Music Research on Liszt's "Twelve Transcendental Etudes"

Jiao Ming

(Department of Music Education, China Conservatory of Music, Beijing 100101)

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[Abstract]: Liszt's "Twelve Technique Etudes" is famous for its bold and wild passion and unusual expression techniques. Difficult skills became the goal of exploration by later pianists. However, Liszt did not regard these "magic skills" as the purpose of creation, but as a means of expressing ideas. He added titles to most of his works, and used rich techniques to To portray a specific musical image, it achieves the unity of artistry and literature. This is the result of the rapid development of music description skills. For a piano player, the music research of Liszt's "Twelve Supertechnical Etudes" It is undoubtedly of great value. The author conducted preliminary research based on his own study and understanding of "Twelve Supertechnical Etudes".

[Keywords]: Liszt; virtuoso etudes; analysis and research; playing style;

Liszt was one of the most exciting figures in the music world in the 19th century and a great piano player. The first in the ranks of soloists, so to speak, unrivaled in terms of pure virtuosity. He has received systematic and strict training since he was a child, and through continuous practice, he is good at absorbing the experience of his predecessors, and boldly innovates to form a unique set of techniques. These techniques are reflected in the "Twelve Super Technique Etudes" he created. In these advanced technical etudes of his, fast scales, arpeggios, double tones, octaves, ornamentations and long tremolos and trills are intertwined into a colorful sound world, showing a wild and wild sound. Passionate and unusually expressive, he made the piano a universal instrument. But what is even more valuable is that he broke through the monotonous and lengthy technical training in traditional etudes and integrated the technical training into a small poem or a landscape painting with titles such as "Magepa", "Phantom" ", "Hunting", etc., used "magic skills" to express various musical images and created etudes full of mythical and magical colors. In his advanced piano technique etudes, he successfully achieved technical and literary qualities. The unity and purpose are also one of the foundations for the realization of romantic aesthetic goals.

Romantic art in the 19th century, under the banner of freedom, equality and fraternity, replaced the past representations of gods and heroes with the representation of people and nature. In this broad and free atmosphere, the artist on the one hand happily pours his strong self-feeling into his works in order to obtain the hope of expressing his imagination and praising the people; on the other hand, he expresses his pessimism and dissatisfaction towards the work. The constraints of the vulgar social court, the lonely soul, and the desire for happiness are either exposed or vented. In this era where people and their destiny are the theme, artists are reminded of the true meaning of people and destiny, and are also influenced by people and destiny. At the mercy of fate. Liszt's "Twelve Technic Etudes" shows us this reality. Therefore, for a piano player, it is of great significance and value to conduct in-depth study and research of Liszt's twelve super technical etudes.

1. Liszt’s life and the creative background of "Twelve Technique Etudes"

Genius composer and performer, creator of modern piano art, and outstanding artist Franz Liszt, an extremely energetic activist who left lasting memories for mankind, was born on October 22, 1811, in a small village called Dobolichang (Reading) in Hungary. When he was young, he had no school to attend due to his unstable residence, so his parents educated him. He learned piano from his father at the age of 6 and gave a public performance at the age of 9. All the listeners were moved, especially his improvisations on temporarily designated themes, which greatly amazed the audience and called him "the second Mozart". The Prince of Hungary was full of praise for him, and three nobles donated money for him to study in Vienna. In 1821, his father gave up his job and moved to Austria in order to accompany him to Vienna to study piano with Czerny, a student of Beethoven and the famous piano educator, hoping that his son could succeed. Liszt lived up to his father's expectations and worked hard day and night to practice the piano. He also studied composition theory from Salieri. In 1825, he performed twice in France and England, and in July of that year he performed in front of King George IV. Its reputation reached a climax, and the whole of London was shocked. From then on, he traveled and played throughout Europe and became famous all over the world. He became a prominent player in the music scene.

