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I just ran the search of ABF for 'Liszt' in the subject line and got this result:

You searched for keywords: 'Liszt' | 1 matches found

This is gross injustice towards our beloved composer who really defines the Romantic movement more than anybody else! So, with a goal of eradicating such discrimination, I start this thread of Liszt Devotees.

Liszt's music is a much feared subject for beginners - with all those Transcendental Etudes, Hungarian Rhapsodies, etc. Yet, despite being at times very technical, Liszt is also incredibly melodic and easy to comprehend. And, he did write piano compositions that are manageable at beginner level - well, maybe, not at total beginner, but given the sheer explosion of talent that I see (hear?) here at ABF, I think that the fear of Liszt should be banned!

I open this thread with just a few links to our favorite composer, and will expand this post with cross references to "the best of the thread" and outside links periodically.

Liszt Links

Franz Liszt on Wikipedia

Americal Liszt Society
Liszt sheet music on IMSLP
Piano Society page - recordings and sheet music
A site with many anecdotes and Liszt quotes


Threads on ABF related to Liszt:

Easy Liszt Pieces
Hungarian Rhapsody... how hard?

Books about Liszt

Alan Walker\'s "Liszt years" (3-volume set, link is to the first volume on Amazon) (Get it at the library)
Liszt by Derek Watson

*new* Absolutely stunning recording (from 1940s) of Frederic Lamond (one of Liszt students) talking about Liszt (thanx, Mel!):
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/topic/32/4411/9.html#000207


If you have a favorite Liszt resource on the Internet, please e-mail me and I will add it here.

Maybe it's just me, but the name "Liszt" and the term "beginner" don't seem to be a felicitous pairing. I wish I could play some of his music, but I can't (yet).

Ted

Ted:

This is exactly the attitude that I am talking about when I say that Liszt is undeservedly feared by beginners. And, it is entirely unwarranted! Here is a wonderful easy Liszt's piece for beginner:

A theme from "8 variations":

imslp.org/wiki/Huit_Variations%2C_S.148_%28Liszt%2C_Franz%29

(copy and paste URL to browser - this BB won't allow links with parenthesis in the URL)

I don't seem to be able to find a recording of it on the internet, but when I get home, I'll try to sight-read it and (if not too embarrassing) post it here.

i'm not a devotee of anyone (except Beethoven perhaps), and never learned any Liszt pieces. but i'm going to learn his Consolation 3 pretty soon, since i begin to feel that my techniques finally are up to the task.

sign me up! I'm a huge fan of the man and his music! (and yes, it intimidates me!!)

Sophia

Here's a site that has many anecdotes and Liszt quotes http://www.users.cloud9.net/~recross/why-not/Florilegium.html

Here's a site with 200 of his works available to download the sheetmusic for:
http://www.imslp.org/wiki/Category:Liszt%2C_Franz

And Alan Walker's bio of Liszt is a very good read. (get it at a library, the volumes are quite expensive)

One fact I read about Liszt in Walker's book was that Liszt played (or tried to play) difficult passages with every imaginable fingering. So when you start playing his more complex stuff, the fingering noted by Liszt will end up being the most efficient.

Count me in as a devoteee! Although Beethoven is my favorite classical composer, Liszt is my favorite classical* pianist!

I recently bought a book of sheet music by Liszt, and there are many pieces that the relatively skilled beginner can handle. Not every single piece of Liszt takes a Piano Deity to play.

*I know Liszt was a romantic but I use the term broadly like the general public does.

I'm in as well! I'm a big Liszt fan and just finished reading Derek Watson's biography.

Edit: Although having a thread on Liszt with links to interesting places about him, I think there would probably be more discussion about Liszt if those interested in him would start threads of their own on different Liszt topics. Yuri could then perhaps create links to those threads. I think this is probably a better mechanism than having another "superthread" ala the Chopin thread that contains both links and discussions.

I'll start a thread tomorrow on a topic about Liszt that I've been interested in for a while.

Oh great, the balkaniztion of the ABF begins: the Chopin people vs. the Liszt people

I like them both a lot, although I'm far more familiar with Chopin's works. Liszt is something I've been putting off because I just don't feel "ready".

I like this idea!

Liszt composed great music, and from what I've read, was a really good guy.

Although I don't really like the 'devotee' thing. That will leave out other cool composers like Alkan or Beethoven.

UH OH! more Liszt addicts.

playadom,

I think it's about time that Liszt devotees have a thread to discuss this giant of the romantic era. If others wish to begin threads about other composers (which they have), then more power to them. I'm for letting this thread find its level of interest. Of course, I have a bias toward Liszt, thus the avatar and user name.

No offense intended,

Lisztener

The date on that is 1824... Liszt was born in 1811.

Sophia,

While I was studying Liszt's Consolation No. 3, I did a search on YouTube and found many versions. Here is a link to my favorite performance of this piece on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3fas_xU_Lw

I hope you enjoy it and I believe you will do a wonderful job of playing it, soon.

Regards,

Lisztener

Greg,

After listening to your masterful performance of Debussy in the latest recital, I don't understand this response from you. I believe you have the virtuosity to handle many of Liszt's concert pieces.

Regards,

Lisztener

Wow! I sure started something here... It's been only a few howrs that I was away from a computer, and the thread has taken on a life of its own.

Thank you, thank you! It is so wonderful to see so many people here!

As promised (and very embarrasing), I just printed and (ahemmm) sight-read (or, should I say, sight-maligned) the theme from 8 variations. Now, what a wonderful piece for a total beginner!

http://www.box.net/shared/r8d4ihhef8

I wish there was a rendition of it by concert pianist on youtube or something - I am not doing it justice....

Edit: Oh, forgot to mention: I played it with no repeats so as not to prolong your suffering. Otherwise it would have been twice as long.

Great idea! I will cross-reference the various Liszt threads here. Meanwhile, so that this "meta-thread" is easily accessible, could you, please, add Liszt (with a reference to this thread) in the "important topics" pinned thread?

Thanks very much, Lisztener! I'll keep working on it.

I think it's great to have threads devoted to composers like Chopin, Liszt, Beethoven and more. THe more we learn and share about these geniuses, the better as far as I'm concerned!

Sophia

Done.

That was a very kind thing to say, Lisztener, esp. considering the quality of your own performance of Scriabin. Thank you.

I do have a lot to learn and many holes in technique to patch up. That is the disadvantage to being self-taught ("He who is self-taught has a fool for a teacher"): Technique acquisition must happen on-the-fly, and since you're learning pieces you want to play rather than ones you have to play, chances are they are not the best ones for one's particular technical deficiencies - just as a child, without parental guidance, would eat pizza and junk food for every meal rather than meat and vegetables. Right now I am learning Chopin 25/6 because I need work with chord unity and I also happen to adore this piece.

There are plenty of Liszt pieces that pass the interest test with flying colors, too - one is Valse Oubliee No. 1 - which will likely be the first Liszt piece I learn. But need to clear some of the other irons out of the fire first...

Thanks again for the kind encouragement, and for the excellent reviews you've submitted so far on the recital, too!

Best,