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Hi all, I'm currently working on the Liszt Concerto No. 1 in Eb Major for my school's concerto competition and I'm blanking over how to condense the material down to 8-12 minutes in a coherent way. Any ideas?

No idea at all?
There's a pretty obvious one. I'd suggest you think a little more before clicking on it below.
Hint: It's probably far-and-away the most common way of doing this kind of thing in general -- done in competitions very often. Also in lessons, master classes, and just about anything else.

I believe the Liszt Concerto is in one movement. Although Liszt lovers will hate me, I'd suggest a solution would be to cancel your Verizon hook up and leave out the part for ringing telephone.

1.Allegro maestoso
4.Allegro marziale animato

Four

Allegro maestoso
Quasi adagio
Allegretto vivace - Allegro animato
Allegro marziale animato


Right -- that would do it.

From David Dubal's The Art of the Piano:

The Liszt Concerto..."is in one continuous movement in four sections."

OTOH Wiki(who I trust less)says:
"The concerto consists of four movements, which are performed without breaks in between, and lasts approximately 20 minutes."

From Toronto symphony orchestra notes:
"In form, the concerto is at once radically innovative and reliant (albeit loosely) on Classical models: it unfolds as a single continuous drama, yet comprises four discrete sections that mimic the movements of a Classical symphony (fast, slow, scherzo, fast). Each of the first three “movements” has its own themes, but the march-like finale (heralded by the return of the opening theme) is made up entirely of themes from earlier “movements,” now wholly transformed. The cumulative effect provides a satisfying sense of closure."

So perhaps it's open to interpretation.

Are you willing to concede that at least there are two reasonable ways to view it (and how it is viewed), and that therefore the initial statement about it wasn't particularly worth countering, especially because what was suggested is indeed the main possible answer?

There are two ways although I had always heard of it as being in one movement. Whether it's worth countering is also open to opinion, and I'd have to spend a few hours to decide such an important question. I checked Dubal before I wrote my post. The fact that some consider it a one movement may be the reason why the OP didn't consider breaking it up that way to get under the time limit.

Good answer.
But it does seem like the only issue would have been whether you want to call them "movements" or "sections" -- which has no effect on what's being talked about here.

I thought it was the second concerto that was considered one movement. It is often broken up into 6 sections on recordings.

It made his telephone joke smoother.

Actually I didn't get that either.
Maybe you wanna help us out....


Of course please pardon the plural first person.

I assumed PL doesn't like the 3rd um...section.

I have been to several performances where someone yelled out "Someone get that phone" at certain places in this piece. They're pretty obvious.

Was it you? Maybe you shouldn't go to the performances given in high school gymnasiums.

I heard Argerich play this piece live at Carnegie Hall along time ago. I was going to yell out about "answering the phone" but at the last second decided she might not appreciate my sense of humor.

I played just the '1st' movement my junior year in high school and the entire concerto as a senior. Somebody must be bothered that Liszt saw fit to introduce the triangle in this one. Um . .reminds me of Jesu Sanroma's performance in Chicago where he missed all of the opening octaves and it didn't seem to improve as he continued.

Possibly the worst live, professional performance I've heard other than a rather lousy solo performance a few years ago by Eugene Istomin.

I haven't timed the movements but it might work with 1st and 4th.

Ralph

The rules for my conservatory's competition is to have representative sections of all the movements, so I'd have to at least touch on all four of the movements.

I didn't know "lousy" was possible for him!


As I said, it ought to be pretty solid for the stated limit.

Well in that case.....

(That's harder -- and it seems pretty strange, with the time limit you said.)