For a long time, he has been the object of people's worship and was one of the most famous figures in the world in the 1930s and 1940s. Liszt's life was quite legendary. He became famous since childhood with his extraordinary piano skills, mesmerizing style and colorful love stories. These may be the most familiar to ordinary people, but in biographical historical materials, Liszt is actually a controversial figure: his success and fame have attracted jealousy and rejection: he was accused of being a coward when he visited the mansions of nobles and celebrities, and he had several failed love affairs. He was described as a cold-blooded and heartless man by his mistress; he wrote countless works throughout his life, but he was judged as flashy and artificial; in his later years, he escaped into Buddhism and converted to Catholicism, which attracted shock and criticism. For a long time, these prejudices have prevented music scholars or serious musicians from studying or performing his works.

Liszt’s piano music has always been considered: sensational, beautiful but empty. Perhaps it is well reflected in his famous "Twelve Transcendante" (etudes. d’ execution

transcendante). Like the Hungarian Rhapsody, the Transcendental Etude is his "most beautiful" music, and it is also his "most virtuosic" piano music. Unlike Chopin's etudes, Liszt's etudes have always been more intense, as if they have infinite potential. Passion needs to be consumed, which of course does not exclude the beauty of the melody. On the other hand, these twelve etudes should be appreciated as a whole. I think they are not suitable for appreciation and understanding individually. Most of the twelve etudes are accompanied by textual titles, which serve as a good reminder of the music. To portray the image more vividly, he explored new piano sound effects. In these twelve super technical etudes, while fully expanding the expressive power of the piano, it also pushes the piano playing skills to an unprecedented level. The etudes radiate brilliant and colorful light during performance, which is breathtaking and becomes a masterpiece in piano art. As early as 1826, Liszt, who was only sixteen years old, composed twelve etudes based on his feelings about nature and life during his travels and performances in France, England, and Germany. Compared with later versions, it has the characteristics of later works. A prototype of the basic musical ideas and structure of the untitled version. In 1838, Liszt made major adaptations and revisions to this. In 1839, Schumann compared the two versions of the scores in his short music review "Piano Etudes": "Comparing the two, first of all, we can see that the methods he uses now are richer than before. His techniques are everywhere. All surpass the previous ones,

Strive to be more brilliant and more perfect than before."

On the other hand, Liszt exuded an innocent and romantic atmosphere when he first showed his talents in his youth. It has almost completely disappeared in the new arrangement of the music. Secondly, the new adaptation shows that the range of the artist's thoughts and feelings has been greatly expanded than before, and it even allows us to see the secret corners of his spiritual life. We must not forget that what he wants to give us in this collection is etudes, and the purpose is still to help everyone overcome the biggest technical difficulties in performance. It was these etudes that Liszt played in Vienna that created a sensation and an indelible impression. There is always a profound reason for great success, and it is not accidental that the audience praises him so enthusiastically. In his review, Schumann also reveals his wise expectations of the author. "In order to be consistent with the national style of his country, he must first restore the bright and simple style of the early etudes that has served us so well. He must adapt his work in the opposite direction. He must make it simple and Not complicated. Liszt made a careful and perfect transformation in the final version of 1851, removing a lot of redundant things, retaining and deepening the poetry and musicality, and simplifying it appropriately. For many years, it has been an artistic peak that pianists are trying to climb. Only a few masters can happily perform it. Its beauty and value lie in this. At the same time, the skill of piano playing has reached an incredible level in Liszt's hands. Transcendent heights. His virtuosic etudes show superb performance skills and high artistic value."

Most of Liszt’s artists experienced a divine sense of dissatisfaction earlier, and creation therefore became an important basis for his survival. On the one hand, Liszt's creations certainly emerged from a contradictory but understandable mixture of religious fervor and vanity. On the other hand, his creations deeply reflect an inner insecurity and disharmony. This musical feeling is evident in his etudes.

