Liszt’s “Transcendental Studies” of 1852 are without doubt among the triumphs of virtuoso piano music, and their visionary language and poetic expression make them a milestone of the romantic age. This set of twelve études represents the results of the composer’s own revision of a collection already published in 1827 and 1839. Accordingly, the principal source for our edition was a printed copy of the earlier version with myriad changes in the composer’s hand. Each of these pieces, including the famous “Harmonies du soir” and “Mazeppa”, bears its own title and has entered the concert repertoire less as an étude than as a tone-poem with its own distinctive flavour.
李斯特1852年創作的《超驗練習曲》無疑是鋼琴炫技音樂的巔峰之作,其富有遠見的語言和詩意的表達使其成為浪漫主義時代的里程碑。這套十二首練習曲是作曲家本人對1827年和1839年出版的練習曲集進行修訂的成果。因此,我們版本的首要參考資料是早期版本的印刷本,上面有作曲家親筆的諸多修改。這些作品,包括著名的《晚間和聲》和《瑪捷帕》,每首都有自己的標題,它們與其說是以練習曲的形式進入音樂會曲目,不如說是以具有獨特韻味的交響詩的形式進入音樂會曲目。