# Obscure Liszt Pieces



## shiftyoliver (Dec 8, 2009)

I greatly enjoy Liszt as a composer. However he has a huge span of work, some of it, not so good, but others I think are real gems. Looking for help from some hardcore Liszt fans to link(youtube or whatever) or recommend less well known Liszt pieces that they like. Piano, Choral, Orchestral etc..

I've heard snippets of the Hungarian Coronation Mass which I loved very much, Excelsior!!, Ave verum corpus, quite a wonderful choral piece (



 ).


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Late Liszt is pretty much obscure and contains some of his best/strangest stuff.
Not sure how less well known you mean, but a selection of his late(r) stuff - 
Piano - Nuage Gris, Unstern: Sinsitre Disastro, La Legubre Gondola no.2, Hungarian Portraits, Mephisto waltzes nos 2-4, Valses Oubliettes
Orchestral/Choral stuff - From the Cradle to the Grave, Christus. 
Chamber Music - Tristia (trio arr of Vallee d'Obermann)


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

I don't know how obscure this is, but he wrote a short "Bagatelle without tonality" which is pretty neat, and very much looks forward to the 20th century. What do you know, it is on the Tube:


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

I was reminded of just how much of Liszt's music is obscure when I picked up Leslie Howard's Hyperion box set _Franz Liszt: Complete Piano Music_ -- 99 CDs of solo piano, a staggering wealth of music.









Take a look over the works in that set and see how many you can hum "off hand": http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/al.asp?al=CDS44501/98

Liszt remains one of the most prolific of composers who is well represented on recordings and in the concert hall by a mere fragment of his work. A handful of his pieces we all know like we know air and water. But he has so much more.

Also on my CD shelf are two 2-CD "Duo" sets from PHILIPS: _Complete Tone Poems_ Volumes 1 and 2, fourteen works in all. Looking over the titles now, I am dismayed that I recall so few of them. (This provides me with something to program for my next evening listening session.)

And what about all the Choral pieces, both sacred and secular!

Indeed, should one want a composer to explore for "obscure works" Franz Liszt fits the bill wonderfully, because so much of the composer's work _is_ of high quality and well worth one's time exploring. I know I've enjoyed sampling discs from Howard's Hyperion box set, a pleasure that will last for some time to come.

A final note. Should it not be familiar to you, you may want to begin your exploration of obscure Liszt with the _ Dante Symphony_, premiered in 1857. It is not yet well represented on disc, though of late one can find more versions than one could just a short few years ago. (I recall reading that the symphony was often considered one of the worst ever written!) I recommend Barenboim's account on Teldec.









This Symphony reveals much about Liszt as a thinker and innovator. Apparently inspired by a reading of Dante's _Divine Comedy_ (one of my favorite texts), Liszt, prompted by a comment from the young Richard Wagner that "no earthly composer could faithfully express the joys of Paradise", scrapped his original Finale and replaced it with a previously composed_ Magnificat _for female voices and orchestra. The choral ending works well.

What one wants to pay attention to when listening to this work is how Liszt transfers his complete understanding of Dante's meaning into music. For instance, the first movement is a depiction of the Inferno, Hell. What generally annoys listeners is that each episode of music sounds like a cadence building to a resolution, but the resolving chord never occurs. Instead, the frequent diminished sevenths leave the listener unsatisfied. And this goes on and on for each episode. It's brilliant, really, because what Dante expresses in his _Inferno_ is the notion that Hell is an unsatisfying place, where one will never find a resolution to the perpetual suffering. Recall that slogan above the doorway: "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'entrate" ("Abandon all hope, ye who enter"). Liszt evokes the hopelessness.

In the second movement, the Purgatory, again Liszt echoes Dante's intention by providing music which is for the most part static. A theme appears, melancholy and dark, and then repeats with little variation, and then repeats again. One waits patiently for change, but change does come. But it is slow paced and deliberate. Dante's _Purgatorio_ is a place for waiting -- for cleansing through suffering, but with hope looming on the horizon, unlike in Hell.

If one listens to Liszt's _Dante Symphony_ with _literary_ ears as well as musical ones, the work proves astounding. Give it a try.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Have you heard the Historische Ungarische Bildnisse S205? Written the year before the composer's death, they are portraits of seven eminent Hungarians of the early/mid 19th century and, like many of Liszt's later piano works, are in a more reflective and subdued mood compared to the firecracker flamboyance of much of the output from his younger years. I don't think there are TOO many recordings of these: the one I have is by Michele Campanella (on Hyperion) which also features a selection of late miniatures plus the Valses oubliees S215.

Below is the whole work played by Lajos Kertesz


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

I'll list (original) works that haven't been mentioned, and I think are in his 75% and up (factoring both general quality and importance), that aren't well known at all, and have professionally recorded versions of youtube (the latter factor greatly decreasing the number listed).

