The late Edward Dannreuther, who changed his opinion of Liszt, wrote a
short introduction to his edition of the Transcendental Studies (Augener
& Co.) which is of interest.
"The Etudes, which head the thematic catalogue of Liszt's works, show,
better than anything else, the transformation his style has undergone;
and for this reason it may be well to trace the growth of some of them.
Etudes en douze exercices, par Francois Liszt, Op. 1, were published at
Marseilles in 1827. They were written during the previous year, Liszt
being then under sixteen. The second set of Etudes, dediees a Monsieur
Charles Czerny, appeared in 1839, but were cancelled; and the Etudes
d'execution transcendante, again dedicated to Czerny, "en temoignage de
reconnaissance et de respectueuse amitie de son eleve," appeared in
1852. The now cancelled copy of the Etudes which Schumann had before him
in 1839, when he wrote his brilliant article, shows these studies to be
more extravagant and, in some instances, technically more difficult than
even the final version. The germs of both the new versions are to be
seen in the Op. 1 of 1827. Schumann transcribed a couple of bars from
the beginning of Nos. 1, 5, 9, and 11, from both the new and old copies,
and offered a few of his swift and apt comments. The various changes in
these Etudes may be taken to represent the history of the pianoforte
during the last half of the nineteenth century, from the 'Viennese
Square' to the concert grand, from Czerny's Schule der Gelaeufigkeit to
Liszt's Danse macabre. Czerny might have written the original exercise
No. 1, but it would not have been so shapely a thing as Liszt's final
version. The difference between the two versions of No. 1 is, however,
considerably less than that which separates Nos. 2, 3, and 4 from their
predecessors. If the earlier and the later versions of No. 3 in F and
No. 4 in D minor were signed by different composers, the resemblance
between them would hardly attract notice. Of No. 2 little remains as it
stood at first. Instead of a reduction there is an increase (38 to 102)
in the number of bars. Some harmonic commonplaces which disfigure the
original, as, for instance, the detour to C (bars 9-16), have been
removed. The remainder is enlarged, so as to allow of more extensive
modulation, and thus to avoid redundancy. A short introduction and a
coda are added, and the diction throughout is thrown into high relief.
Paysage, No. 3 in F, has been subjected to further alteration since
Schumann wrote about it. In his article he commends the second version
as being more interesting than the first, and points to a change of
movement from square to triple time, and to the melody which is
superadded, as improvements. On the other hand he calls an episode in A
major 'comparatively trivial,' and this, it may be noticed, is omitted
in the final version. As it now stands, the piece is a test study for
pianists who aim at refinement of style, tone, and touch. The Etude
entitled Mazeppa is particularly characteristic of Liszt's power of
endurance at the instrument, and it exhibits the gradual growth of his
manner, from pianoforte exercises to symphonic poems in the manner of
Berlioz. It was this Etude, together perhaps with Nos. 7 (Vision), 8
(Wilde Jagd), and 12 (Chasse-neige), that induced Schumann to speak of
the entire set as Wahre Sturm- und Graus-Etuden (Studies of storm and
dread), studies for, at the most, ten or twelve players in the world.
The original of No. 5, in B flat, is a mere trifle, in the manner of J.
B. Cramer--the final version entitled Feux follets is one of the most
remarkable transformations extant, and perhaps the best study of the
entire series, consistent in point of musical design and full of
delicate technical contrivances. Ricordanza, No. 9, and Harmonies du
soir, No. 11, may be grouped together as showing how a musical
Stimmungsbild (a picture of a mood or an expression of sentiment) can be
evoked from rather trite beginnings. Schumann speaks of the melody in E
major, which occurs in the middle of the latter piece, as "the most
sincerely felt"; and in the last version it is much improved. Both
pieces, Ricordanza and Harmonies du soir, show to perfection the
sonority of the instrument in its various aspects. The latter piece,
Harmonies du soir in the first, as well as in the final version, appears
as a kind of Nocturne. No. 10, again, begins as though it were Czerny's
(_a_) and in the cancelled edition is developed into an Etude of almost
insuperable difficulty (_b_). As finally rewritten, this study is
possible to play and well worth playing (_c_).