He derives deep comfort from his ever-evolving artistic creations and finds a symbolic outlet for his uneasiness. He had to create with astonishing speed and energy, reflecting every fleeting trace of his life in art. Full of intelligence and extraordinary imagination. If we say that the etudes created in this way are biased and lacking compared to Chopin's etudes. But what they present must also be more wanton and broader.

2. The creation process of Liszt's "Twelve Technique Etudes"

The "Twelfth Etudes" with the number one work number already has The prototype of the later famous "Transcendante" (Etudesd' Execution

Transcendante). Although the former is full of the bright and lively style of Czerny, it cannot yet appreciate Liszt's later revolutionary ostentation and boldness. I personally think that the seeds that truly belong to Liszt's style actually took a long time to sprout. "Twelve Etudes" is a typical example. As mentioned before, the 1838 version of this set of works was quite gorgeous and artificial. Later, it went through many substantial revisions, and the final version was not released until 1851. It is not difficult to understand the influence of this group of Liszt's works from the "Super Etude" (OP.11.1879-1905) composed by Liapunov in memory of Liszt's "Supertechnic Etude".

Humphrey Searle has carefully compared the styles of the three versions before and after the "Transcendental Etude". Thomas

Rajna even recorded the first version and the last version one by one, which is very helpful for comparison. It can be seen from this that the "Transcendental Etude" with the most brilliant style, such as No. 2 Allegro in A minor, No. 4 "Mazeppa", No. 6 "Vision", No. No. 7 "Hero" (troica), No. 8 "Wilde" (Wilde

Jagd) No. 10 F minor (auegro), No. 12 "Chasing Snow" (Chasse

< p>Neige) and other violent works, the lyrical and clear No. 3 "Paysage", the delicate and regular No. 9 "La. Risordanza", and the harmonious No. 11 "Harmonies"

du Soin) In exact contrast, even the No. 5 Feux

Follets, which is known for its difficult technique, has a kind of showmanship. Therefore, "super" and "super skills" are not just technical transcendence, but also a poetic transcendence. "Super" may also refer to transcending Czerny's classical teaching etudes. Liszt dedicated this set of "Transcendental Etudes" to Czerny, not only to express his gratitude to his mentor, but also to subtly allude to Czerny's limitations in composition.

Among the twelve super etudes, Liszt was inspired by the violinist Paganini, who is regarded as a masterpiece and full of magical style. He worked hard and practiced behind closed doors. Created after hard training on the piano, from these etudes with bold and wild passion and unusual expressiveness, fast scales, arpeggios, double tones, octaves, decorative tones and long tremolos, The vibratos intertwine to form a colorful world, and he turns the piano into a universal instrument that can rival the expressive power of an orchestra and express everything the composer wants to say. With its elegant and excellent skills, as Schumann said: "There may be no one else but Liszt himself who can completely reproduce these works (1)." However, Liszt did not regard this "magic skill" as a masterpiece. as a purpose, but as a means to express thoughts and feelings. Integrate technical etudes into a small poem or a landscape painting. There are no boring scales or arpeggios going up and down in the whole song. What you can hear is the changing scenery and the flow of emotions. Create a specific musical image through various technical performances. Liszt's originality was fully demonstrated in the field of piano performance and then further developed in the field of creation. From the composition principles and harmonic application of Liszt's twelve virtuosic etudes, we can clearly feel that he broke through the framework of traditional forms and created complete and logical etudes with only new aesthetic principles.

Liszt used free-form thinking to create. This method, which is fundamentally far away from the principles of classical music creation, is the thematic structure method. The thematic structure method is that the theme is based on a motive constructed with basic sound patterns; the development of the music is to This theme sound pattern is played on the melody outline, harmony, rhythm, timbre, speed, and range to form theme music with different personalities. This changed theme can be combined to express romantic love and pleasant scenery respectively. ("Landscape"),

Austere battles ("Majepa") and triumphal hymns ("Heroes"), the effect of this creative method on piano music makes piano works symphonic.

