From Chopin to Liszt..

[freddychopin]

OK. I'm a huge Chopin fan. For the last four years Chopin's pieces are the only Romantic pieces from the mid 19th century I played. I have learned almost all nocturnes & polonaises, all waltzes, some preludes/etudes & Ballade no.3.

Now I want to play Franz Liszt. The only pieces I  played of him was Liebestraum no.3 & Consulation III.

I want you all to ask, what now? I want to setup a Liszt traject or something.

[jehangircama]

good for you man, i wish i could play all those pieces.
for liszt, start the Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 and also possibly the Rigoletto Paraphrase. you could also try some of his transcendental etudes and, if you're really serious about it, the B minor sonata. that's advice from a fellow Chopin and Liszt fan.

[donjuan]

Well, you sound like you know your Chopin really well.  If you have gone through everything you said you did, well then you really shouldnt have to ask for our opinons on good Liszt to play.  I think Chopin is much more difficult than Liszt in general, since Liszt usually fits the hands nicely and is made for performance.  Go to the local library and take out a bunch of Liszt CDs.  If you play Chopin well, you probably play Liszt well too.  Be sure to listen to the concert etudes and transcendental etudes to get used to the Liszty technique and how it differs from Chopin.  B minor sonata is a monster - I would wait on that one - play and succeed in many works of Liszt before attempting that one..  at least do one of the 2 ballades or maybe the Grosses Konzertsolo, if you are really ambitious.
donjuan

(haha, or the Don Juan fantasy )

[freddychopin]

thx for your replies.  The main reason I play lots of Chopin is that I understand him in many ways. (my hands always fit, I always know when I must use rubato etc.). Liszt is in many ways the same, but more technical in my opinion.

I''m now 21 and I play since my 6th birthday. My sightreading qualities are very good . So I want to start with Liszt. Still I have difiiculties on some playing technics. Maybe I need to have some lessons again. (I quit last year because of college)

I think long pieces like most Hungarian Rhapsodies are to long and complex for me. Ballades are also 15 minutes and the killing B minor sonate is about 31 minutes...  I need some shorter or more simple stuff to begin with. Then I will take the risk to play something longer. I don't mind if a piece is under my grade to start, because I'm playing the piano for the next 50 years 

Is there a liszt grading post with the hungarian rhapsodies in order of difficulty?

[alzado]

If you are eager to explore Liszt, too bad you cannot visit our music store.

I dug through the sheet music on clearance the other day, and was amazed at how many items by Liszt are being cleared.

You could get half a dozen items at 50% off.   And they will not sell out quickly, in some cases there are six or more copies of the items.

Makes one wonder if Liszt's stock is down, or something.

I may go and get a couple of the easier items, just to have them in the piano bench if I ever get an irrepressable urge to learn Liszt.