Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 05/10/2010, uploaded on 08/18/2011

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

The twelfth Hungarian Rhapsody, which Franz Liszt dedicated to the violinist Joseph Joachim who was once a follower of Liszt’s “music of the future,” begins with a tragic introduction built from two melodic elements. The first is a stark fanfare-like figure, announced twice and each time followed by ominous tremolandi in the low register of the piano; the second, is a wistful melody beginning in E major but returns to the tonic key of C-sharp minor before it seems to really get started. Following their initial statements, each subject is repeated with fuller accompaniment, heightening their inherent moods.

A lighthearted section, marked Allegro zingarese, follows the dramatic conclusion of the introduction, however, it is not entirely free of the pensive mood that precedes it. The melody of this section appears in the high register of the piano but sits precariously between E major and C-sharp minor—sometimes harmonized in the one, sometimes the other. This section is relatively brief and leads to a return of the introductory material. The reprise of the introduction is given an increased dramatic effect with the opening fanfare embellished with tremolandi over a raging chromatic bass line. The wistful melody of before now appears with a march-like vigor, gaining energy as it culminates in a falling cascade of harmonies that leads to the third section of the Rhapsody.

Changing to D-flat major, a new melody of effortless grace emerges among a long sustained trill on the dominant. As if caught up in its own potential energy, the melody is carried off twice into brilliant cadenzas, the second of which prepares the way for the Rhapsody’s coda. Establishing a strong rhythmic feel in its opening measures, the coda is an energetic and vigorous rush to the end. It departs quickly from the D-flat major tonic and without warning to the keys of F-sharp minor and A major, creating a feeling of suspense, but later locks into the tonic as it pushes on impetuously to the end. Arriving triumphantly to the concluding measures, the fanfare melody of the introduction affects a brief return to the tragic air of the opening, but is pushed aside with the resounding chords of the final perfect cadence in D-flat major.     Joseph DuBose