3. Music analysis of Liszt’s “Twelve Technique Etudes”

For Lisz, one of the piano geniuses who created and first held a solo recital in the history of music In particular, it is not too difficult to compose a set of concert etudes that were popular in the nineteenth century. However, he published these twelve "supertechnical etudes" three times. The first two were in 1827 and 1839. It was not completed until 1852 when he was 41 years old, which also left this masterpiece as a piano work. A brilliant gem.

1. Prelude (Preludion), this song is the introductory theme of the entire twelve virtuosic etudes, about one minute, very short, the first half of the song is promoted through arpeggios to make the melody obvious. , there is a feeling of one wave getting higher than the other. The contrast between strong and weak is obvious. In the second half, the right hand basically uses arpeggios to play. The middle part is a continuous chord progression with strong Liszt style, which makes the whole piece ups and downs. Although it is short and delicate, it is also magnificent. The left hand uses Boeing serves as a foil, making the overall sound effect very full.

2. Allegro Versus in A minor, this is a relatively gentle and dull one among the twelve virtuoso etudes. It has two minutes. Although it is not very long, it is obvious that it has been cut into. As a sign of the theme, the whole piece is completed with an almost unified performance technique, that is, the left and right hands are played simultaneously. This is also one of Liszt’s unique styles of playing. In addition, the great feature of this song in terms of strength and weakness is that the strong and weak are completely interspersed, that is, one sentence is strong, and the other sentence immediately turns to very weak, making the whole song very three-dimensional. At the same time, the left and right hands alternately play octaves and even chords to make the whole song The song always moves forward with a roar, and finally ends with a bang in fff.

3. Paysage, this song has nearly four points. The whole melody is very beautiful and melodious. Although it is labeled as Paysage, the rhythm is quite depressing and dull from beginning to end. The whole piece of music mostly uses the octave of the right hand as the melody, with the left hand as the backing. There are also many places where the chords are played by both hands. The characteristic of this poem is that the breath between sentences is very obvious, just like a melancholy person constantly sighing, or like riding a horse slowly in the countryside, seeing the incomparably beautiful scenery around him, emitting emotions from the inside out. sigh. The whole song is beautiful and gentle, with basically no strong chords, but there is a slight climax of a small passage at the end. Another feeling given by the music is the author's reflective mood at that time, like memories of the past and longing for the future, and there are also countless feelings of "asking one's mind."

4. Mazeppa (composed based on Victor Hugo's poem of the same name, Liszt placed the last few lines of the poem at the end of the etude).

This is an etude with a standard Liszt style from the beginning. For the performers who play this piece, showing off their skills has begun to become a must. This piece is ***seven minutes long, starting with The introduction part is a large continuous sound wave similar to the "Paganini" etude, and then there is a series of extremely fast progressive sound flows composed of scales. It is these rolling sound flows like waves that bring the music to life. The whole song is introduced into a surging atmosphere, and the main part of the song becomes more difficult to play. The left and right hands use chords to maintain the main melody, and the 2nd and 4th fingers of the left and right hands take turns to fill in the gaps between the chords and melodies, making the whole song appear full and full of feeling. It's like having four hands playing. The performance effect of the sound is greatly enhanced. After a long period of playing with a technique similar to that of four-hand continuous playing, the song is introduced to the first climax through two gentler quotations, that is, it has A long virtuoso section in the Liszt style double octave (also known as the Liszt octave).

