Liszt's Transcendental Etudes stand among the highest technical and artistic peaks in the piano repertoire. They may be likened to the five metre mark in pole vaulting – a formidable challenge that only a few dare to attempt, and which explains why they are so rarely heard in concert. Yet behind the dazzling virtuosity lies music of nobility, immense variety, and often profound poetry.

The very word transcendental suggests something beyond the earthly. It refers not only to the works' extreme technical demands, but also to the visionary quality of their expression and the unity of their conception – the result of craftsmanship at its most inspired.

While other composers – such as Chopin, Scriabin or Rachmaninov – have written études of the highest artistic value, it is no exaggeration to say that no other series fuses such transcendent artistry with such superhuman technical challenge. In this sense, the Transcendental Etudes remain a true rarity in the history of music.

In this performance, I aim to reveal this balance: that even in what is perhaps the most demanding cycle of études ever composed, the listener may hear not only a display of pianistic prowess but the essence of music itself, illuminated by the cascades of sound the piano can produce.

The cycle has particular relevance today: its earliest, much simpler version was published exactly two centuries ago, in 1826, when Liszt was only fourteen. He went on to revise each étude at least twice – and in some cases even more – before reaching the final form heard in this concert.

The following link contains a concert review written about the first public performance of the études, held in the Buda Castle, in Hungary, at the Institute for Musicology.