liszt harmonies du soir

[toomuchrice]

hi, i've just begun to learn liszt's trascendental etude no.11, harmonies du soir.  most of the piece really isn't any problem except just the first couple pages with the large chords.  unfortunately, at the un poco animato on the second page, i cannot the chord with the tenths.  does anyone have any suggestions on how to "tackle" these passages?  thanks

[nolan]

Is it too obvious to say: start hands separate. For the RH, you want to emphasize the top note of each chord, as that is the melody. I'm going to assume that you are OK with the chords fitting within an octave. For the extended chords, work on the transition from the comfortable part of the chord to the extension. The goal is to make the extension itself comfortable. Keep the hand relaxed at all times, and if you feel strain or get tired, switch hands or take a break.

The LH will probably be easier to remember and work on because of the Db pedal in most of the passage. Also remember that the first two measures just repeat, cutting down the amount of notes to learn.

Once you are pretty comfortable hands separate, take it slowly hands together, doing one big roll (LH -> RH) at a time.