Transcendental Étude No. 12 (Liszt) Explained

Transcendental Étude No. 12 in B minor, "Chasse-neige" (snow-whirls) is the last of twelve Transcendental Études by Franz Liszt. The étude is a study in tremolos but contains many other difficulties like wide jumps and fast chromatic scales, and it requires a very gentle and soft touch in the beginning. The piece gradually builds up to a powerful climax. It is one of the most difficult Transcendental Études, being ranked 9 out of 9 by publisher G. Henle Verlag—one of six in the series to receive the highest possible difficulty ranking.[1]

Ferruccio Busoni stated the étude was the "noblest example, perhaps, amongst all music of a poetising nature." He described the work as "a sublime and steady fall of snow which gradually buries landscape and people".[2] [3]

Notes and References

  1. http://www.henle.de/en/detail/index.html?Title=Transcendental+Studies_717 Liszt: Transcendental Studies, Urtext Edition
  2. Book: Ferruccio Busoni. Franz Liszt: Complete etudes for solo piano. January 1988. Courier Corporation. 978-0-486-25815-7. 10.
  3. Book: Jim Samson. Virtuosity and the Musical Work: The Transcendental Studies of Liszt. 2007. Cambridge University Press. 978-1-139-43621-2. 185.