Liszt concert etudes

[la_leggierezza]

hello 

what do u think about liszt´s concert etudes? which of the five (il lamento, la leggierezza, un sospiro, walderauchen, gnomenreign) should i play first? grade them in  order of difficulty!
i have finished my 8th grade.

thanks

[trunks]

I played the set of three in my debut piano recital (Il Lamento, La Legierezza, Un Sospiro) late February this year, and I can assure you that all three (and the other two) are WAY beyond Grade 8. But then I would always encourage the ambitious soul to explore and have fun . . .

You can begin with Un Sospiro or Waldesrauschen.
Then try Gnomenreigen.
Il Lamento and La Leggierezza are the most difficult, in my opinion.

Musically my No.1 favourite among the five is Il Lamento, followed by Un Sospiro and La Leggierezza.  Either piece from the set of two doesn't quite appeal to me, though.

[la_leggierezza]

thank you for your answer!  i don t know if 8th grade in portugal is the same in other countries but it is the latest grade before college... anyway these studies can be difficult for me even if the grades are the same... i dont know! i play several chopin etudes (op 10 nos 9,12 and op. 25 nos 1,2,7,12) and i would like to play a liszt etude but perhaps it is too difficult in this moment... i ´ll ask my teacher!  anyway thanks

[thierry13]

thank you for your answer!  i don t know if 8th grade in portugal is the same in other countries but it is the latest grade before college... anyway these studies can be difficult for me even if the grades are the same... i dont know! i play several chopin etudes (op 10 nos 9,12 and op. 25 nos 1,2,7,12) and i would like to play a liszt etude but perhaps it is too difficult in this moment... i ´ll ask my teacher!  anyway thanks

They still are way beyond the level of your grade 8. The chopin etudes you play are all the most easy of the set. Maybe take a look at 10.1, 10.2, 25.6, 25.10 and 25.11 before trying the liszt etudes.

[la_leggierezza]

thank you for your answer!  maybe they r still difficult to me! lol anyway i ´ll ask my teacher how far i am from playing those etudes!! thanks all the same.
please give me more opinions!

[sevencircles]

Listen to Barere playing la leggierezza. You can easily hear why he is considered one of the most underrated players of the 20.th century.

[la_leggierezza]

sorry about my ignorance but who is Barere?

[mrchops10]

Exactly. sevencircles speaks the truth--Simon Barere was a great Ukrainian pianist active through the 30s and 40s until his death in 1951 (literally on stage, at the piano). His recording of Islamey still burns in my mind, and his leggierezza is unbelievable. He is primarily known as a great showman, but within this virtuoso reportoire I think he achieves extraordinary musical accomplishments. Here is what Alexander Glazunov said of him: “Barere is an Anton Rubinstein in one hand, and a Liszt in the other.”

And, although I have not played the Liszt concert etudes, judging my the score I find it difficult to believe that Il Lamento, for example, is harder than Chopin op. 10/1. Of course, such judgements are subjective and personal, but Thierry and I have previously butted heads over the difficulty of Chopin etudes. I seem to struggle with them more than he does, I guess. Anyway, figure what works for you, if you like La Leggierezza or Il Lamento, try them for a little while. And listen to Barere.

[Waldszenen]

The first two I learnt were Gnomenreigen and Waldesrauschen. I'm considering learning Un Sospiro soon, and I'll probaby leave Il Lamento and La Leggierezza for the time being.