The White Hat Guide to Liszt Transcendental �tudes

 

In the the 1720s, J. S. Bach wrote a set 24 Preludes and Fugues in all keys to demonstrate the virtues of the well-tempered tuning system. He followed up with another set of 24 (book 2) and together they are often just known as The 48.

Bach's purpose was partly to show that a well-tempered tuning system would allow all 24 keys to be played without major tuning problems. However it also served as a splendid primer right down to the present day for the student to get practice at playing in all keys.

Since Bach's time, many other composers wrote sets of studies or etudes with the purpose of honing particular keyboard skills. Through the early to mid 19th century, most musicians settled on the equal temperament tuning system which gives a compromise of equally good and equally bad tuning in all keys, so a set of etudes in all keys became more a technical exercise in being able to read and play in all keys. In addition, the particular mixture of black and white keys in each key provided the fingers with differing ease of playing certain patterns and combinations.

The teenage Liszt set about writing 12 such etudes - 12 because he only included the keys with flats (or nothing) in their key signature. The mid career Liszt then expanded these pieces to make them truly transcendental in their demands. He later revised them again and while keeping them prodigious in their demands, revised the passages that called for extra large hands.

Some forthcoming performances of Liszt Transcendental �tudes:

Selected Sheet Music of Liszt Transcendental �tudes