Liszt - Virtuosic Transcriptions and Rhapsodies

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9

The introduction I feel does a wonderful job of mixing the gypsy virtuoso feeling in with a feeling of romance when the dole grazioso section begins. The declamatory passages which begin the piece set the listener up for a feeling of excitement of which Liszt always seems to deliver, and I would imagine that if a composer ever began a dull piece in such an exciting fashion the audience would feel greatly disappointed (like seeing a really exciting movie preview… but then when you finally see the whole movie it turns out to be really bad and nothing more than a waste of time).
The following section sounds like the strumming of a guitar. The embellishments over the top make me think of a band of musicians where the guitarists keep the chord progression moving while the violinists take turns showing there improvisational talent. The allegretto section represents a sound I greatly enjoy, which is the sound of a chord progression that is rhythmically exciting but doesn’t really go anywhere but V and I. This section ends up being very similar to the slow section in that the accompaniment simply keeps going while the embellishments alter and become more complex in texture. The stringendo chromatic octaves before the finale are striking similar to the 6th Rhapsody. The existence of a finale is surprising, not only because it is much longer than I expected, but also because it displays Liszt’s intentions to think of the rhapsodies in multiple movements, rather than simply through-composed virtuosic works.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13

The first half of this work seems to epitomize for me the meaning of slow virtuosity. The work has a haunting and almost frightening quality, in which it seems Liszt uses the runs to symbolize feelings of a stormy and arguable nature. It becomes evident at the vivace repeated section that this work is similar in form to rhapsody no. 12 which begins with a long slow section and uses the middle section to increase excitement and change character. Difficulties present in the end are similar to the difficulties of the 12th rhapsody (repeated notes, chords, octaves, leaps). This could certainly be due to the success the 12th rhapsody had, and this being the succeeding composition Liszt could have used many of the same methods as in the previous one.

Wagner Tannhauser Overture

Liszt seemed to use just about every virtuosic trick at his disposal for this work. It is a good thing the work begins slowly because otherwise it could be too intense to listen to in its entirety. The slow interruptions which will occur later in the work add to the “heavenly length” but are necessary in the separation of ideas. Liszt starts off with a technique that is one of my favorites of his, being the use of leaps with repetition to create a sort of illusion of reverberation and/or echoing sounds. Liszt will use the high register to great effect, creating that magical visual response to his music. These high-register flutters remind me greatly of a Disney. Liszt also uses the technique from the first movement of the “Tempest” sonata to a new extreme. These two-note slurs with the repeated note provide a feeling of great shimmering quality when combined with these innovative harmonies. It is exciting to note that Liszt had to use three staves within this work to fit all the virtuosity in. I think people underestimate the skill required to create a composition using all these devices, even though it is for “showing off”. The craftsmanship is obviously genuine and effective. God forbid any classical music be appealing to a non-musician listener.

Verdi Rigoletto Paraphrase

I listened to Cziffra’s recording of both of these transcriptions, and I originally thought they would just be too fast and too intense. On the contrary they are REALLY good, and the way that he uses the intro of Rigoletto to evoke these magical sounds is extremely inspirational. The change of mood from the original statement of the theme to the next section is really interesting in the way that Liszt uses the content of the music to mold this universe of sounds that one would never associate with opera. But, taking that back, I would say that Liszt’s flourishes are there when we watch the opera, but they are a mixture of what we see, what we hear, and what we feel. It is as if Liszt took all these elements of music and life and turned them all into a musical response, in which all elements of this