The Transcendental Études (), S.139, is a set of twelve compositions for piano by Franz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of an 1837 set (which had not borne the title "d'exécution transcendante"), which in turn were – for the most part – an elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826.
No. Name Key1 Preludio C major2 (Molto Vivace) A minor3 Paysage F major4 Mazeppa D minor5 Feux follets B major6 Vision G minor7 Eroica E major8 Wilde Jagd C minor9 Ricordanza A major10 (Allegro agitato molto) F minor11 Harmonies du soir D major12 Chasse-neige B minor
History
The genesis of the Transcendental Études goes back to 1826, when 15-year-old Liszt wrote a set of youthful exercises called the Étude en douze exercices (Study in twelve exercises), S.136."李斯特：超技练习曲S.139" [Liszt: Transcendental Étude S.139], Deutsche Welle, 1 April 2022 (in Chinese) These pieces were not particularly technically demanding compared to their later counterparts.
Liszt then returned to these pieces for thematic ideas, elaborating on them considerably, in the composition of the Douze Grandes Études (Twelve Grand Studies), S.137, which were published in 1840. These are often considered to be more technically demanding than their S.139 counterparts.
The Transcendental Études, S.139, are revisions of the Douze Grandes Études. The fourth was altered and published alone as Mazeppa in late 1846, and the collection as a whole was published in 1852 and dedicated to Carl Czerny,"Transcendental Études" by Betsy Schwarm, Encyclopædia Britannica Liszt's piano teacher, and himself a prolific composer of études. Liszt made numerous textual changes in the final revision of the set, adapting the technical demands to facilitate execution on pianos with heavier keyboard action.
When revising the 1837 set of études into their final "Transcendental" versions, Liszt added programmatic titles in French and German to all but two of the pieces, Études Nos. 2 and 10. In his edition of the work, Ferruccio Busoni respectively called them Fusées (Rockets) and Appassionata, and these titles are occasionally used in modern performance. However, these alternate titles were never approved by Liszt himself, and, generally, in scholarly reference, in performance, and in authoritative urtext editions like those published by G. Henle Verlag, these two études are referred to only by their performance indications: Molto vivace and Allegro agitato molto, respectively.Liszt: Transcendental Studies, Urtext Edition
Liszt's original idea was to write 24 études, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys. He completed only half of this project, using the neutral and flat key signatures. In 1897–1905 the Russian composer Sergei Lyapunov wrote his own set of Douze études d'exécution transcendante, Op. 11, continuing Liszt's cycle through the keys that Liszt had not used, namely the sharp keys, to "complete" the set of 24.Liszt: The Complete Music for Solo Piano, Vol. 4 – Transcendental Studies (1989), Hyperion Records, Leslie Howard Lyapunov's set of études was dedicated to the memory of Liszt, and bore titles as Liszt's set had done, with the final étude being entitled Élégie en mémoire de Franz Liszt.
Very few pianists have recorded the 1837 set, and even fewer have recorded the 1826 set (which really are works of Liszt's juvenilia). Leslie Howard is the only pianist to have recorded all three sets on a major label for international release, as part of his series of recordings for Hyperion of the complete solo piano music of Liszt.
Selected recordings of the complete set Pianist Recorded LabelAlexander Borovsky1956VoxGyörgy Cziffra1957–1958EMILazar Berman1963MelodiyaClaudio Arrau1974–1976PhilipsRussell Sherman1976VanguardMichael Ponti1982Leo RecordsJosef Bulva1983Orfeo RecordsJerome Rose1984Cum LaudeJorge Bolet1985DeccaVladimir Ovchinnikov1985Melodiya; EMI in WestJanice Weber1988MCALeslie Howard1989HyperionJenő Jandó1994NaxosBoris Berezovsky1995–1996TeldecFrançois-René Duchâble1998EMIJanina Fialkowska2000Opening Day RecordingsFreddy Kempf2001BISChristopher Taylor2002Liszt DigitalYu Kosuge2003Sony ClassicalBertrand Chamayou2005SonyAlice Sara Ott2009Deutsche GrammophonVesselin Stanev2010RCA Red SealMariangela Vacatello2010Brilliant ClassicsMélodie Zhao2011Claves RecordsVadym Kholodenko2013Harmonia MundiKirill Gerstein2016MyriosDaniil Trifonov2016Deutsche GrammophonMordecai Shehori2018Cembal d'amourYunchan Lim2022live in Fort Worth, released by Steinway & SonsSandro Russo2024Steinway & SonsYoav Levanon2025Warner Music Records
Other works with a similar title Sergei Lyapunov, 12 Études d'exécution transcendante, Op. 11 (1897–1905) Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, Études transcendantes (100) (1940–44), commonly known as 100 Transcendental Studies Brian Ferneyhough, Études transcendantales for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble (1982–85)
References
External links
Discography of Liszt's Transcendental Studies