Etudes: Pierre Dubois 1960, Dognanyi Op. 28, etc.

[dnephi]

I'm interested in finding some good etudes off the beaten path which are fresh, original, of course, good for technique and performance.  If someone has the score and can send it to me, that'd be amazing.

I became interested in the following pieces:

Bozza Allegro de Concert.  I know nothing about the piece except that I hear it's a good etude.
I have no sheet music.

Dubois: 10 Etudes de concert, 1960.  Supposedly a mix of impressionism, romanticism, and some 20th century ideas.  I read that they are very effective in performance, but I don't have sheet music or recordings of them.  I think that these would likely be an excellent idea.

I really would like to get into some more French music.

(A discussion of Saint-Saens' and Messiaen's Etudes is in order.)

Dohnanyi: 6 Etudes, Op. 28.  Which of these might you recommend?  I have sheet music, but not any recordings.  What recordings, then, would you recommend?

Any other etudes that you might recommend would be great.


I look forward to your responses,

Daniel

[dnephi]

Pardon the typo in the title: it should read "Dohnanyi." 

Upon further investigation, I'm not so interested in the Dubois, but I am very interested in the Dohnanyi.  Does anyone here have experience or familiarity with it?

[retrouvailles]

Dohnányi's etudes are very good in my opinion, in popular particular the Capriccio in F minor. Stephen Hough and some others have good recordings of that etude alone.

The Saint-Saëns etudes are also very good, especially the preludes and fugues and the etude en forme de valse. The Messiaen etudes are very different from your usual etude and work on very different techniques.

[dnephi]

Thanks for the response.  Appreciate the feedback. 

Are there any of the Dohnanyi that you would recommend in terms of technical value? 
Chris said that he played 2, 5 and 6 and that it had a noticeable effect on his technique.

[retrouvailles]

I haven't played them, so I can't mention any of technical value. I can only mention those of musical value, which are all of them, but 5 and 6 I would say have the highest musical value.

[soliloquy]

How bout Dusapin?

[retrouvailles]

I have really grown close to Dusapin's etudes. There are some unique effects in those etudes. Some are even similar to Scriabin, according to Ian pace in the editorial notes. They have a lot of technical difficulty, but also a lot of music in them. Hard to believe they were written not even 10 years ago.

[dnephi]

Could you, perhaps, send a sample of the scores?  I'd be looking for an etude without too much rhythmic complexity, if one exists. 

Part of the appeal of a French composer is that my family is moving to France without me and it would be a nice gesture to them. 

On that note, I have come to the conclusion that an etude for which I search is the Alkan Op. 39 No. 7, which is exceptionally pianistic upon investigation and demands/develops high proficiency in all aspects of technique in conventional literature except double-note technique.

I think that that'd make the step from where I am now to the Liszt Etudes and other repertoire of similar difficulty.

A contrasting etude by a French composer from the 20th century would be very nice, perhaps.

Thoughts?

Daniel

[retrouvailles]

When I get back home, I will scan some sample pages of the Dusapin. They are very complex rhythmically, but they are doable. Check Youtube for some videos of his etudes (two of which were uploaded by me).