Franz Liszt wrote his symphonic poem Hungaria in 1854, basing it partly on the Heroic March in the Hungarian Style for piano which he wrote in 1840. It was premiered under Liszt's baton at the Hungarian National Theater in Budapest on September 8, 1856, where it achieved an enormous success. [1] "There was better than applause," the composer later wrote. "All wept, both men and women!" [2] He was reminded with that scene of the proverb that "tears are the joy of the Hungarians." [2]
Hungaria has no programme and is best considered a Hungarian Rhapsody on an extended scale. After a short introduction, marked Largo con duolo, the main theme of the March in the Hungarian Style appears on clarinets, bassoons and violas. This theme and its continuation dominate the first section of this work, though interrupted at one point by a cadenza for solo violin. This section contains the stylistic characteristics of the verbunkos , with Largo con duolo sections alternating with an Andante marziale in a contrast of lassú and friss , sharply accentuated rhythms and profuse violinistic ornamentation. The music increases in violence, eventually leading to a second theme. One of the most typical sections of this work is a funeral march based on this second theme. Here, Liszt clearly wished to symbolize both the defeat of Lajos Kossuth's revolt in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the hope that one day Hungary would be liberated by its own people. The work ends by referring back to both themes. [3] [4]
Franz Liszt was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor, music teacher, arranger, and organist of the Romantic era. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. He was also a writer, philanthropist, Hungarian nationalist, and Franciscan tertiary.
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term Tondichtung appears to have been first used by the composer Carl Loewe in 1828. The Hungarian composer Franz Liszt first applied the term Symphonische Dichtung to his 13 works in this vein.
Bagatelle sans tonalité is a piece for solo piano written by Franz Liszt in 1885. The manuscript bears the title "Fourth Mephisto Waltz" and may have been intended to replace the piece now known as the Fourth Mephisto Waltz when it appeared Liszt would not be able to finish it; the phrase Bagatelle ohne Tonart actually appears as a sub-title on the front-page of the manuscript.
The Mephisto Waltzes are four waltzes composed by Franz Liszt from 1859 to 1862, from 1880 to 1881, and in 1883 and 1885. Nos. 1 and 2 were composed for orchestra, and later arranged for piano, piano duet and two pianos, whereas nos. 3 and 4 were written for piano only. Of the four, the first is the most popular and has been frequently performed in concert and recorded.
The Piano Sonata in B minor, S.178, is a sonata for solo piano by Franz Liszt. It was completed in 1853 and published in 1854 with a dedication to Robert Schumann.
A Faust Symphony in three character pictures, S.108, or simply the "Faust Symphony", is a choral symphony written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's drama, Faust. The symphony was premiered in Weimar on 5 September 1857, for the inauguration of the Goethe–Schiller Monument there.
Alan Walker, FRSC is an English-Canadian musicologist and university professor best known as a biographer and scholar of composer Franz Liszt.
A Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy, S.109, or simply the "Dante Symphony", is a choral symphony composed by Franz Liszt. Written in the high romantic style, it is based on Dante Alighieri's journey through Hell and Purgatory, as depicted in The Divine Comedy. It was premiered in Dresden in November 1857, with Liszt conducting himself, and was unofficially dedicated to the composer's friend and future son-in-law Richard Wagner. The entire symphony takes approximately 50 minutes to perform.
Franz Liszt wrote drafts for his Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in A major, S.125, during his virtuoso period, in 1839 to 1840. He then put away the manuscript for a decade. When he returned to the concerto, he revised and scrutinized it repeatedly. The fourth and final period of revision ended in 1861. Liszt dedicated the work to his student Hans von Bronsart, who gave the first performance, with Liszt conducting, in Weimar on January 7, 1857.
Les préludes, S.97, is the third of Franz Liszt's thirteen symphonic poems. The music was composed between 1849–55, and began as an overture to Liszt's choral cycle Les quatre élémens, then revised under inspiration from the French poet Alphonse de Lamartine. Its premiere was on 23 February 1854, conducted by Liszt himself. The score was published in 1856 by Breitkopf & Härtel. Les préludes is the earliest example of an orchestral work entitled "Symphonic Poem".
Hunnenschlacht, S.105, is a symphonic poem by Franz Liszt, written in 1857 after a painting of the same name by Wilhelm von Kaulbach. Liszt conducted the premiere himself in Weimar on 29 December 1857.