"No. 12 also has been recast and much manipulated, but there is no
mending of weak timber. We must also mention Ab-Irato, an Etude in E
minor cancelled and entirely rewritten; three Etudes de concert (the
second of which has already been mentioned as Chopinesque); and two fine
Etudes, much later in date and of moderate difficulty, Waldesrauschen
and Gnomentanz. The Paganini Studies, _i.e._, transcriptions in rivalry
with Schumann of certain Caprices for the violin by Paganini, and far
superior to Schumann's, do not call for detailed comment. They were
several times rewritten (final edition, 1852) as Liszt, the virtuoso,
came to distinguish between proper pianoforte effects and mere haphazard
bravura."
The first version of the Ab-Irato was a contribution to Fetis' and
Moscheles' Methode des Methodes, Paris, 1842, where it is designated
Morceau de Salon--Etude de Perfectionnement. The second version, Berlin,
1852, was presented as "entierement revue et corrigee par l'Auteur" and
called Ab-Irato (_i.e._ in a rage, or in a fit of temper). It exceeds
the first version by 28 bars and is a striking improvement, showing the
growth of Liszt's technic and his constant effort to be emphatic and to
avoid commonplace.
No pianist can afford to ignore Liszt's Etudes--he may disparage them if
he chooses, but he ought to be able to play them properly. We play the
three B's, Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, each from a somewhat different point
of view. But these great men have this in common, that in each case, yet
in a different degree, when we play their music we address the hearer's
intellect rather than his nervous sensibility--though the latter is
never excluded. With Liszt and his pupils the appeal is, often and
without disguise, rather an appeal to the hearer's nerves; but the
methods employed are, in the master's case at least, so very clever, and
altogether _hors ligne_, that a musician's intelligence, too, may be
delighted and stimulated.
Of the B-minor sonata Dannreuther has written:
"The work is a curious compound of true genius and empty rhetoric, which
contains enough of genuine impulse and originality in the themes of the
opening section, and of suave charm in the melody of the section that
stands for the slow movement, to secure the hearer's attention. Signs of
weakness occur only in the centre, where, according to his wont, Liszt
seems unable to resist the temptation to tear passion to tatters and
strain oratory to bombast. None the less the Sonata is an interesting
study, eminently successful in parts, and well worthy the attention of
pianists.
"Two Ballades, a Berceuse, a Valse-impromptu, a Mazurka, and two
Polonaises sink irretrievably if compared with Chopin's pieces similarly
entitled. The Scherzo und Marsch in D minor, an inordinately difficult
and somewhat dry piece, falls short of its aim. Two legends, St. Francis
of Assisi preaching to the birds, a clever and delicate piece, and St.
Francis of Paula stepping on the waves, a kind of Etude, are examples of
picturesque and decorous programme music.
"Liszt was also a master in the notation of pianoforte music--a very
difficult matter indeed, and one in which even Chopin frequently erred.
His method of notation coincides in the main with that of Beethoven,
Berlioz, Wagner, and Brahms. Let the player accurately play what is set
down and the result will be satisfactory. The perspicuity of certain
pages of Liszt's mature pianoforte pieces, such as the first two sets of
Annees de pelerinage, Consolations, Sonata in B minor, the Concertos,
the Danse macabre, and the Rhapsodies hongroises, cannot be surpassed.
His notation often represents a condensed score, and every rest not
absolutely necessary is avoided; again, no attempt is made to get a
semblance of an agreement between the rhythmic division of the bar and
the freedom of certain rapid ornamental passages, but, on the other
hand, everything essential to the rendering of accent or melody, to the
position of the hands on the keyboard, to the details of special
fingering and special pedalling, is faithfully recorded. Thus the most
complex difficulties, as in the Fantaisies Dramatiques, and even
apparently uncontrollable effects of _tempo rubato_, as in the first
fifteen Rhapsodies or the Etude Ricordanza, or the Tre Sonetti di
Petrarca, are so closely indicated that the particular effect intended
cannot be mistaken."