Mid-semester Writing Assignment

Thiago Andre
Keyboard Literature
Professor Dr. Tyler Wottrich

Franz Liszt (1811 –1886) was a Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic
period. Liszt gained notoriety in Europe during the early Nineteenth Century for his remarkable
skill as a pianist. Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the New German School
and anticipated Twentieth Century ideas and trends. Moreover, among Liszt's musical
contributions were the symphonic poem, which developed thematic transformation as part of his
experiments in musical form, and radical innovations in harmony. Liszt composed almost
exclusive for the piano, and some of his most important piano works include Hungarian
Rhapsodies, Sonata in B minor, Piano Concertos, many Etudes, etc.
From his several compositions throughout the years, Liszt composed three volumes for
piano solo called Années de pelerinage. The first volume is called Première année: Suisse (First
Year: Switzerland), the second volume is Deuxième année: Italie (Second Year: Italy), and the
third volume is Troisième année (Third Year). Although they are part of the same compendium,
these volumes have different characteristics between them. The first book is derived from his
earlier works and follows more structural forms and tonality; freedom in the form, relation with
the arts, drawing scenes, and challenging techniques are found in the second book; on the other
hand, the third book displays more harmonic experimentation rather than virtuosic episodes.
Considered as character pieces, these books display a diversity in technique, quality, color, and
storyline. Moreover, it is important to note that several other composers also wrote pieces based
on their experiences, paintings, and character pieces, such as Debussy, Ravel, and Schumann.
This paper will discuss about one piece in the Italian volume called Après une lecture du
Dante: Fantasia quasi-Sonata, also known as Dante Sonata. This single-movement piece is
fantastically programmatic, and Liszt uses this virtuosic work to conjure the Hell, Purgatory, and
Heaven. Inspired by the reading of Dante Alighieri's most famous epic poem the Divine Comedy
and Victor Hugo’s poem entitled Après une Lecture de Dante. This piece almost seems
improvisatory in the way sections are strung together.
For better understanding, we will divide this piece into three big sections, and the
performances of each section by the four pianists will be analyzed section by section. The pianists
are Mikhail Pletnev,1 Daniel Barenboim,2 Seong-Jin Cho,3 and Vitaly Pisarenko.4
The first section starts with a menacing introduction of tritones and dissonant harmonies.
This passage utilizes fast appoggiaturas and octaves moving toward the lower register of the piano.
These tritones, also known as the Devil’s interval, the marcato effect, and other dissonant
harmonies perhaps represent Dante arriving in Hell. Moreover, Liszt creates variations using this
same motif and moves to different registers of the instrument, creating a turbulent and ominous
atmosphere. Figure 1 illustrates the first phrase of this introduction.

1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB59i99Wxc4
2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YolpUQd6bD4
3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWLK4fpT4VE
4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PrsflaFB58
 Figure 1

Each pianist has a personal approach for this introduction. Pletnev executes these first
octaves with aggressive and Pesante characters. These elements conjoined with the extra pedaling
mark reinforce the tritones’ sound and create a turbulent and ominous atmosphere. Although he
was putting extra pedaling marks, it is possible to notice that he was not mixing unnecessary
harmonies or losing the melodic line that Liszt wrote. Additionally, he uses a lot of rubato in
several moments, especially during the massive chords and the end of the stringendo mark.
Barenboim was also added extra pedaling marks in this introduction, however, some of the
pedals were not too well executed and the melody is lost at times. One example is the octave-
melody in the left-hand on the last measure of Figure 1. Since he was changing the pedal in order
to not mix the unnecessary harmonies, the E-flat note was muffled in the moment of pedaling
change. In the stringendo section, the descending movement of the octaves in the left-hand was
not very clear, maybe because of the excess of the pedal or extra voicing in the right-hand.
Cho starts this piece creating a big crescendo towards the lower register. It is something
different from the previous two recordings and similar to the Pisarenko. Although he also adds
several extra pedaling markings, the most visible change is when he executes the sextuplet pattern.
Liszt wrote a specific pedal for the sextuplets, and the pianists were following this orientation.
However, Cho changes the pedal several times, and creates an extremely clear sound in the lower
register. Additionally, different from the other two, he executes a great amount of ritardando in
the stringendo section.
Pisarenko lingers between the third and fourth beats of measure two, which reinforces the
idea of arriving somewhere. Like Barenboim, Pisarenko’s extra pedals sometimes makes the
melody in the left hand difficult to follow. Different from the previous three, Pisarenko executes
several rubato markings in the sextuplets. On the other hand, he did not exaggerate with the
ritardando mark present at the end of this introduction like the other three. Figure 2 shows the
sextuplets motif where Cho changed the pedaling mark and Pisarenko executed a big rubato.

Figure 2

Liszt wrote several different tempos and pedaling marks in this introduction. All the
pianists were very close to each other in terms of choices of speed, and it was not possible to notice
a big difference between them. Even in the parts where they added extra pedals. However, as
mentioned before, some of them made more use of rubato and ritardando than others.
The chromatic theme in D minor typifies the wailing of tortured souls in Hell. Beside the
key, this part uses chromatic octaves with a long pedaling mark, creating a dissonant sound that
reinforces the hellish imagery. Additionally, Liszt wrote Presto agitato assai which helps creating
this turbulent image. Figure 3 illustrates this phrase.

