# liszt "un sospiro"



## xiemeng

who had play this?any good method to practice it well?


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## MatsumaruDX

I've played it until one page, but I didn't finished yet. The technics are hard, expecially when you must play it fast...


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## TWhite

It's a lovely work. I haven't played it in some years, but it does take a lot of practice in 'rotational' technique to become comfortable with the cross-hand melody and arpeggios in the first part. Keep the left hand especially 'loose', and don't try aiming 'down' at the melodic notes, instead, think of gliding 'up' the keyboard for those portions of the melody played by the left hand. It also helped me a lot using the 2nd finger of the left hand (instead of the thumb) for those particular notes. VERY slow practice crossing the hands, increasing the tempo very gradually will work quite well. 

And remember, this is not a RAPID piece, even though the plethora of notes makes it sound so. There are a lot of notes in it, but it doesn't mean that you should attack the piece Hell Bent For Leather, as they say. "Un Sospiro" means literally: "A Sigh". It's basically a very Lyric concert etude, and slow practice of ALL of the portions will benefit you as you gradually work it up to tempo. Liszt knew what he was doing with this work (as in a lot of his piano music), and as you practice it with care, you'll realize how well the work fits the hand. The same thing with the return of the main theme in the arpeggiated octaves with thirds--let the hand flow up naturally, don't try and consciously 'aim' for the top notes. They'll be there with slow and careful practice. As to the cadenza-like middle section in chromatic sixths--check the Hanon etudes--there's a study there that will help you quite a bit. But take it SLOW. Even when you can get it up to tempo--and the tempo is not fast--realize that this is really a 'song' for piano, not a 'finger display' piece like "La Campenella" or one of the Transcendental Etudes. It's a remarkably beautiful piece of Romantic music and treating it as a technical display will only ruin the effect. 

Best of luck. It's a piano piece eminently worth working on and learning, IMO.

Tom


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