Thalberg:12 Etudes Op.26

Hiller:24 Etudes, Op.15: • Hiller:24 Etudes, Op.15
Ravina:12 Etudes de Concert, Op.1: • Ravina:12 Etudes de Co...
Sigismond Thalberg(8 January 1812 - 27 April 1871)
Thalberg:12 Etudes Op.26(audio＋Sheet music)
Played by Synchron Fazioli F308.
MIDI by momomo.
No.1(0:00)"Allegro": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.2(2:09)"Allegro": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.3(4:06)"Allegro moderato": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.4(6:01):"Presto": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.5(8:01):"Allegro": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.6(10:33):"Presto": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.7(12:23):"Allegretto moderato": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.8(15:04)"Andante ma non troppo": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.9(18:39)"Presto": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.10(20:32)"Lento": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.11(22:50)"Allegretto": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
No.12(24:44)"Allegro": • Thalberg:12 Etudes Op....
Little is known about Thalberg's childhood and early youth. It is possible that his mother had brought him to Vienna at the age of 10 (the same year in which the 10-year-old Franz Liszt arrived there with his parents). According to Thalberg's own account, he attended the first performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony on 7 May 1824, in the Kärntnerthortheater.
There is no evidence as to Thalberg's early teachers. Baroness von Wetzlar, his mother, who according to Wurzbach was occupied with his education during his childhood and early youth, was a brilliant amateur pianist. It may be therefore that she gave him his first instruction at the piano.
In spring 1826, Thalberg studied with Ignaz Moscheles in London. Moscheles, according to a letter to Felix Mendelssohn dated 14 August 1836, had the impression that Thalberg had already reached a level at which no further help would be needed in order to become a great artist.Thalberg's first public performance in London was on 17 May 1826.In Vienna, 6 April 1827, he played the first movement of Hummel's Piano Concerto No. 3 in B minor, later playing the Adagio and the Rondo on 6 May 1827.After this, Thalberg performed regularly in Vienna. His repertoire was mainly classical, including concertos by Hummel and Beethoven. He also performed chamber music. In the year 1827, his Op. 1, a fantasy and variations on melodies from Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe, was published by Tobias Haslinger.
In 1830, Thalberg met Mendelssohn and Frédéric Chopin in Vienna. Their letters show their opinion that Thalberg's main strength was his astonishing technical skills.Further information can be found in the diary of the 10-year-old Clara Wieck. She had heard Thalberg on 14 May 1830 at a concert which he gave in the theatre of Leipzig. He had played his own Piano Concerto in F minor, Op. 5 and a fantasy that he had also composed. Two days before, Clara had played the first solo of John Field's Piano Concerto No. 2 to Thalberg, and, together with him, the first movement of Hummel's Sonata for Piano 4-Hands, Op. 51. Her diary, edited by her father Friedrich Wieck, notes Thalberg as "very accomplished". His playing was clear and precise, also being very strong and expressive.
In the early 1830s, Thalberg studied counterpoint under Simon Sechter. As a result, passages of canon and fugue can be found in some of Thalberg's fantasies of this time. An example is his Grande fantaisie et variations sur 'Norma', Op. 12, which contains a march-theme and variations (one of them a canon), and a fugue on a lyrical theme. The fantasy was published in 1834 and became very popular; but on publication, it was criticised by some-for example, by Robert Schumann.
Thalberg successfully changed his composing style, reducing the counterpoint. Several works in his new style, among them the 2 Airs russes variés, Op. 17, were even enthusiastically praised by Schumann(Wikipedia).

[@momomo9014]

No.1(0:00)"Allegro" No.2(2:09)"Allegro" *No.3(4:06)"Allegro moderato" *No.4(6:01):"Presto" No.5(8:01):"Allegro" No.6(10:33):"Presto" No.7(12:23):"Allegretto moderato" No.8(15:04)"Andante ma non troppo" *No.9(18:39)"Presto" No.10(20:32)"Lento" *No.11(22:50)"Allegretto" *No.12(24:44)"Allegro" *=My favorite etudes

[@kasajizo8963]

First etude reminds me of Feux Follets

[@kasajizo8963]

12:23 I don't think I've seen this technique used anywhere else. Would be a nightmare to play!

[@calford2001]

Mereaux and alkan have called for similar techniques, i think czerny probably did something for it at some point - but it is indeed quite rare to see!!!

[@GregorKovacsPiano]

I would really likely hear a human-played version of this :D

[@user-mj5zc5cy7p]

I am going to record it this July! ❤ maybe not this tempo, but I hope very musical😊

[@bloba6969]

I really like No. 4

[@lapincynique]

This seriously predates (and I wonder if it might in part be an inspiration for) Mussorgsky's "Limoges. Le marché" from his "Pictures at an exhibition".

[@roberacevedo8232]

Exactly what I was thinking

[@TheExarion]

God, etude No.3 hurts to even look at. Thalberg must've had great spans between his fingers to master some of these. Also, it's fun how No.8 starts to sound kinda like a chamber strings group or an organ at times.

[@czeynerlamentemusical8048]

Fué alumno de Czerny, el día del estreno del Hexameron, Thalberg y Liszt se enfrentaron en un duelo amistoso en el piano

[@Troybeallad]

Sounds like shaking the cutlery drawer.

[@KaikhosruShapurjiMedtner]

6:53 so many accidentals!

[@Alexander_beautifulness]

Computer sounds are awful...My ears are crushed...Sorry.😷 This music is interesting. I was able to listen only one piece. l know it.

[@user-ue9nv2oj1d]

Жаль,что сие исполнение лишено художественного смысла, слишком быстро

[@thewebsapiens]

художественный смысл - исполнение практически неисполняемого в концертных залах.

[@user-mz5vy4xu4g]

Da, da...

[@user-lj1sc9bs4t]

この打ち込みの表現は良くないですよ😂この曲の真の演奏を想像出来ない貴方は教養が足りません

[@therealtruetwelfth798]

Horrendous.

[@zavilov]

The pianism here is appalling.

[@fredericwu6427]

As music it's really annoying...😅

[@JP-ku5hw]

That's because only a few can really feel his music. It's okay though. You can go and listen to some crap. There's plenty out there.

[@fredericwu6427]

@@JP-ku5hw The "only a few" prestige is just as annoying as this music.

[@JP-ku5hw]

@@fredericwu6427 OK

[@jorgefraga4599]

Ok go on and listen moonligh pathetic sonatas Chopin nocturnes and etudes, and the same pieces over and over and over again. Guys it’s time to listen to other composers!

[@fazliddinerkaboyev6568]

​@@jorgefraga4599Yes, it's great answer. Thalberg's underrated both as a pianist, and as a composer.