Album insights
Late piano works by Liszt exhibit unique characteristics not commonly found in the magnificent musical creations of the 19th century. Liszt's stylistic refinement to the brink of deliberate desolation, coupled with the avant-garde and groundbreaking impression of his work, as well as the uninfluenced judgment that comes with age, are distinct features of Liszt's compositions. Due to the uncompromising nature of much of his music, a large portion of it was instantly neglected and only published in the course of the 20th century.
This program focuses on the late waltzes, three extensive collections (Via Crucis, Weihnachtsbaum, and the chorales), and the individual character pieces from Liszt's final creative period. Some of the late transcriptions, the last rhapsodies, and the remaining late dances and marches are yet to be released. The current program is dedicated to the remaining collections (not cycles, despite being named so many times) and two additional rarities from the 1880s.
Fierce criticism was directed at Liszt for not distinguishing between Gypsy and café music, or professionally composed music on one hand, and Hungarian folk music on the other, in many of his earlier works. It seems a colossal injustice that other composers of that time, such as Brahms with his Hungarian Dances, were not chastised in the slightest for mutilating their folkloric sources, while Liszt was condemned despite his loving and ingenious treatment of his sources, wherever they originated. Liszt's arrangement of five "authentic" Hungarian folk tunes for piano, along with the texts in Hungarian, appears almost as a conscious act of atonement.
Excluding a theme from the Hungarian national hymn Szózat es Hymnus, the Historical Hungarian Portraits contain no folkloric material. For those interested in the complete backstory of these works, numerous details can be found in the annotations of Volume I/10 of the excellent New Liszt Edition. For our purposes, Liszt aimed to create musical tributes to seven famous Hungarian statesmen and artists of the 19th century, with each piece portraying their character or qualities. The numbers 1, 2, 3, and 5 were composed in 1885, leading the series to take shape. Liszt had intended to orchestrate the series, but this task was undertaken by his student Arthur Friedheim in 1886, with the entire cycle remaining unpublished until 1956.
"Puszta Wehmuth" is apparently based on a work by Countess Ludmilla Gizycka, née Zamoyska, which is itself derived from a poem by Lenau. This piece, resembling a miniature rhapsody with a simple structure, includes the usual slow and fast sections (Lassan and Friska) and ends with a reprise of the initial gestures.
Liszt's left-hand version of "Ungarns Gott," originally scored for solo voice, chorus, and piano, serves as his sole contribution to left-hand piano music. The arrangement was intended for his friend, Count Géza Zichy, a remarkable pianist despite losing his right arm. The genesis of "Troisième année de pèlerinage" differs significantly from its two predecessors. The third part, sometimes mistakenly labeled "Italie," reflects a period later in Liszt's life as he made annual trips to Rome, Weimar, and Budapest. This part includes pieces from 1877, incorporating older works like numbers 5 and 6 dating back to 1867 and 1872. The piece "Angelus!" also exists in versions for harmonium, string quartet, and string orchestra.
The four remaining pieces within the "Troisième année de pèlerinage" are all elegiac. The two "Cypresses" are both subtitled "Threnodie," although no specific object of lament is named. Liszt's works in this collection range from elegies dedicated to Hungarian historical events to personal acquaintances of the composer. Liszt's music in these works features Hungarian influences, evident in the melodic structure, especially in "Sunt lacrymae rerum," and commemorates various historical and personal tragedies.