THE RISE OF NINETEENTH CENTURY CONCERT ETUDES; A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THREE ETUDES by Justin G. P. Bird Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music Indiana University May 2020 Accepted by the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music Doctoral Committee ______________________________________ André Watts, Chair ______________________________________ David Cartledge ______________________________________ Jean-Louis Haguenauer May 8, 2020 ii Table of Contents Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................................... iii List of Examples ........................................................................................................................................... v List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. vii List of Works ............................................................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 : Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2 : The Compositional Intrigue of Etudes and their Pedagogical Benefit ....................................... 2 Piano ................................................................................................................................................ 2 Definition ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Intrigue ............................................................................................................................................. 3 Benefit .............................................................................................................................................. 5 Rise .................................................................................................................................................. 6 Chapter 3 : Chopin’s Revolution .................................................................................................................. 7 Biography ......................................................................................................................................... 7 Chopin’s Piano Etudes ..................................................................................................................... 9 Etude Op. 10 No. 12 in C minor “Revolutionary” ......................................................................... 13 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 15 Chapter 4 : Liszt’s Transcendentalism ........................................................................................................ 19 Biography ....................................................................................................................................... 19 iii Liszt’s Piano Etudes ....................................................................................................................... 20 Transcendental Etude No. 11 “Harmonies du Soir” ...................................................................... 22 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 28 Chapter 5 : Alkan’s Programaticism ........................................................................................................... 33 Biography ....................................................................................................................................... 33 Alkan’s Piano Etudes ..................................................................................................................... 35 Etude Op. 35 No. 7 “L'incendie au village voisin” ........................................................................ 39 Analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 6 : The Culmination of the Romantic Concert Etude .................................................................... 44 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................... 47 iv List of Examples Example 2.1. J. S. Bach’s Prelude No. 2 from Das Wohltemperierte Klavier I BWV 847 No. 2, mm. 1–3 4 Example 3.1. Frederic Chopin, Etude Op. 25 No. 12, (Peters, 1879), mm. 15–16. .................................... 10 Example 3.2. Frederic Chopin, Revolutionary Etude Op. 10 No. 12, (First Edition, Paris, Schlesinger, 1833), mm. 25–27. ............................................................................................................................. 16 Example 3.3. Frederic Chopin, Revolutionary Etude Op. 10 No. 12, (Peters), mm. 17–18. ...................... 16 Example 3.4. Frederic Chopin, Revolutionary Etude Op. 10 No. 12, (Peters, 1879), mm. 69–71. ............ 17 Example 4.1. Franz Liszt, Exercise No. 7 from “Étude en douze exercices”, S. 136, (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1910), mm. 1–3. ................................................................................................................................. 23 Example 4.2. Frederick Chopin, Etude Op. 10 No. 11, (Paris, 1832), mm. 1–12. ...................................... 25 Example 4.3. Franz Liszt, Harmonies du Soir Etude No. 11 from Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139, (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1852), mm. 23–26. .................................................................................... 26 Example 4.4. Franz Liszt, Harmonies du Soir Etude No. 11 from Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139, (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1852), mm. 94–96. .................................................................................... 29 Example 4.5. Franz Liszt, Harmonies du Soir Etude No. 11 from Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139, (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1852), Second Recitative Theme, mm. 58–69. ......................................... 30 Example 4.6. Franz Liszt, Harmonies du Soir Etude No. 11 from Études d'exécution transcendante, S. 139, (Breitkopf & Härtel, 1852), mm. 98–100. .................................................................................. 31 Example 5.1. Stephen Heller, 30 Etudes Progressives Op 46. No. 12, mm. 1–3 ........................................ 36 Example 5.2. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 39 No. 12, Paris, Dover, 1857. Final Variation, mm. 261–263 .. 38 Example 5.3. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 35 No. 7, Paris, Costallat, 1898. mm. 30–34 .............................. 40 Example 5.4. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 35 No. 7, Paris, Costallat, 1898, mm. 49–52 .............................. 41 Example 5.5. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 35 No. 7, Paris, Costallat, 1898, mm. 84–85 .............................. 41 Example 5.6. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 35 No. 7, Paris, Costallat, 1898, mm. 108–110 .......................... 42 Example 5.7. Charles Alkan, Etude Op. 35 No. 7, Paris, Costallat, 1898, mm. 203–207 .......................... 43 v List of Figures Figure 1. View from the Cardinal Apartments, at Villa d’Este. ................................................................ 28 vi List of Tables Table 1. Frederic Chopin’s Complete Etudes ............................................................................................. 12 Table 2. Franz Liszt’s Etude Collections. ................................................................................................... 21 Table 3. Charles Valentin Alkan’s Etude Collections. ............................................................................... 35 vii List of Works Chopin, Frederic (1810–1849). Etude Op. 10 No. 12 Revolutionary Written: 1831–32 First Publication: 1833, Leipzig: Probst-Kistner and Paris: Maurice Schlesinger Dedication: Franz Liszt Measures: 84 Liszt, Franz (1811–1886). Transcendental Etudes S. 139, No. 10 Harmonies du soir Written: 1851–52 First Publication: 1852, Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel Dedication: Carl Czerny Measures: 155 First appearance of Harmonies du soir: in 1826, Étude en douze exercices S. 136, Second appearance of Harmonies du soir: in 1837, Douze Grandes Études S. 137 Alkan, Charles-Valentin (1813–1888). Etude Op. 35 No. 7 L'incendie au village voisin Written: 1847 First Publication: 1847, Paris: Brandus et Cie Dedication: François-Joseph Fétis Measures: 216 viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION Through the study of three prominent piano etudes during the 1830’s to 1850’s, this essay traces the growth of the etude, from its origins as an amateur exercise—to the status of a prized concert piece. In comparing Frederick Chopin’s Etude Op 10. No. 12 Revolutionary (1831–32), Franz Liszt’s Transcendental Etude S. 139, No. 10 Harmonies du soir (1852), and Charles-Valentin Alkan’s Etude Op. 35 No. 7 L'incendie au village voisin (1847)1, we can plot the unfolding of a romantic aesthetic in music, and a compositional height