Etudes d'exécution transcendante

Classical · 2003 · 12 tracks

Etudes d'exécution transcendante

2003 · Pathé Marconi EMI

This album is a testament to the absolute limits of the piano.

It sounds less like a single instrument and more like a full orchestra trapped inside a wooden box, fighting to get out.

The music is characterized by its 'transcendental' difficulty, where the performer must navigate thickets of notes, massive jumps, and lightning-fast scales without losing the underlying poetic narrative. It is a high-wire act of the soul, balancing the grotesque and the beautiful in equal measure.

Tracklist · 12 Tracks

01

I. Preludio (Prelude), C major

0:56

02

II. Molto vivace, A minor

2:25

03

III. Paysage (Landscape), F major

5:30

04

IV. Mazeppa, D minor

8:49

05

V. Feux Follets (Will-’o-the-wisps), B-flat major

4:47

06

VI. Vision, G minor

5:54

07

VII. Eroica, E-flat major

5:29

08

VIII. Wilde Jagd (Wild Hunt), C minor

5:30

09

IX. Ricordanza (Remembrance), A-flat major

14:00

10

X. Allegro agitato molto, F minor

4:45

11

XI. Harmonies du Soir (Evening Harmonies), D-flat major

11:04

12

XII. Chasse-neige (Snow Squall), B-flat minor

5:33

Moments Worth Listening For

the relentless galloping triplets and wide leaping chords of Mazeppa that sound like a horse in full flight

the delicate double note trills in Feux follets that mimic flickering lights with impossible lightness

the tremolo heavy finale of Chasse neige evoking a blinding and suffocating winter blizzard

the transition from somber low register chords to a shimmering bell like climax in Harmonies du soir

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