Here - Tyalgum Festival of Classical Music

A second lively, joking Allegro giocoso theme in the enharmonic key of D flat major enters. A bell-like variation is again made
on the theme, ending in a bright cascade. A vivace stretto, employing a Wagnerian modulation between D flat major and
A major between alternating phrases, enters, and develops from tuneful to bell-like to concerto-like gestures. The coda is a
wild statement of the D flat theme at a fortississimo dynamic, suddenly interrupted by the ominous opening theme. A
stupendous Presto with a combined Wagnerian/Classical progression (F sharp minor, D flat major, G flat major, D flat major)
concludes the work.
Natasha Vlassenko – piano
Liszt
Sposalizio (Marriage) from Années de Pèlerinage Book II: Italy
Liszt
Transcendental Etude No 12 'Chasse Neige'
Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No 11
Sposalizio (Marriage) from Années de Pèlerinage Book II: Italy
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Liszt completed and published the second set of his "Years of Pilgrimage" pieces in 1848. Ten years in the making, the
collection contains some of his finest works for piano solo. The set holds seven pieces each inspired by various masterworks
of the Italian Renaissance: a painting by Raphael, a Michelangelo statue, a song of Salvator Rosa, sonnets from Petrarch, and
Dante's "Divine Comedy".
Inspired by Raphael's painting "Marriage of the Virgin", Sposalizio is a work of great tenderness, devotion and love. Raphael's
graceful image shows the moment when the High Priest unites the hands of St Joseph and the Virgin Mary, as he places the
wedding ring on her finger. Liszt evokes numerous religions' allusions, such as an organum-like theme recalling the plain chant
of monks, a 'sighing' motive of the Virgin, and a quiet prayer-like section.
Transcendental Etude No 12 'Chasse Neige'
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Transcendental Etude No 12 by Franz Liszt has the programmatic title Chasse-Neige, (literally "snowplow") and is the twelfth
and last of the Transcendental Etudes. The etude is a study in tremolos but contains many other difficulties like wide jumps and
fast chromatic scales, and it requires a very gentle and soft touch in the beginning. The piece gradually builds up to a powerful
climax. It is one of the more difficult Transcendental Etudes.
Ferruccio Busoni stated that this is the greatest, most accurate example of program music, or "poetised" music. He described
the work as "a sublime and steady fall of snow which gradually buries landscape and people".
Hungarian Rhapsody No 11
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
This is one of the shorter Hungarian Rhapsodies, but is still up to six minutes. It is quite colourful in its suggestion of the
sonorities of the cimbalom, a Hungarian instrument similar to the dulcimer. Liszt also attempted to conjure its exotic sounds in
No 8 in this set and, as here, he generally succeeded.
This Rhapsody has four continuous sections, the first two being slow, marked Lento a capriccio and Andante sostenuto,
respectively, and the last two quite lively, marked Vivace assai and Prestissimo. The piece opens with an introduction of trilllike
quivering chords that eventually lead to morsels of a playful, jaunty theme. Soon, the music turns more animated, despite
the slower marking, and the theme clearly emerges, all the while accumulating more colour from Liszt's deft ornamentation
and other keyboard effects.
In the Vivace assai section, the writing mimics the aforementioned cimbalom sonorities in lively, delicate music. In the final
section, notes race as the mood turns rollicking and festive, and if Liszt seems to pour on the bombast here, he does not
short-change the listener in excitement and thrills. In the end, this must be assessed a colourful, light effort that is more
memorable for its dazzle than its themes.
Concert C5 continued next page
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