Liszt transcendental etudes

[mussorgsky]

Hi! From Liszt's transcendental etudes I've allready learned no.1 in C major. Which do you think should be next (just don't tell me no.3 "Paysage", because I want something faster). I'll be glad to hear from you!

[j_menz]

How about number 2? Then you can keep going in order through them all. 

[stoudemirestat]

Impossible to answer without knowing more details...What other pieces have you learnt/are you learning? How did you find the 1st TE?

[mussorgsky]

Impossible to answer without knowing more details...What other pieces have you learnt/are you learning? How did you find the 1st TE?

I've learned the first moment from Beethoven's sonata Pathetique, Minute waltz by Chopin, Impromtu op.90 no.4 by Schubert, The great gate of Kiev by Mussorgsky, 5 preludes and Prelude from Suite pour le piano by Debussy, Traumerei by Schumman and others like these. I plan to learn Liebestraum 3 by Liszt and etude op.10 no.3 by Chopin. I learned the First Transcendental etude for one week and it was easy for me. In technique I'm good at octaves, arpeggios and chromatic scales.
 

[stoudemirestat]

Hmm, I think that the other transcendentals, except 3 which you don't want to learn, are probably beyond you considering what you said. They are all MUCH more difficult than the first one...I would probably develop some technique with the Etudes of Chopin first, however if you REALLY want to give one a shot, I would learn 6, 'vision.' It suits the strengths you mentioned and is not one of the more difficult ones, however it will be a huge challenge for you, especially the tremolos in the second half of the piece.

[mussorgsky]

Hmm, I think that the other transcendentals, except 3 which you don't want to learn, are probably beyond you considering what you said. They are all MUCH more difficult than the first one...I would probably develop some technique with the Etudes of Chopin first, however if you REALLY want to give one a shot, I would learn 6, 'vision.' It suits the strengths you mentioned and is not one of the more difficult ones, however it will be a huge challenge for you, especially the tremolos in the second half of the piece.

I actually tried some parts from no.7 "Eroica" (The octave arpeggios) and I almost did it. Actually, this is my favourite of the etudes.

[stoudemirestat]

I actually tried some parts from no.7 "Eroica" (The octave arpeggios) and I almost did it. Actually, this is my favourite of the etudes.

Okay, Interesting. However you shouldn't play a piece to 'almost do it.' If you're going to play something, you need to be able to completely do it. Play it well will full attention to detail, dynamics, phrasing, with very few mistakes. The finished product should be a confident, beautiful performance - NOT a struggle to the finish line with musical and technical errors abound. Not saying you'd do that, but just a thought.

[j_menz]

The finished product should be a confident, beautiful performance - NOT a struggle to the finish line with musical errors abound.

There should be a law that that be printed at the top of every etude in every edition!

[danhuyle]

All Liszt Etudes have their own set of problems. Anyway, I played 1,10,9,5,12 first before I felt ready to play the others. I can play 2,3,11 really slow. I played the main theme and the variations of the main theme, but that's it with Mazeppa. At the moment I'm practicing 6,7,8. Number 8 being my very last choice to learn. At least for learning the technical side of things.

As for musicality, that's a different story. I'm putting TE 5 as my last choice to work on.

[shubertimproviz]

why not 'mazeppa' no .4,. either it's very difficult............

[pianoplayjl]

why not 'mazeppa' no .4,. either it's very difficult............

That is the hardest of the set and should be the last piece to learn before reaching the peak of Mt Everest. It has everything in it, and would take a year to master. It is really the equivalent of 2-3 Chopin etudes mashed up or 1.5 Liszt etudes, IMO. For an easier TE, try no 2'rockets', dubbed by Busoni. It is pretty straight forward, the rhythm. If you have a good octave and chord technique, this should be good for you.
The other easier etudes are No 6 and No 9. No 6 and 9 I don't know much about but I think for 6 you only have to worry about the arpeggios and I think it is a slow piece.

Jl