CAUT

  • 1.  Liszt, the Impressionist

    Posted 06-02-2024 23:11

    Franz Liszt: Années de pèlerinage III, S. 163 - No. 4, Les jeux d'eau à la Villa d'Este. Link to recording at bottom.

    Consider for a moment that Franz Liszt wrote this incredible 'impressionistic' piece in the 1835-42 time frame. It just goes to show how the tonal period of piano music was already nearing its end. This piece predates Debussy by almost 50 years, and it post-dates Beethoven's late works by only 10 years. It makes me wonder why we keep debating 'piano tonality' when Liszt had already dispensed with the idea that the 'triad' was the basis for tonality! In this piece, there is a base key, which is F# Major! You can download the music at imslp.org. I invite you to explore the 'omni-tonal' world of Liszt. 

    https://youtu.be/uUuwysdTJcw



    ------------------------------
    Steven Norsworthy
    PianoSens
    Cardiff By The Sea CA
    (619) 964-0101
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Liszt, the Impressionist

    Posted 06-04-2024 14:10

    Liszt: Bagatelle sans tonalité, S.216a. Link to recording below, by Alfred Brendel.

    https://youtu.be/H9oaYvKBQEo

    A later work by Liszt into atonality, written in 1885. The title alone tells us where Liszt is going with music. 

    While this piece is not especially dissonant, it is extremely chromatic, becoming what Liszt's contemporary François-Joseph Fétis called "omnitonic" in that it lacks any definite feeling for a tonal center. 



    ------------------------------
    Steven Norsworthy
    PianoSens
    Cardiff By The Sea CA
    (619) 964-0101
    ------------------------------