Pianophilia

I'm looking for a set of virtuoso "etudes" (doesn't have to have etude in title but something that could be used as etudes), preferably a dozen or so short (about 1-2 mins) but difficult (about on the order of Liszt Transcendental) pieces with a variety of textures and techniques in both hands. Ideally something relatively contemporary (late romantic at the earliest) and including some right hand tremolo.
Any ideas?

Looking back through this thread might give you some ideas.
Otherwise, there should be various other (im)possibilities e.g.
Scriabin, Lyapunov, Ligeti, Glass, Benoit.....

How about Moszkowski? Or, if you're really brave, Godowsky's "Chopin" etudes?

Arjuna wrote:I'm looking for a set of virtuoso "etudes" (doesn't have to have etude in title but something that could be used as etudes), preferably a dozen or so short (about 1-2 mins) but difficult (about on the order of Liszt Transcendental) pieces with a variety of textures and techniques in both hands. Ideally something relatively contemporary (late romantic at the earliest) and including some right hand tremolo.
Any ideas?

You might have a look at the set of 8 studies by Robert Casadesus (do a search on this forum and you will find a link to a Mediafire account where they have been uploaded). I haven't looked at them for a while, and can't remember if they have the tremolo element, but taken as a whole they are certainly difficult!

There is a set of 12 Etudes by York Bowen which are short and quite difficult, also
Debussy's 12 Etudes. If copyright is not an issue, there are some wonderful etudes
by Nikolai Kapustin.

Peter (liveforpiano)

liveforpiano wrote:There is a set of 12 Etudes by York Bowen which are short and quite difficult, also
Debussy's 12 Etudes. If copyright is not an issue, there are some wonderful etudes
by Nikolai Kapustin.

Peter (liveforpiano)

Thanks everyone for your replies.
The York Bowen Etudes sound interesting but I can't seem to find the music. The Kapustin are on the top of my list and I already have the "MUST" score, so that's looking like a good option - either that or I write my own.

nms tttos

Try as I might, I just cannot make sense of Kapustin's music. It doesn't "do" anything for me. I've heard lots and most of it just seems to be a "mishmash" of random notes all over the place with no sense of direction or form. Have you had a look at Alkan's etudes? Some of them are very good. Otherwise, how about a real rarity ......... Slonimsky's 51 Minitudes. A whole range of different styles and forms there. Some of them are really funny, especially a march with a key signature of 7 sharps in the right hand, 7 flats in the left hand, and double sharp / double flat accidentals all over the place!!

I would hasten to add a mix-match of the études by Émile Blanchet which have been posted variously on PP and IMSLP! I recently bought the astounding Hyperion disc of the 3rd and 4th piano concertos by Bowen, so thanks for posting these studies by the composer!

rob wrote:

Bowen op46 Twelve Studies.pdf

nms tttos

Rob, thanks for posting the wonderful Bowen studies. These are nice pieces and work on the technical issues they declare to address.

For my money, the best discovery in many years is the Blanchet preludes and etudes and I play some of them almost every day.

I trust that I am not alone in finding great pleasure in the Kapustin etudes and sonatas, but do understand that it takes some appreciation of the jazz idiom that he often couches his works.