Franz Liszt, without doubt the most prolific transcriber among major composers, met Rossini in 1822 as a prodigy of eleven. Taken by the older master's music, Liszt turned out a set of variations on Ernani in 1824. Thirteen years later he made a Transcription for piano of Rossini's Soirées Musicales, S424, based on eight ariettas and four duets Rossini published in 1835. Liszt reordered the pieces, leaving only the first and last in their original places.

These transcriptions are fairly literal efforts, though Liszt does make his own additions. A brief cadenza, to cite one example, appears before the return of the main theme of the first piece "La promessa" (The promise). This works begins quietly and features an attractive and rather subdued theme. The next entry, "La regatta veneziana" (The Venice Regatta), is colorful and lively, Liszt effectively incarnating both vocal parts of the duet from the Rossini original. "L'invito" (The Invitation), the next item, is a bolero in the form of a rondo. It is charming and light, and converts to a polonaise in the last appearance of the theme.

"La gita in gondola" (A gondola trip) has a dreamy quality and features fewer Lisztian touches than most of the entries here. The fifth piece, "Il rimprovero" (The Reproach) sounds playful, quite the antithesis of what the title suggests. The middle section, however, features some drama and a challenging cadenza. "La pastorella dell'Alpi" (The Shepherdess of the Alps) includes a musical depiction of the Tyrolean yodel, though the listener would hardly gather such from the colorful music. It begins as a waltz, then proceeds to a fanfare-like idea, that portrays the yodel. A different, less literal version of this piece originally appeared in Liszt's Deuxiéme fantasie sur des motifs Soirées Musicales (1835-36), along with the twelfth item here, "Li marinari" (The Sailors). The latter piece is probably the most effective among the dozen, featuring a range of color in its vividly depicted sea images and thematically memorable creations. At over seven minutes in duration, this is the longest piece in the collection; it is also the most violent and dramatic, a pianistic precursor to the orchestral tone poem.

The seventh work, "La partenza" (The Departure), is a simple piece featuring an attractive, relaxed melody. "La pesca" (Fishing) continues the same mood with a calm and gentle theme. The middle section, however, intensifies briefly before the peaceful melody returns. These last two pieces are among the most literal transcriptions among the twelve. "La danza" (The Dance), on the other hand, sounds more Lisztian and may come nearer the paraphrase category than anything here. The music is pianistically challenging in this rollicking and colorful tarantella.

The tenth entry, "La serenata" (The Serenade) and the eleventh, "L'orgia" both appeared in different versions in Liszt's Grande fantaisie sur des motifs Soirées Musicales (1835-36). " La serenata " is only slightly different from its earlier version, which is to say it is a little more faithful to Rossini here. It has an attractive melody, lush harmonies, and is mostly subdued, though the writing does contain its difficulties. This is the second longest piece in the collection and perhaps nearly as substantial in artistic worth as "Li marinari." "L'orgia" is also quite similar to its earlier incarnation. It is a lively short piece of some considerable difficulty that is not altogether appealing in its somewhat rowdy demeanor.

Liszt dedicated the work to Countess Julie Samoyloff and published it in 1838.

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