The symphonic poems of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt are a series of 13 orchestral works, numbered S.95–107. The first 12 were composed between 1848 and 1858 ; the last, Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe, followed in 1882. These works helped establish the genre of orchestral program music—compositions written to illustrate an extra-musical plan derived from a play, poem, painting or work of nature. They inspired the symphonic poems of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Richard Strauss and others.
Franz Liszt composed his Prometheus in 1850, numbering it No. 5 in his cycle of symphonic poems when he revised it in 1855. The work is based on the Greek myth detailing the Titan Prometheus' theft of fire from the gods and is numbered S.99 in the Searle catalogue.
A choral symphony is a musical composition for orchestra, choir, and sometimes solo vocalists that, in its internal workings and overall musical architecture, adheres broadly to symphonic musical form. The term "choral symphony" in this context was coined by Hector Berlioz when he described his Roméo et Juliette as such in his five-paragraph introduction to that work. The direct antecedent for the choral symphony is Ludwig van Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Beethoven's Ninth incorporates part of the Ode an die Freude, a poem by Friedrich Schiller, with text sung by soloists and chorus in the last movement. It is the first example of a major composer's use of the human voice on the same level as instruments in a symphony.
Thematic transformation is a musical technique in which a leitmotif, or theme, is developed by changing the theme by using permutation, augmentation, diminution, and fragmentation. It was primarily developed by Franz Liszt and Hector Berlioz. The technique is essentially one of variation. A basic theme is reprised throughout a musical work, but it undergoes constant transformations and disguises and is made to appear in several contrasting roles. However, the transformations of this theme will always serve the purpose of "unity within variety" that was the architectural role of sonata form in the classical symphony. The difference here is that thematic transformation can accommodate the dramatically charged phrases, highly coloured melodies and atmospheric harmonies favored by the Romantic composers, whereas sonata form was geared more toward the more objective characteristics of absolute music. Also, while thematic transformation is similar to variation, the effect is usually different since the transformed theme has a life of its own and is no longer a sibling to the original theme.
The Fantasia on Hungarian Folk Melodies, commonly known in short form simply as the Hungarian Fantasy, is Franz Liszt's arrangement for piano and orchestra of his Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14, originally for solo piano. The Fantasia was written in 1852 and premiered in Pest on June 1, 1853, with Hans von Bülow as soloist and Ferenc Erkel conducting the orchestra.
Orpheus is a symphonic poem written by Franz Liszt in 1853–54. He numbered it No. 4 in the cycle of 12 he wrote during his time in Weimar, Germany. It was first performed on 16 February 1854, conducted by the composer, as an introduction to the first Weimar performance of Christoph Willibald Gluck's opera Orfeo ed Euridice. The performance helped celebrate the birthday of Weimar's Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, who was an amateur musician and a staunch supporter of Liszt at Weimar.
Franz Liszt composed his Tasso: lamento e trionfo in 1849, revising it in 1850–51 and again in 1854. It is numbered No. 2 in his cycle of 13 symphonic poems written during his Weimar period.
August Conradi was a German organist and composer. Born in Berlin, he was originally intended by his father to study theology. Instead, he was enrolled at the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin. There he studied harmony and composition with Carl Friedrich Rungenhagen, director of the Sing-Akademie zu Berlin. In 1843, he became a church organist of Invalidenhaus, Berlin, also writing his first symphony plus a Zigeunerpolka for orchestra the same year. The latter was arranged for piano by Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt. Conradi held various conducting appointments; these included Stettin (1849), Berlin (1850), Düsseldorf (1852), and Cologne (1853), then Berlin again at such theaters as Kroll's, the Wallner-Theater and the Victoria-Theater.
Mazeppa is a symphonic poem composed by Franz Liszt from 1851 to 1854, part of the long cultural legacy of the Ukrainian hero. Mazeppa, S. 100, is the sixth in the cycle of thirteen symphonic poems written during Liszt's time in Weimar. It follows the story as told in Lord Byron's 1819 poem: Ivan Mazepa seduced a noble Polish lady, and in punishment was tied naked to a wild horse that carried him to Ukraine. There, he was released by the Cossacks, which later made him Hetman. The work premiered at the Court Theatre in Weimar on April 16, 1854.
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