# Which do you think Liszt's most beautiful work is?



## DeanClassicalTchaikovsky (May 13, 2014)

What is Liszt's most beautiful work?


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## Dustin (Mar 30, 2012)

I am probably the least qualified person here to answer this seeing as how I only know a couple works of his. But having said that, his piano sonata in B Minor is a fantastic work and very beautiful.


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## brianvds (May 1, 2013)

Dustin said:


> I am probably the least qualified person here to answer this seeing as how I only know a couple works of his. But having said that, his piano sonata in B Minor is a fantastic work and very beautiful.


I tend to agree. But I don't known his work very well either.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

And I _really_ am probably the least qualified person here to answer this, seeing as how I've only heard the Faust and Dante Symphonies once each and own a copy each of his 6 orchestrated Hungarian Rhapsodies and his marvellous Wagner Transcriptions, but my newest acquisition, his Années de Pèlerinage, has simply got to be some of his most beautiful music of all.


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## DeanClassicalTchaikovsky (May 13, 2014)

A lot of his work is not heard very often nowadays, and a portion of his works remain unpublished. I have a cd set of his complete piano works. During his lifetime, he was known for his skill at playing the piano, and people who knew him said he may have been the best piano player who ever lived.

I love his consolations for piano, and his liebestraums. The third of which is very commonly played nowadays.
I greatly admire him.. and as Dustin said, his B minor sonata is a beautiful work.


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## Mister Man (Feb 3, 2014)

Of course, Liszt has many beautiful works, but this one comes to mind.


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## Blancrocher (Jul 6, 2013)

I'll recommend "Die Lorelei."

And a few piano works that haven't been mentioned: the late miniature, "Nuages gris"; the incredible "Reminiscences of Don Juan"; the Schubert transcriptions; and "Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen."


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## alan davis (Oct 16, 2013)

The sonata in B minor.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

The _Christus Oratorio_;

for a more diversified, conflicting beauty - the _Sonata_ and the _Annees de Pelerinage_.

Also: _La Lugubre Gondola I-II_ and the _cello works_.


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## treeza (May 7, 2014)

the b minor sonata or hr no12


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## GioCar (Oct 30, 2013)

The Sonata in B minor.

The Brendel performance (Philips 1992) is my favourite, but also this recent one by Daniil Trifonov is really outstanding.


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## Brad (Mar 27, 2014)

I'll go with a lesser known and pithier selection than the sonata:


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

la leggierezza, il sospiro.

Towards the end of the final section of the B minor sonata there is a sequence of nine (I think) chords played rather quietly -- I think this is one of the most beautiful moments in music. The sonata also has a really exciting fugue, an huge intense ecstatic central passage. And the opening is indescribably creepy.

Another beautiful bit of Liszt is by Chopin, in the middle of Hexameron. Liszt places it very nicely.


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## JCarmel (Feb 3, 2013)

Harmonie Poetiques et Religieuses... & most particularly 'Benediction de Dieu dans la Solitude'


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Among his orchestral works, I think Orpheus is among his most beautiful tone poems. Les Preludes is more well-rounded in beauty and epic triumph, but Orpheus is just pure beauty. Try it out:


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## Aecio (Jul 27, 2012)

I can't choose between "Les jeux d'eaux a la Villa d'Este" and the "Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude". Two masterpieces.


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## Rachmanijohn (Jan 2, 2014)

This is actually quite a hard question...for me it's a tossup between "Un Sospiro" and the Sonata in B minor.


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

_Un Sospiro_ for sure.


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## Lisztian (Oct 10, 2011)

Agree with many of the selections so far. As far as pure beauty goes, some more that haven't been mentioned:

Die Zelle in Nonnenwerth

Oh, Quand je Dors.

Uber allen Gipfeln ist Ruh 

Berceuse

From the Cradle to the Grave

And some of the short choral music, like Ave Verum Corpus, St Cecile, and Psalm 137


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## MissLemko (May 11, 2014)

I actually don't like his early period. I'm not that much into paraphrases (I'm not saying that his early works _are exclusively _paraphrases) and it's just not my area of interest. But things start to change in the period around 1846. or 1847. I absolutely love the Glanes de Woronince suite, my favorite piece being the little Dumka (but it's prety obvious that I'm biased). One of my personal favorites is Totentanz, but it really depends on the performer (Cziffra, Cziffra, Cziffra!). His symphonic poems are stunning, apart from the obvious choices like Les Preludes or From the Cradle to the Grave, I'd like to give the lesser known ones like Tasso, or Hunnenschlacht a place. Don't forget the lesser known rhapsodies (I personally like No.3 (!)) and the Deuxiemme Annee and the Hungarian Coronation Mass. And when it comes to later works I would pick Nuages Gris, Christus, Via Crucis and the three Czardas.


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## Svelte Silhouette (Nov 7, 2013)

I adore the Piano Sonata.


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## Matsps (Jan 13, 2014)

It's hard to talk about his most beautiful pieces without mentioning Un Sospiro, Consolation No.3 or Liebestraum 3 (did we really get this far in this thread with no-one mentioning Liebestraum 3???). However, if pressed for one answer, I'm going to go for Reminiscences de Don Juan.

I'm also really surprised that some people have not listened much to Liszt. I think you're really missing out on some great stuff! He was much more than just a great pianist. His compositions vary from the absolutely wild (e.g. Mazeppa) to simplistic beauty (e.g. Consolations) and his arrangements of other composer's work are great (e.g. La Camponella, Die Erlkonig).


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## Winterreisender (Jul 13, 2013)

Matsps said:


> his arrangements of other composer's work are great (e.g. La Camponella, Die Erlkonig).


I totally agree. His Schubert Ständchen is pretty spectacular.


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