Liszt for the digitally challenged

[fryc]

Can anyone suggest the best Liszt pieces for an advanced player with relatively small hands?  I can do a ten, barely if they're all white keys, a nine comfortably.

[Kassaa]

Same hand span as I have, you can play everything with it. BTW, How advanced are you? What pieces are you working on at the moment?

[fryc]

Butterfly Etude (24/10), polishing, just started Revolutionary, Liszt's La Lugubre Gondola II,  working my way through WTC  - - -

[fryc]

Butterfly Etude (24/10), polishing, just started Revolutionary, Liszt's La Lugubre Gondola II,  working my way through WTC  - - - the "ten" is just barely hanging on to the edges of the keys as I have an abnormally short fifth finger so I'd really like to avoid 10's if possible

[donjuan]

Tough spot you are in... It's hard to play Liszt if you have small hands because liszt himself had long, skinny fingers.  His works can be very comfortable for the hands if you are ok with putting fingers between black keys in fingering.

Right off the bat, I recommend his transcription of Schumann's Widmung.  I played it myself, and I think you should manage if you can reach an octave.  You may have to roll a couple of the chords, but they sound great that way anyway.

If you are feeling confident in your ability as an "advanced player," check out Feux Follets (Transcendental Etude No. 5.)  It is mostly in thirds and requires a flexible hand.  Same goes for "Beside a Spring" from the years of pilgrimage.  There are always a couple big chords in these pieces, but you can roll them no problem because of the sparkling filigree nature of the chords and large margin of rubato capabilities.

Soirees de Vienne No. 6 requires nothing bigger than an octave. 
If you like the demonic Liszt, but dont quite have the hands for Robert le Diable or Mephisto waltz, check out Czardas Macabre. 

Erl King and Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6 would probably exhaust small hands because of the repeated octaves, but look at Hungarian Rhapsody No. 19 and Valse Oubliee No.1.  My personal favorite is Valse oubliee No. 4, but Ill be damned if I can find the sheet music.  Maybe Valse Oubliee wont be hard enough for you, if you really do consider yourself an "advanced player."


Hmmm I dont know.... I certainly understand your problem since most of the great Liszt works need big hands.  Ill think some more...
donjuan 

[fryc]

Thank you so much for the effort you put into your post and your thoughtful suggestions.  I do have small hands but they are quite strong and flexible so if I can avoid really BIG chords I should be OK.  There's one in Chopin's Military Polonaisse that I can barely manage, otherwise so far I seem to do well with his stuff.  Liszt is scarier.
There are some  biggish chords in La Lugubre Gondola but they's supposed to be rolled to start with so that's ok.  I certainly  check your suggestions out.  Yes, I do like the "demonic" Liszt, also the "gypsy" Liszt, so I'm glad there were a few that weren't the "religious" Lizst.  Liszt - quite a guy --