The second part of the whole piece is different from the three staves of the previous part in that it uses the more common high and low double staves. In this part, the music enters a gentler stage, and a large number of decorative sounds are used to make the music more harmonious. It's very flavorful. The middle part of the melody is elegantly sad, calm and melancholy. The ending part of the flat song turns intense again and ends with the roar of the double chords of the left and right hands. When playing this piece, due to its high difficulty, redundant movements and any nervousness should be avoided. The hands should be relaxed, elastic and flexible, the fingers should be strong and free, and the forearms (when playing the octave) should not be moved. Although Liszt described it as a "dead arm", he also suggested installing a special bracket on the piano to stabilize the forearm. Although this statement has one-sided factors, this "immovable" It means that there are no unnecessary movements, no relaxation and loss of self-control. Only in this way can we better complete pieces like "Magepa".

5. Feux follets

This piece is very loyal to many players who participated in the Liszt Piano Competition. The whole piece is very strange and mysterious, with a single theme. It uses a long key and uses a lot of repeated sounds to achieve a mysterious musical effect. This piece is relatively short, only more than 4 minutes long. The piece contains ridicule and an unknown contempt.

6. Vision

This song is about six minutes long. The whole song feels relatively monotonous. Although the rhythm is more exciting, it is not fast. This song is very important to the entire twelve songs. Super practice plays an important role, which is to pave the way for the climax of the entire etude. At the beginning, the double tone of the right hand is used to hide the main melody. Since both the left and right hands start from the bass area, it starts to feel very psychedelic and ethereal. The right hand is enriched with faster arpeggios with wider spacing. Pay attention to the beginning. It is crucial to maintain the existence of the melody line of the right hand during the performance, and the lowest bass of the left hand is also indispensable. Following the first section, the second part of the music changes from the one-handed arpeggio of the first section to alternating hands. Arpeggio. The second part is generated from the first part, and expands and develops the first part, making the illusory music gradually become clear. The music is pushed to the first climax by the octave chromatic propulsion of both hands, followed by a large section of extremely formidable (fff) right-hand arpeggio patterns and a combination of left-hand chords and tones. In this part, if you watch the scene, you can see The performer's flying fingers are like ghosts dancing. The latter part of the song gets faster and faster, the pitch gets higher and higher, and finally stops abruptly at the highest point. This piece of music mainly tests the player's finger sensitivity. The widely spaced arpeggios are a huge obstacle to finger playing.

7. Hero (Etoila)

This song is about five minutes long. Although it is a tragic hero, it still makes people admire it infinitely, showing a shocking heroic spirit. . The whole song is sometimes tragic, sometimes melancholy, and the sound of the piano is like singing and crying, seeming to tell the anguish in the heart of the hero. However, the tragic and heroic beginning of the music determines the tragic heroism of this song, especially the chords composed of dotted rhythms. Moving upward, it shows that the anger in the hero's heart is erupting. After a temporary calm, he turns to a low voice. However, the low music can never cover up the hope and anger in the hero's eyes, even in this slightly melancholy melody. The hero's spirit of never giving up the pursuit of light and justice is constantly flashed in the poem, ending in the explosion of yearning for light. At the end, the octave progression of both hands hints at this emotion in a broad tone. The vocal range suddenly opens up, and its usual octave writing is used to promote the climax.

8. Hunting (Wilde jagd)

This piece is relatively long, and the playing length is about five minutes, mainly because it is the very fast one among Liszt’s twelve etudes. It is a fast and very intense work. At the same time, the difficulty of playing this work can be imagined. It is also one of the more difficult etudes to master. Although the tempo of the whole piece has been very fast and fast, it still reveals a beautiful sound. The melody lines are sometimes as delicate as the feathers of a peacock, which makes people mesmerized. The works describe not only the image of hunting, but also picturesque descriptions, which vividly depict the beauty of nature. The refreshing scenery, as well as the scenes of hunters chasing prey in this charming scenery, sometimes make people feel a sense of urgency, and sometimes they are immersed in the appreciation of nature. It truly relaxes the body and mind. Playing this piece requires not only Extremely superb playing skills also require rich psychological experience, showing the melodious singing side in the process of showing off the skills.

