Liszt Masterpieces for Solo Piano

Auteur

Composer, conductor, and teacher Franz Liszt (1811?86) was renowned throughout Europe for his skills as a concert pianist. The quintessential romantic, he created an extensive and diverse oeuvre that ranges from influential experiments in musical form to more conventional pieces as well as transcriptions of works by other composers.

Texte du rabat

This outstanding new compilation of piano works by the supreme piano virtuoso of the 19th century includes such masterworks as Sonetto 104 di Petrarca, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor, Un Sospiro (Concert Etude No. 3 in D-flat major), Funérailles (from Années de pélerinage), Consolation No. 3 in D-Flat major, Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major, and La Campanella (Paganini Etude No. 3). Reprinted in one convenient, modestly priced volume that will be treasured by students, musicians, and music lovers.

Contenu

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp Minor No. 2 from [19] Hungarian Rhapsodies • R106 / S244 Un Sospiro "A Sigh": Concert Étude No. 3 in D-flat Major from Trois Études de Concert • R 5 / S144" "Funérailles, Octobre 1849" "Burials, October 1849": No. 7 from Harmonies Poétiques at Religieuses. Written to commemorate the executions of the Hungarian Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány and thirteen Hungarian generals on 6 Octover 1849, at the end of the Hungarian War of Independence • R14 / S173 Consolation No. 3 in D-flat Major From [6] Consolations. Title from Les Consolations by poet-novelist Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve • R12 / S172 Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat Mojor "Dream of Love": Transcription of the song "O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst," peom by Ferdinand Freiligrath, from Liebesträume, 3 Notturnos • R211 / S141" La Campanella "The Little Bell": Originally composed in 1832 around the rondo theme of Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor; published as Grande Fantaisie de Bravoure sur "La Clochette" de Paganini. Revised in 1838 as "La Campanella" (in A-flat minor), and published as No. 3 of six Études d' Exécution Transcendante d'après Paganini. Entire set revised in 1851 and published as Grandes Études de Paganini - the form in which this music is known today. "La Campanella" appears here in its final form, in G-sharp minor. • R3b / S141. Sonetto 104 del Petrarca "Petrarch's Sonnet 104": Originally the song "Pace non trovo," one of Liszt's three Petrarch settings for tenor and piano, published as Tre Sonetti di Petrarca. Transcribed for piano solo under the same title and published in 1846. The set, revised sometimes before 1858, was integrated into Années de Pèlerinage / Deuxième Année: Italie. The present version is No. 5 of that suite. • R10b / S161 Mephisto Waltz No. 1 Composed both for solo piano and for orchestra as "The Dance in the Village Inn," the second of Two Episodes from Lenau's "Faust" (the other is "The Ride by Night"). The work draws its imagery from Nicholas Lenau's dramatic poem containing episodes omitted from Goethe's version of the Faust legend. Liszt's piano transcription, universally known as the Mephisto Waltz, was dedicated to Carl Tausig, the most famous of the first generation of Liszt's pupils. • R181 / S514 Waldersrauschen Gnomenreigen "Two Concert Études: "Forest Murmurs" / "Dance of the Gnomes" • R6 / S145" Rákóczy March (Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 in A Minor) Liszt's famous arrangement of Hungary's national "call to arms," associated with Prince Ferenc Rákóczy II, who was the first leader of the fight for Hungarian independence against the Habsburgs. This is the second of three versions, based on themes from Liszt's sets of Hungarian national melodies (Magyar Dallok) and rhapsodies (Magyar Rhapsodiák), and from his symphonic arrangement for the march. • R106 / S244 Nuages Gris "Gray Clouds": This work has been described as 'a gateway to modern music', acquiring in recent years the status of an icon among Liszt aficianados. With its advanced harmonies, and its unresolved ending that drifts away into keylessness, the piece fortells the coming of impressionism in music. The "Gray Clouds" were evidently autobiographical in origin. In early August 1881, Liszt suffered a fall down the stairs of the Hofgärtnerei, his occasional home in Weimar. His injuries were severe enough to keep him in bed for the next several weeks. The music depicts a world of quiet desolation. The manuscript bears the date 24 August 1881. • R78 / S199 Valse Oubliée No. 1 "Forgotten Waltz No. 1": the first of Quatre Valses Oubliées. • R37 / S215"