Italian pianist Manuel Cini takes us on a voyage through the highly dramatic and passionate cycle of Liszt's 12 Transcendental Etudes.

Unlike technical studies aimed to develop and reinforce specific aspects of piano playing, Liszt's studies are incredibly vivid and profoundly imaginative; gems of the piano repertoire. Among many other accolades, Cini won First Prize at the Franz Liszt Center Piano Competition in 2021, reflecting his affinity with this repertoire. These etudes were written in an historical period during which many improvements were made in piano manufacture. New instruments presented more possibilities in terms of sound, tonal volume and structural resistance, which drove Liszt to develop a new kind of piano writing. This cycle thus opened doors to new compositional horizons and has influenced many composers since; today it remains an unsurpassed milestone in piano music.

'Transcendental' not only refers to the incredible difficulty of these pieces, both from a technical and interpretative point of view, but also to their mystic nature: exploring something beyond the knowable. In this album, Manuel Cini seeks to present his own interpretation of this challenging repertoire by combining as faithfully as possible the composer's indications with his personal ideas. This album is the culmination of the work of many years; as Manuel Cini puts it in the album booklet, it is "the realisation of a lifelong dream."

"A brilliant and talented artist" – Noretta Conci-Leech (pupil of Michelangeli)