Transcendental Études
Pianoétudes byFranz Liszt
Portrait of Liszt (1839)
Native name	Études d'exécution transcendante
Catalogue	S.139
Year	1837 (1837)
Based on	Étude en douze exercices, S.136
Dedication	Carl Czerny
Published	1852 (1852)
Movements	12

TheTranscendental Études (French:Études d'exécution transcendante),S.139, is a set of twelve compositions for piano byFranz Liszt. They were published in 1852 as a revision of an 1837 set (which had not borne the title "d'exécution transcendante"), which in turn were – for the most part – an elaboration of a set of studies written in 1826.

The genesis of theTranscendental Études goes back to 1825, when 14-year-old Liszt wrote a set of youthful exercises called theÉtude en douze exercices (Study in twelve exercises), S.136.^[1][2] These pieces were not particularly technically demanding. Liszt then returned to these pieces for thematic ideas, elaborating on them considerably, in the composition of theDouze Grandes Études (Twelve Grand Studies), S.137, which were published in 1837.

TheTranscendental Études, S.139, are revisions of theDouze Grandes Études. The fourth was altered and published alone asMazeppa in late 1846,^[3] and the collection as a whole was published in 1852 and dedicated toCarl Czerny,^[4] Liszt's piano teacher, and himself a prolific composer ofétudes. Liszt made numerous textual changes in the final revision of the set, adapting the technical demands to facilitate execution on pianos with heavier keyboard action.

When revising the 1837 set of études into their final "Transcendental" versions, Liszt added programmatic titles in French and German to all but two of the pieces,^[4] Études Nos. 2 and 10. In his edition of the work,Ferruccio Busoni respectively called themFusées (Rockets) andAppassionata, and these titles are occasionally used in modern performance. However, these alternate titles were never approved by Liszt himself, and, generally, in scholarly reference, in performance, and in authoritative urtext editions like those published byG. Henle Verlag, these two études are referred to only by their performance indications:Molto vivace andAllegro agitato molto, respectively.^[4][5][6]

Liszt's original idea was to write24 études, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys. He completed only half of this project,^[2] using the neutral andflat key signatures. In 1897–1905 the Russian composerSergei Lyapunov wrote his own set ofDouze études d'exécution transcendante, Op. 11, continuing Liszt's cycle through the keys that Liszt had not used, namely thesharp keys, to "complete" the set of 24.^[7] Lyapunov's set of études was dedicated to the memory of Liszt, and bore titles as Liszt's set had done, with the final étude being entitledÉlégie en mémoire de Franz Liszt.

Very few pianists have recorded the 1837 set, and even fewer have recorded the 1826 set (which really are works of Liszt's juvenilia).Leslie Howard is the only pianist to have recorded all three sets on a major label for international release, as part of his series of recordings for Hyperion of the complete solo piano music of Liszt.

• Sergei Lyapunov,12 Études d'exécution transcendante, Op. 11 (1897–1905)
• Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji,Études transcendantes (100) (1940–44), commonly known as100 Transcendental Studies
• Brian Ferneyhough,Études transcendantales for mezzo-soprano and chamber ensemble (1982–85)

• Étude en 12 exercices, S.136,Grandes études, S.137,Études d'exécution transcendante, S.139: Scores at theInternational Music Score Library Project
• Discography of Liszt's Transcendental Studies

• Études by Franz Liszt
• 1852 compositions
• Music dedicated to students or teachers
• Compositions covering all major and/or minor keys

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Articles containing French-language text
• Works with IMSLP links
• Articles with International Music Score Library Project links