Liszt Pieces Appropriate for Middle-Level Students

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I only have one student and have only had a couple before, a friend I have been giving regular lessons to.  He insists on learning a piece by Liszt.  I'm in the US, so I don't know where he'd fall in the ABRSM.  He is a very poor sight reader, but can learn pieces that are, in a way, beyond his level if they are fairly motivic and have a lot of repetitive aspects.  I don't want to give him whatever the "easiest" Liszt piece is, because that is boring and would not be satisfying for him.  Can anyone make a recommendation?  The pieces he's requested are well beyond his skill level (for instance, HR11), so I need to come up with an alternative.

Also, does anybody have a link to the ABRSM grading system?  Like, they have a list of pieces, right?  I am thinking maybe level 5 or 6, I'm really not sure how it works.

[chopin1993]

I do not have a link to the ABRSM grading system, as I really don´t understand the system myself.
But maybe your student could play Liszt's Arrangement of Chopin's Six Chants Polonais op.74 no. 2?
And what about Liszt's Consolations no.1 and no.4?
I know these are not the most exciting pieces, but they are "playable"!

Good luck!

Valerie

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I took a look at it; he would be more like level 7-8, as opposed to 5-6.  The Consolation No. 6 is a piece that had crossed my mind.  This is really my fault, to be honest; we also hang out a lot, and I have played a lot of Liszt and Alkan in front of him.

[chopin1993]

Haha, I see. I would get triggered by that too!
A very beautiful level 7 piece is Liszt's "Romance" in e minor.
Also you could take a look at his "Années de Pèlerinage" (Suisse or Italy). Some parts of it aren't that hard to play!
Consolation no. 6 isn't a bad idea either.

Valerie

[danhuyle]

Consolation No1,3.

Etude Op1 No4 (the cocoon of Mazeppa)

Develop his note reading skills and tell him the consequences for not learning it. I don't see anything bad about playing a lot of Liszt in front of a student. Hey at least you HAVE a motivated student who wants to commit to playing Liszt.

I used to be a student who wanted to play virtuoso Liszt and I had technical difficulties with it. And guess what? I never had a teacher teach me the Liszt pieces I wanted to learn aside from Etude Op1/4 TE1,9 and La Campanella. I wanted to play all those transcendental etudes and had to figure all by myself. I begged and begged, but still no help came.

Tell the student to FIGURE IT OUT HIMSELF. I didn't have a teacher show me how to learn virtuoso Liszt.

I was one of those students. Visit my blog and find out how to deal with that sort of student.

[cjp_piano]

If you are in the US, you need to be aware of The Achievement Program which is a collaboration between Carnegie and Royal Conservatory Canada. They have online syllabi which you can download for free:

http://www.theachievementprogram.org/program/piano-program-details

It has levels 1-10 as well as 2 prep levels and a diploma level, so really it's a 13 grade system!

As far as an "easier" Liszt piece? Doesn't really exist. Maybe you can figure out the STYLE that he likes and find a piece that fits.

[stoudemirestat]

Adding on to the previous recommendations...

En Reve is a good option.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMm3b4U3ggY" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMm3b4U3ggY</a>

It could also be fruitful to look through this video. It's a lot of lesser known Liszt. Some of the pieces are very difficult, some are not at all and will be manageable for him. There are  some good options there.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOAVp4LcV6I" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOAVp4LcV6I</a>

Here's the track listings, and whether I think they will be manageable for him in my limited knowledge.

00:00 - Alleluja, S.183/1 (1862) Not manageable.
03:40 - Ave Maria (d'Arcadelt) (1862) Probably manageable.
07:40 - Klavierstuck in E Major, S.192/1 (1865) Manageable.
10:04 - Klavierstuck in A flat Major, S.192/2 (1865) Probably manageable.
12:12 - Klavierstuck in F sharp Major, S.192/3 (1873) Manageable.
13:30 - Klavierstuck in F sharp Major, S.192/4 (1876) Manageable.
15:18 - RW: Venezia, S.201 (1883) Maybe manageable.
16:42 - Recueillement, S.204 (1877) Probably manageable.
19:12 - La cloche sonne, S.238 (1850?) Manageable.
21:02 - Hussitenlied, S.234 (1840) Not manageable.
27:49 - Vive Henry IV, S.239 (1870-80?) Probably not manageable.

29:18 *pause*

29:33 - Unstern: Sinistre, Disastro, S.208 (after 1880) Probably not manageable.
32:37 - Dem Andeken Petofis, S.195 (1877) Probably not manageable.
35:47 - Abschied. Russisches Volkslied, S.251 (1885) Probably manageable.
37:46 - Bénédiction et Serment de Benvenuto Cellini, S.396 (1852) Not manageable.
44:04 - Die Rose aus Zemire und Azor, S.571 [by Spohr] (1876) I don't think he wants to play a transcription?
48:15 - Die Rose [by Schubert], S.556/2 (1838) See above.
52:54 - Drei Stücke aus der heilige Elisabeth, S.498a - 1. Orchestral introduction (1857-62) Not manageable.

[stoudemirestat]

Ugh i'm sorry. I only just saw your second post, where you said he's more 7-8 rather than 5-6.

That being said, the En Reve is still one to consider, and you  might want to look at some of the other stuff.

Knowing he's more 7-8, I would consider the romance other posters suggested, as well as the third consolation.

Romance.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V8LMATSF_8" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2V8LMATSF_8</a>

Some more to look into are...

2nd consolation.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSeD6lePzWQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fSeD6lePzWQ</a>

3rd Hungarian Rhapsody.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYyspHXg3lk" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYyspHXg3lk</a>

Canzone Napolitana.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P846sr8yrIQ" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P846sr8yrIQ</a>





Hope I  could help.