I’ve set a goal to finish learning all of the Etudes d’exécution transcendante by Liszt by the end of the year. I’ve played already over half of them in public, some of my favorite pieces ever written by one of my favorite composers of all time. I just finished recording “Après une lecture du Dante”, the Sonata in B minor, all 3 Sonnetti del Petrarca and the 6 Consolations. I also want to start tackling some of the organ works. “Ad nos salutarem” would be of no use to me in my life as an organist. It’s way too long for a postlude or prelude. The BACH Fantasy would be a nice addition to my repertoire, a little scary for most churches, but you never know. I’ve often thought that the perfect postlude would be the transcription of Wagner’s “Ride of the Walkyries”. As soon as the service is over, the gossip starts… Back to Liszt…
When I was a teenager, I learned the Etude no. 10 in f minor in a week. It was a real turning point in my relationship with the piano. The piece really set me on fire and I forced my way through it tirelessly. It was like I was in love or had a crush on the piece. Since that time, I’ve always followed my intuition on which pieces to learn. It’s not a mental thing, but and “energy” thing. When I can not stop thinking about a piece, or when it plays itself in my inner ear, it’s like my inner being is telling me, “You need to know this piece”. Sometimes it’s just the energy of the work. It’s kind of that way with people in a way. Sometimes you just need the energy of certain people in order to grow. That’s how I’ve felt about the etudes. When I was 15 they seemed impossibly difficult. But then again, at that time, I knew very little about piano technique. I forced my way, muscled my way through the piece having no idea how to solve the difficulties and to work them out in a relaxed manner. Over time I’ve learned how to work very slowly at the piano and the difficulties just don’t feel difficult anymore. There’s a very interesting book written by Bertrand Ott who was the director of the Conservatoire du 6e arrondissement in Paris, called “Franz Liszt et la pédagogie du piano.” We forget that almost the entire modern piano school comes from Liszt who held court in Weimar for decades. Parades of pianists from all over Europe stayed in Liszt’s house for weeks on end, taking part in public piano lessons. Liszt never took a cent for any of his lessons. Arrau continued this practice with his students as well. Were I in a position to… but I’m not. In this book M. Ott talks about the fact that Liszt went on to repudiate all of the years of work he did on scales and arpeggios, finger exercises written by his only piano teacher Carl Czerny, saying that he had wasted years of his life doing that, when all he really need to do was understand the gesture behind the music, the movement of the arm or hand as an integrated musical élan. This makes perfect sense to me now.
So I spend two hours or so every night working through the remainder of the etudes. I’m not sure why I’ve heard “La Ricordanza” so rarely in public. It’s an absolutely fabulous piece! “Chasse Neige” is no picnic, but we’ll get there eventually. “Paysage” is a lovely piece, very lyrical. I’m actually growing to love “Vision” and “Eroica”. The opening etude, well, what can we say, “not his greatest piece”, but it serves a purpose. The second etude in a minor is kind of a fun piece. I’m still sorting out tricky passages in “Mazeppa”. “Feux Follets” is as always an act of faith. I still find it hard to not take the bitt in my mouth and gallop ahead. Tempo control is still an issue. I played it in public twice this year, in New York for the Leschetizky Association, and in Paris. It went well both times, but really took off. I had trouble holding on to the tempo. At the end of the piece, you hear this kind of collective sigh of relief that the terror is over. The pianist didn’t fall off the bench. “Wilde Jagd” is a fun piece, love the lyrical middle section and all of the octave jumps before the final exposition of the second theme. “Harmonies du soir” is still one of my very favorite pieces in the world. Liszt was the first impressionist before Debussy and Ravel. Liszt was first in so many things. Next year is the 200 anniversary of Liszt’s birth. If you haven’t read up on Liszt, get Alan Walker’s biography of Liszt, one of the very best biographies of one of the world’s greatest musicians. We owe soooo much to Liszt….