Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Liszt was a central figure in the history of romantic music, both as an outstanding virtuoso pianist, conductor, music promoter and composer. His piano music in particularly was very influential, and his piano concertos must have seemed extremely radical at the time they were written, moving as they do away from the classical models which other composers, to a greater or lesser degree, had adhered to. it piano writing is meltingly lyrical one moment, and powerfully aggressive the next, and indeed sudden mood changes and climaxes, brief cadenzas and richly ornate and colourful solo writing are characteristic of Liszt's concertos. As with much of Liszt's piano music, the concertos have the stamp of a huge, larger than life personality, and this means that the music can at times become banal and lacking in taste. But it is never boring, and there is enough inspired and memorable music elsewhere that it is quickly forgiven and forgotten. These concertos had a strong impact on me as a teenager, and listening to them again bring it home how compelling and memorable these concertos are. They are full of the best as well as the excesses of 19th century Romanticism. You either like them or hate them, but they are difficult to ignore.

Both concertos are composed in sections which only nominally follow

Piano Concerto No.1 in E flat major, S.124

The first concerto may have been conceived as far back as the 1830s, but he completed it, together with the second at Weimar in 1849, and revised them both in 1853. The orchestration was carried out in collaboration with the composer Joachim Raff, and a noticeable feature of this orchestration is the frequent use of solo instruments, both string and wind. Liszt himself premièred the concerto in Weimar in 1855, and dedicated it to Litolff, the composer of five concertos symphoniques.

The concerto starts with a stern orchestral motif, the strings giving a rhythmic and chromatic unison phrase (a) which is answered by the wind (b) in dotted rhythm, and the piano answers this with powerful rising octaves, leading to a strong cadenza which starts with a rising chordal phrase (c) and leads to a dark and dramatic work out on (a) before moving to a frantic climax and finally evaporating in a calmer mood. Phrases (a) and ( b) are given by the orchestra in a gentler manner, which is answered by a lyrical, ornate and typically melting piano phrase. The orchestra continue with (a) and (b) and this is again answered by the piano which continues and builds up in a highly decorative passage. The (b) rhythmic motif returns with the piano accompaniment and this moves into a warm and lyrical passage which prepares for the second theme, and includes a phrase given by a solo clarinet. The second theme is them presented by piano with solo contributions from the orchestra. This builds up and suddenly a frantic episode takes over which leads to an orchestral tutti climax with a reference to (a). This is extended by piano which then returns to the rising chords (c) which opened the piano cadenza. This is the start of what is effectively a reprise. The orchestra then softly reprise (a), to which a lyrical piano response follows. The orchestra then continue with (a) which is again followed by a piano response, as at the beginning of the section. A coda then closes the first section with (a), (b) and (c) references as the music effectively dissolves into nothing.

The second section is effectively a slow movement and scherzo in one, and starts with a solemn theme (the third theme- e) given in unison by low strings. It has a discernable kinship with the main theme. The theme is given again by the rest of the strings, more warmly and in harmony, and the piano then takes it up in a highly romantic, lyrical and melting manner. The strings again take up the theme, and this suddenly leads to a dramatic Chopinesque recitative based on a phrase which is an inverted. This eventually leads to a bright climax and close. Romantic lyrical phrases from the piano then lead to an attractive fourth theme (f) given by various solo instruments with a piano accompaniment including long trills. Finally, the section closes with a reference to the third theme (e) given by the clarinet.

Piano Concerto No.2 in A major, S.125

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Totentanz for Piano and Orchestra, S.126

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Hungarian Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra, S.123

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The Recordings

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