PUZZLE 176 - Liszt: Mazeppa, Transcendental Study no. 4 for piano and orchestra.

And another one from me:

Puzzle 177  Puzzle 177

We'll give Mr. Baziron that one - it is indeed Mazeppa. "Based on" the study we are led to believe, although we do not think there is a pianoforte in this version with the orchestration of which one Raff is said to have assisted the composer.

We would especially like to draw the attention of modernist members to the grand trombone theme in the second half of our excerpt. There is nothing quite so magnificently memorable in the whole corpus of post-1908 music is there?

HERE or HERE may be found PUZZLE 178, our last for to-day. We wonder who will know this one.

177 is Wagner's Overture to Das Liebesverbot, Tony, although I should confess that this was the piece with which I entered this contest as my first 'snatch' - the castanets had folks confused for ages!

How about 180 then?

Puzzle 180

In order to obviate the long languishment of abstruse puzzles, we are now permitting - under strictly controlled conditions - clues and hints in this thread. For each clue provided by the setter he or she will receive an additional 75 points. Up to five "clue" messages will be allowed for each puzzle. The "clue" message will henceforth constitute a new, seventh message type. This new rule will apply only to puzzles more than 10 hours old at the time of posting the clue, and it takes effect from this moment. Members will note that the setter will now have the choice either of giving the puzzle away relatively quickly (and gaining points that way) or of letting it lie for four and a half days (and gaining points that way). We hope that this rule will help to keep things moving.

And a clue towards No.169 - you're seeking a 19th Century Russian composer.