Favorite Liszt Tasnscentental Study

[mikeyg]

Hey all.  I'm sure that you are all familiar with Liszt's 12 studies, and i was jusy curious to hear which one your favorite, either emotionally plaesing or technically satisfying.   It is my opinion that this is the greatest set of etudes ever (yes, far super musically than Chopin's) and that Liszt is the greatest composer who wrote primarily for the piano. 
My personal favoritein regards to how "good" it sounds is # 10, and then perhaps Chasse-Neige.  Probably the most technically important one though is Mazzepa

[musik_man]

I agree that Liszt's etudes are better than Chopin's.  It seems like half the Chopin etudes consist of something fast(thirds, octaves, arpeggios, etc) while a simple melody is played.  They bore me.  I honestly think they are the worst set of works Chopin composed.

Anyway, my favorite of the Transcendental would be #10 in F minor and Paysage.  Paysage is a really beautiful piece, and way underrated in my opinion.

BTW did Liszt ever write a piano version of the Symphonic Poem version of Mazzepa?

[SteinwayTony]

I agree that Liszt's etudes are better than Chopin's.  It seems like half the Chopin etudes consist of something fast(thirds, octaves, arpeggios, etc) while a simple melody is played.


BTW did Liszt ever write a piano version of the Symphonic Poem version of Mazzepa?

Well, they are etudes, not lyric pieces or ballades, so they were written to focus on a particular technical improvement.  Pardon Chopin if they don't sound good to you.  Even so, Chopin's sets of etudes were groundbreaking in their musicality; consider yourself lucky you weren't around before Chopin's etudes came to be, because you'd be stuck playing Czerny and Clementi all day, and I don't know about you, but after a couple hours of Czerny etudes I'm bound to go insane.

The reason you prefer the Liszt etudes over Chopin's is because they sound less like etudes; indeed, they are less like etudes, though they are technically taxing.

Liszt wrote three versions of Mazeppa for piano that I know of: number four in the first edition of the transcendental etudes, number four in the second edition of the transcendental etudes, and a grandiose fantasia-like piece called Mazeppa.

[maxy]

BTW did Liszt ever write a piano version of the Symphonic Poem version of Mazzepa?

The Mazeppa for piano came before the Symphonic Poem.

I would say the most important étude is number 5.  The writing is superb. Amazing harmonies.  It's pretty obvious Ravel and Debussy were quite familiar with that piece...

Personally I love all TEs.  The 7th maybe a little bit less.

[lostinidlewonder]

Evening Harmonies no 11. I use it for warm up most of the time and it never stops to make me feel that musical shiver of delight. ehheah.

[thierry13]

Definitly mazeppa. The most beautiful one. It's just unique, I don't know why i feel something in this piece i don't feel anywhere else.

[mikeyg]

Tony, I never said I didn't like the Chopoin Etudes, just that I find Liszt's to be more harmonius and technically beneficial,because, like you said, Chopin only focuses on one problem in each study, whereas Liszt incorporates many different technical difficulties in each.  But the Chopin Etudes are still very nice.

[pseudopianist]

This might so suprise a few of you but I think Preludio is the best out of the set. I feel in love with it the first time I heard it and just had to play it.

These etudes are probaly (exception for Preludio and Mazeppa) the works I like the least by Liszt.

[thierry13]

I personally love all the etudes. I find Liszt's style of music particular, and I love it 

[Daevren]

I do not like Mazappa. I do like Chasse Neige and Harmonies Du Soir and Visions.

[thierry13]

Maybe if you would be able to write MazEppa correctly, you would be able to like it!


....

just joking

[Daevren]

Maybe.

I am dyslexic.

[zalmanesd]

I like Mazeppa the best.

[thierry13]

Maybe.

I am dyslexic.

so sorry 

[kapelli]

Eroica and Mazeppa :]

[hodi]

Wild Jagd is the best, so many unusual harmonies.. especially at the beginning..

[BoliverAllmon]

feux follets and wild jagd.