Liszt: Transcendental Etudes (Clidat, Ovchinnikov, Kissin)

Liszt’s Transcendental Etudes (TE) are one of the truly awe-inspiring triumphs of the piano literature. While Chopin elevated the etude to a true art form with the elegance and subtlety of his writing, his etudes don’t contain any moments which make you go – “A piano can do *that*?” Liszt’s TE really are a series of sublimely powerful sound illustrations – they show that an etude does not have to be merely elegant; it can be vast, or mysterious, cataclysmic, funny, despairing. They’re not really etudes; (it