Figure 3

Pletnev does not start this section in presto. He adds speed throughout the measures. His
voicing in the upper notes of the right-hand creates the necessary conduction of phrases and
reinforces all the dissonances created by the pedal. Overall, Pletnev tries to respect the pedaling
marks and seems to understand when he needs to bring the sound down in order to not make the
audience feel tired and/or when he needs space for executing big crescendos. The only visible
moment when he adds an extra pedal is in the eight-octave-note after the octave runs as marked in
Figure 4. This extra pedal takes off the idea of dry and marcato sound. This same motif is repeated
a couple of times and he repeats the same pedaling.

Figure 4

Barenboim also starts this section a little slower and achieves energy and speed throughout
the measures. However, he uses more rubato which creates a certain instability in the tempo. One
example is marked in Figure 5, where he stretches the end of the first phrase and creates a big
rubato in the two-sixteen notes.

Figure 5

There is a modulation to F-sharp minor with a big passagework using octaves in a

descending motion. This section sounded a little difficult for Barenboim. He used only the
movement of his arms and his sound lost some energy and brightness in this passage. Since this is
a demanding passage, he perhaps started feeling a little tired. Furthermore, his approach to execute
these runs was more vertical rather than horizontal motion. It is possible that he wanted to create
a dry and marcato sound by using this technique. Additionally, instead of curving the fingers in
some of the octaves in this section, Barenboim sometimes plays with his fingers perpendicular to
the keys with high wrists, perhaps to achieve this marcato sound.
Cho also builds speed throughout the measures and uses some rubato similar to Barenboim,
however, Cho’s rubato was more controlled. Even though Liszt was very specific of pedaling, Cho
changes some of Liszt’s marks that create extra harmony mixture in the passage marked Figure 6.
section. The marks in the Figure indicates some of the places where Cho did not change the pedal.

Figure 6

Cho also changes the pedal during the arpeggios and octave-runs like Pletnev. Although it
does not create the dissonance which is perhaps desired by Liszt, the section does not lose its
turbulent character. On the other hand, different from Barenboim, Cho uses more horizontal
motion and a combination of arms and wrist in order to execute this aggressive, dry, and clear
passage
For the beginning of this section, Pisarenko uses the octave-fingering, which helps with
the legato sound. He also stays steadier with the tempo and does not use a lot of rubato. Different
from the previous three pianists, Pisarenko changes the mark of mezzo-forte present after the
octave-run and keeps the same dynamic. As a result, it is not possible to feel a restart of the phrase.
Figure 7 shows this part.

Figure 7

Like Cho, Pisarenko uses more wrist and arm motions during the runs with octaves and
chords. This technique helps him keep the energy through the section and results in a sound similar
to Cho’s.
The second section starts in the key F-sharp minor. This flowing accompaniment, melodic
line (derived from the D-minor theme), consonant harmonies, and soft dynamic level may suggest
the state of extreme happiness in Heaven. Figure 8 shows the beginning of this section.

Figure 8
 The four pianists do not make big changes in this section and they appear to have similar
ideas of “heaven”. They all respect the marks of pedaling articulation and dynamics. Moreover,
their voicing is very effective, and it makes the audience back to the D-minor theme, since this
section is derived from there. While the others exhibit a free use of rubato in this section, Pisarenko
goes the other direction and keeps a steadier tempo.
The third section starts with the return of the triton motif, although now in a soft dynamic
level and with Allegro moderato marking. Pletnev and Barenboim have different approaches for
this section. Pletnev tries to respect the articulation, pedaling, and he is very clear with the tempo
markings. However, he changes some dynamics in the score. For example, instead of a
pianississimo dynamic level that it is possible to observe in Figure 9, he plays louder.

Figure 9

Pletnev also creates a big pause between the passagework with chords and the return of the
D-minor theme. This pause interrupts the sense of connection between the two ideas; however, it
creates a strong sense of phrase.
Barenboim returns his aggressive approach used in the “hell section”. He uses more arms
and vertical motion in order to achieve the dry and marcato sound. It is possible to notice, however,
some loss of energy in the high moments of the section—something quite similar that happened in
the previous section. Barenboim also changes some of the pedaling marks, which creates a weird
mixture of the harmony. Unlike Pletnev in this section, Barenboim adheres more closely to the
printed dynamics.
Cho and Pisarenko’s approaches are very similar in this section. Both have more effective
combination of arms and wrist motions in a horizontal movement. This movement creates a
complete sense of phrase without a loss of energetic sound, especially with the massive octaves.
Cho makes more use of rubato and expressiveness at the end of the section. Although he fluctuates
the tempo in several moments, it is possible to understand his sense of phrase and direction. On
the other hand, Pisarenko tries to be more controlled with the tempo. Pisarenko’s rubatos are very
controlled and it is not possible to lose the track of beat and sense of motion. His approach does
not seem exaggerated, and there is not a big loss of energy felt like in Barenboim’s performance.
The end of this piece is characterized by a rapid chromatic octave section that, when played
at fast speed, seems to split into three distinct themes, maybe reflecting the three heads of Satan in
Dante’s inferno. Liszt made use of all these elements and gave us the possibility to travel in this
composition. In this piece it is possible to feel the fear of souls in hell as well as the joy of those
in heaven. This programmatic piece is difficult to execute, both on the technical and expressiveness
axes.