Download LISZT Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in E

LISZT
Concerto for Piano and Orchestra
No. 1 in E-flat major
Franz Liszt (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist,
conductor, teacher and Franciscan tertiary. Liszt gained renown in Europe during the early nineteenth
century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most
technically advanced pianist of his age, and in the 1840s he was considered by some to be perhaps the
greatest pianist of all time. Liszt was also a well-known and influential composer, piano teacher and
conductor. As a composer, Liszt was one of the most prominent representatives of the "Neudeutsche
Schule" ("New German School"). He left behind an extensive and diverse body of work in which he
influenced his forward-looking contemporaries and anticipated some 20th-century ideas and trends.
Some of his most notable contributions were the invention of the symphonic poem, developing the
concept of thematic transformation as part of his experiments in musical form and making radical
departures in harmony. Liszt trained under pianist Carl Czerny and composer Antonio Salieri – two very
highly regarded musicians in Vienna. However, it would be three other musicians that formed Liszt’s
greatest influences: Hector Berlioz, from whom Liszt inherited a “diabolical quality” to many of his
works, virtuoso violinist Niccolo Paganini, who inspired Liszt to be as great on the piano as Paganini was
on the violin, and Frederic Chopin, who developed Liszt’s poetic and Romantic side. For eight years Liszt
toured Europe as a virtuoso, after which he withdrew from the concert stage to concentrate on
composing. In Weimar, where he lived from 1842-1861, he served as a conductor, championing the
works of Berlioz and Wagner. In particular, he regularly visited the Bayreuth Festival hosted by his
daughter and son-in-law Cosima and Richard Wagner, where he died in 1886.
Liszt composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, S.124 over a 26-year period; the main themes
date from 1830, while the final version dates 1849. It premiered in Weimar on February 17, 1855, with
Liszt at the piano and Hector Berlioz conducting. Béla Bartók described the concerto as "the first perfect
realisation of cyclic sonata form, with common themes being treated on the variation principle". The
orchestra introduces the main theme of the piece with a powerful motif. It is said that the main theme
was set to the words "None of you understand this, ha-ha!" (“Das versteht ihr alle nicht, ha-ha!”) to
deter any criticism from critics who did not like the piece's originality. The second movement is
nocturne-like, with a lyrical melody supported by flowing left hand figures. Notably, the concerto
features a duet between the solo piano and clarinet both in the first and second movements. The third
movement begins with a triangle, followed by a string quartet introducing a new theme. However, Liszt
brings back music from the previous two movements. Liszt continues the idea of cyclical form by reintroducing duets between the piano and various woodwind instruments in the finale and bringing back
previous themes, finally ending a bravura style for which Liszt is famous.