9. Memories (Ricordanza)

This is one of his two most famous super technical etudes. It has a great change in style from other etudes. It is tender, full of tenderness and sweetness, and the calm artistic conception brings people into silent memories. This piece is relatively large in length, and the playing time is 11 minutes long. Very beautiful melody appears repeatedly in the piece. Even at the end, this beautiful and sweet melody is not forgotten. It does not contain any unpleasant illusions, giving people an extremely romantic feeling. It is called "the most beautiful section in classical music" by later generations. There is no overly intense description in the whole song, and it is full of nostalgia and memories of the past. For the performers, playing this song is a wonderful enjoyment and edification, which is also the greatest charm of this song.

10. Fierce Allegro in F minor

The "F minor" super technical etude is one of the most common pieces in concerts or international piano competitions. This piece has an exciting The amazing virtuosic performance obviously has Liszt's most outstanding virtuoso qualities, but it also shows a passionate and beautiful singing melody. This piece is difficult, very fast, and the mood is relatively intense. It is worthy of being ranked among the top twelve. A masterpiece among the first etudes.

11. Harmonies du soir (Harmonies du soir)

This piece is the beginning of the ten etudes with a less soft minor harmonic texture. The whole piece is full of strong With a breath of harmony, this super technical etude shows the momentum of Liszt's symphonic poems, which is almost comparable to the performance of an orchestra. This work fully demonstrates the performance of the piano as an instrument, with an amazing symphony The effect is worthy of being the first piano genius to compose a symphonic poem in the history of music. It undoubtedly laid an outstanding milestone for piano works. This piece is 9 minutes long. It is relatively slow at the beginning, as if he wants to tell one thing, and then suddenly becomes silent. , just use the most intense and advanced music to express your feelings. This is the climax of the entire super practice and the highest listening enjoyment. It advances layer by layer and returns layer by layer. Different feelings came one after another, making people unable to bear to leave this piece of music, but in the end it ended, very peacefully. But there is a lingering warmth there, and that syllable is also very special, simple yet gentle, making people unable to abandon it. This etude is the ultimate in Liszt’s music, making all language redundant, but it solves all problems. What's left is nothing but incomparable beauty.

12. Chasse neige (Chasse neige)

The ending music is 6 minutes long, the name is very beautiful, it is a fascinating state, there is no feeling of cold at all, only The joy and empty passion of chasing snow.

The piano playing skills of the virtuoso etudes reached a height surpassed by later generations in the hands of Liszt. His virtuoso etudes showed superb performance skills and high artistic value. Pianist and scholar Alfred Brendel called Liszt the most incredible revolutionary in the history of music. From the above analysis, we can easily feel that Liszt’s bold harmony, clear lyricism, and inimitable Piano timbre, as well as unsurpassed technique. Liszt spent a long time revising these etudes because he had to learn to "combine appropriate piano effects with "just audacity" in his works. I think these etudes explore every aspect of piano technique.

Remaining remarks

This article starts with Liszt’s life. Starting from this, I analyze the creative background and creative process of his twelve virtuosic etudes. On this basis, I elaborate and analyze the twelve etudes one by one. Through my own experience of Liszt’s twelve etudes in recent years, The study and research of this etude are all astounding by the profound cultural connotation and unrivaled piano playing skills revealed in the work. In Liszt's "Twelve Supertechnical Etudes", the brilliant skills make People are moved not only by the artistic beauty, but also by the unimaginable conquest of difficulties behind it. It is this heroic temperament that creates Liszt's powerful and gorgeous but philosophically profound and stylized Wanren Palace Wall. When I stand at the foot of this wall and look up, I can't help but feel a sense of sublimity rising in my heart.

As an undergraduate, I know that my knowledge is rudimentary, but based on my crazy fascination and love for Liszt's virtuoso etudes, I resolutely chose this very difficult topic. I firmly believe that under the inspiration of Liszt's great musical thought Next, in the deafening music, my road to the top of art will be broader and brighter, the master is with me!