Solo Piano:

Apparition No. 1.
Berceuse.
Scherzo and March.
Variations on a theme from Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen.
Polonaise Melancolique.
Ave Maria - Die Glocken von Rom.

Orchestra:

Der nächtliche Zug.
Héroïde funèbre.

Choral:

Missa solennis zur Einweihung der Basilika in Gran.
Psalm 13.
Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters.
Die heilige Cäcilia.
Ossa arida.
Via Crucis.

Lieder (I need to explore further here, but I still know a few well enough to recommend):

Die Lorelie.
O quand je dors.
Über allen Gipfeln ist Ruh.
Die drei Zigeuner.
Three Petrarch Sonnets Third one: 




Organ:

Fantasy and Fugue on the chorale Ad nos, ad salutarem undam.

If you want more, just ask.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Lisztian, good to see you on here again!

Have you ever listened to Liszt's Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters? One can do no better than to echo Alan Walker's remark concerning the "conspiracy of silence" regarding this extraordinary music. Recordings are extraordinarily difficult to find, unfortunately.


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## Stargazer (Nov 9, 2011)

I find that a good chunk of Liszt's choral music is underrepresented, and much of it is quite good.


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## Blake (Nov 6, 2013)

I really should get into some Liszt by now. I think I'll scoop up Bolet's piano set that's been catching my eye.


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## StlukesguildOhio (Dec 25, 2006)

Liszt has quite likely become the most important composer whose work I need to familiarize myself with far more.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

A lot of great pieces mentioned. One work that I keep close to my heart is his Ballade-Ukraine. A great example of his mastery over melody




This Berceuse is similarly written, though in a much happier, pastorale mood than the dark Ballade


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Novelette said:


> Lisztian, good to see you on here again!
> 
> Have you ever listened to Liszt's Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters? One can do no better than to echo Alan Walker's remark concerning the "conspiracy of silence" regarding this extraordinary music. Recordings are extraordinarily difficult to find, unfortunately.


Hello, Novelette!

I certainly have: in fact, if you look on my post you will see it's one of the works I've listed! I really like the piece also, which is ironically cast in a rather more restrained way than one would expect: this actually happens quite frequently with Liszt, despite the reputation.

Yes, recordings are very hard to come by. One that I like is this CD (which has a few other beautiful pieces): http://www.allmusic.com/album/liszt-cantatas-hymns-mw0001846907

Of course, I believe it's only available for Mp3 download now, although the recording of Die Glocken des Strassburger Münsters is the one I linked above (as is the recording of Die heilige Cäcilia).

A lot of Liszt's works are in need of more recordings, and especially more _good_ recordings but I'm happy to report at least that I was able to link (above) performances (at least) of the 13th Psalm and the Gran Mass, by reputable musicians (Barenboim, who I have found to be one of the great Liszt exponents of the last fifty years amongst the big names, and Tamas Vasary).


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Cosmos said:


> This Berceuse is similarly written, though in a much happier, pastorale mood than the dark Ballade


I, too, love this piece. The bit from 8:12 - 9:00 is just beautiful.


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## Novelette (Dec 12, 2012)

Lisztian said:


> Hello, Novelette!
> 
> I certainly have: in fact, if you look on my post you will see it's one of the works I've listed! I really like the piece also, which is ironically cast in a rather more restrained way than one would expect: this actually happens quite frequently with Liszt, despite the reputation.
> 
> ...


Ah, I missed this on your list. Apologies for impatient exuberance. 

All marvelous choices in that lot. I've grown very fond of Liszt's many album leaves. Pithy and brilliant little bagatelles.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

shiftyoliver said:


> I greatly enjoy Liszt as a composer. However he has a huge span of work, some of it, not so good, but others I think are real gems. Looking for help from some hardcore Liszt fans to link(youtube or whatever) or recommend less well known Liszt pieces that they like. Piano, Choral, Orchestral etc..
> 
> I've heard snippets of the Hungarian Coronation Mass which I loved very much, Excelsior!!, Ave verum corpus, quite a wonderful choral piece (
> 
> ...


Hexameron. The Requiem. Via Crucis. Legend of St Elizabeth. Symphonie Fantastique. The Hummel Octet. The songs aren't well known apart from the Petrarchan sonnets and there are some great performances. Same for most of the Hungarian Rapsodies.

I don't like the tone poems, but many people do.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Lisztian said:


> I'll list (original) works that haven't been mentioned, and I think are in his 75% and up (factoring both general quality and importance), that aren't well known at all, and have professionally recorded versions of youtube (the latter factor greatly decreasing the number listed).
> 
> Solo Piano:
> 
> ...


Re the songs, I'd like to mention Matthew Polenzani's CD with Julius Drake, which has impressed me a lot.


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## dglass (Sep 8, 2013)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the wistful "Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth" -- at least the piano version.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

My favorite little obscure piece of all time..Sancta Dorothea. Stumbled upon it while randomly shuffling through Leslie Howard's vast recordings of Liszt.


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