Like so much of Liszt’s work, the first Mephisto Waltz is programmatic in nature. Numbers one and three are perhaps the best known of the four waltzes, the first being composed between 18. Waltz on and two were originally composed by Liszt as orchestral pieces only later being arranged into solo piano works. The piece is an abundant expression of joy and elation and it is not hard to see why it has become one of Liszt most enduring works. Broadly speaking the form is in three sections although the piece is continuous.Įach of these smaller parts is pillared by a mighty cadenza-like passage where Liszt cannot help but display his musical prowess. Liszt chooses the warm key of A flat major and a single melodic idea that threads its way throughout the work. In this final piece of the set, love is considered to be unconditional and in its highest form. Liszt’s inspiration is poetry and each of the pieces represents love in a different form. This is the third and most popular of the set. The Liebesträume are a set of three solo piano pieces published in 1850. Many interpretations exist of this sonata, but my feeling is it is perhaps better just to allow the music to speak for itself. This gave rise to many other composer’s efforts to compose in the same way both in terms of the sonata and the symphony. The key aspect to understand however is the unity of form in which Liszt was attempting to write. It is simple enough to divide the sonata into four movements that include a second slow (Andante) section a scherzo and a finale. What is important to recognise is that the whole sonata is really a single movement form based on a single motif. It as a work that has a duration of around thirty minutes during which the gifts of even the ablest pianist are stretched. This sonata was composed by Liszt during the year 1854 and is dedicated to Robert Schumann. They are works of extraordinary imagination delight. Common symphonic forms like sonata-form and fugue Liszt employs in his own way without them taking control of the musical material. Many of the motifs heard in the first part link into and are developed in the remaining movements. Liszt’s intention was not to compose the narrative of these characters but to write a work that conjured their essence and spirit.Īs you might anticipate, Liszt employs a generous orchestra for his symphony that includes a tenor soloist and a male choir. The three sections are as follows Faust Gretchen and Mephistopheles. The Faust Symphony was inspired by the work of the poet Goethe and falls into three sections that make up a piece of over 75 minutes duration. Amongst these are the 12 Symphonic Poems that represent a vitally important collection of orchestral works. It is as a result of the advice from the Princess that we have some of Liszt’s finest compositions. It was the Princess who had convinced Liszt to abandon his performing career and focus instead on composition. He was now living happily with Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein who Liszt had met in 1847. Liszt settled in Weimar by 1848 having established himself not only as a performer and composer but also as a conductor and great favourite of the Court. By the end of the piece, the material has been exhausted and the festivities come to a joyous halt. It is richly pictorial and it is not difficult to imagine Hungarian Gypsies in the frenzy of dance and celebration. This moves into a dance-like second section that is superbly effervescent and displays the exceptional gifts Liszt possessed as a pianist. The second Rhapsody falls into two distinct sections that begin with dark and ominous chords that seem to portray an impending disaster that never comes to pass. The Hungarian element of the rhapsodies is also important and they acknowledge Liszt’s own origins as well as expressing a nationalistic feeling against the oppressive Austrian regime of the time.Īlthough the rhapsodies draw on the folk music of Hungary what Liszt achieves in each of the works takes the original material into a whole new realm very much his own. They are a wonderful window into the style and capabilities of the man himself. Liszt composed nineteen rhapsodies with the title Hungarian between 18.
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