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Topic: Where would Scarbo place amongst transcendental etudes (S.139)  (Read 105 times)

Offline bach-busoni chaconne

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Where would Ravel's Scarbo (from Gaspard de la nuit) place in terms of technical difficulty amongst Liszt's S.139 Transcendental Etudes?
2026 Goal:
Bach-Busoni: Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53
Stravinsky: Trois Mouvements de "Pétrouchka" / Stravinsky-Agosti: Firebird

Offline liszt-and-the-galops

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Re: Where would Scarbo place amongst transcendental etudes (S.139)
Reply #1 on: November 26, 2025, 05:21:09 PM
Most difficult by a margin IMO, though Feux Follets is at least arguably on par with it.

Better question: where would it place in terms of quality among S. 139?
Amateur pianist, beginning composer, creator of the Musical Madness tournament (2024-26).
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Offline bach-busoni chaconne

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Re: Where would Scarbo place amongst transcendental etudes (S.139)
Reply #2 on: November 26, 2025, 06:26:45 PM
where would it place in terms of quality among S. 139?

O that is an interesting question.

IMHO Scarbo is very well composed to achieve Ravel's intended characterisation, so definitely top 1-2. Chasse-neige also very effective in creating the sense of snow though.
2026 Goal:
Bach-Busoni: Chaconne in D Minor, BWV 1004
Ravel: Gaspard de la nuit, M. 55
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53
Stravinsky: Trois Mouvements de "Pétrouchka" / Stravinsky-Agosti: Firebird
 

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