Rio Grande

SKU: HL.14043216

ISBN 9781783056200. English.

Michael Nyman's Musique A Grande Vitesse (MGV) translates as ‘high speed music’ and was commissioned by the Festival de Lille for the inauguration of the TGV North EuropeanParis-Lille line in 1993.

This piece of sheet music runs continuously, but was conceived as an abstract, imaginary journey; or rather five inter-connected journeys, each ending with a slow, mainly stepwise melody which isonly heard in its 'genuine' form when the piece reaches its destination.

Thematic 'transformation' is a key to MGV as a whole. Throughout the piece ideas - rhythmic, melodic, harmonic, motivic, textural -constantly change their identity as they pass through different musical 'environments'.

The opening bars establish both a recurrent rhythmic principle - 9, 11, or 13-beat rhythmic cycles heard against a regular 8 - and aharmonic process - chord sequences (mainly over C and E) which have the note E in common. (Coincidentally, MGV begins in C and ends in E). A later scalic, syncopated figure (again first heard over C, E and A)begins the second section, featuring Brass, in D flat.

The topography of MGV should be experienced without reference to planning, description or timetables. Its tempo changes and unpredictable slowings downbear no logical relation to the high speed of the Paris-Lille journey, while the temptation to treat MGV as a concerto grosso, with the Michael Nyman band as the ripeno, was resisted: more suitably theband (amplified in live performance) lays down the tracks on which MGV runs.

SKU: BT.EMBZ14499

English-German-Hungarian.

Of this series of twenty-four études planned by Liszt only twelve were actually written, but the contemporary printed editions of the completed pieces (in the hope of a continuation) appeared with the series title '24 grandes études'. By publishing these 12 concert studies it makes the earlier and technically more difficult version of the Transcendental Studies available for the first time since 1911 for study by performers and those engaged in music research. Contrary to the 1911 edition among the volumes of the first complete Liszt edition, NLE will publish also the text variants of some studies, an album leaf in F sharp major in facsimile and in transcription considered asthe 13th study planned by Liszt for the series, and the earlier versions of so-called Mazeppa and Ab irato studies. In the volume will be published the puzzling album leaf, the so-called 'Prélude omnitonique' and some similar album leaves, too.

Von den 24 Etüden dieser Serie, die Liszt ursprünglich geplant hatte, wurden tatsächlich nur 12 fertig, die zeitgenössischen gedruckten Ausgaben erschienen in der Hoffnung auf eine Fortsetzung dennoch unter dem Serientitel ‚24 große Etüden'. Mit der Veröffentlichung dieser zwölf Konzertetüden wird die frühere und technisch schwierigere Version der Transzendenten Etüden seit 1911 erstmalig für die Interpreten und Forscher zugänglich. Im Gegensatz zur 1911 als Band der ersten Liszt-Gesamtausgabe erschienenen Ausgabe werden in der NLA auch die Textversionen mancher Etüden publiziert, ebenso wie das Fis-Dur Albumblatt (als Faksimile und moderne Transkription), welches auch alsSkizze der geplanten dreizehnten Etüde angesehen werden kann, außerdem die früheren Versionen der sog. Mazeppa- und Ab irato-Etüden. Auch das geheimnisvolle Albumblatt, das sog. ‚Prélude omnitonique' wurde, ebenso wie weitere ähnliche Albumblätter in diesen Band aufgenommen.

Des 24 études prévues initialement, seules 12 furent terminées, mais elles furent toutefois éditées sous le nom initial de 24 Grandes Études. Cette édition contient également des textes et de nombreuses autres pièces tels que des esquisses, des études de perfectionnement et des versions antérieures de la Mazeppa.