VIRTUOSITY AND THE MUSICAL WORK: THE TRANSCENDENTAL STUDIES OF LISZT

"This book is about three sets of etudes by Liszt: the Etude en douze exercises (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."--Jacket.