Virtuosity and the Musical Work: The Transcendental Studies of Liszt

Description

This book is about three sets of etudes by Liszt: the Etude en douze exercices (1826), its reworking as Douzes grandes etudes (1837), and their reworking as Douzes etudes d'execution transcendante (1851). At the same time it is a book about nineteenth-century instrumental music in general, in that the three works invite the exploration of features characteristic of the early Romantic era in music. These include: a composer-performer culture, the concept of virtuosity, the significance of recomposition, music and the poetic, and the consolidation of a musical work-concept. A central concern is to illuminate the relationship between the work-concept and a performance- and genre-orientated musical culture. At the same time the book reflects on how we might make judgements of the 'Transcendentals', of the Symphonic Poem Mazeppa (based on the fourth etude), and of Liszt's music in general.

Jim Samson has been a Professor of Music at the Universities of Exeter and Bristol and is now Professor of Music at Royal Holloway, University of London. He has published widely on the music of Chopin and on analytical and aesthetic topics in nineteenth- and twentieth-century music and has recently edited the Cambridge History of Nineteenth-Century Music. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and holds the Order of Merit of the Polish Ministry of Culture.

'In Virtuosity and the Musical Work: The Transcendental Studies of Liszt, Samson shows mastery of an enormous range of sources, a deep acquaintance with the music, and he writes with clarity and style. His exposition of Liszt's development of the etudes over a period of many years ... is especially effective. I have no doubt that this will be the standard work on The Transcendental Studies for years to come.' Times Literary Supplement