though I've been trying to work on improving it.

Are you kidding me? It's definitely not one of the easier ones. In fact, I would put it in the top 5 most difficult ones in the set. I played it at my college entrance exam, and boy did I take me nearly a year to practice and play it well. The rapid octaves and chords along with jumps spanning 3 octaves is not easy. Plus, if you play at Liszt's tempo marking, its humanly impossible.

[nightwindsonata]

I honestly would put it as one of the hardest to pull off (at least for me), just a bit below Feux Follets and Chasse-Neige. The leaps at the start are absolutely terrifying, and the piece never gets easier. Perhaps I will play it someday, but for now I refuse to touch it   

[lelle]

I can't play Wilde Jagd perfectly or as fast as some people, but compared to some other Transcendental Etudes, which I can't play at all lol, I'd have to throw in a vote for it being one of the easier overall from the set.