Liszt for a Chopin guy

[kriskicksass]

Yes, this is a take off of a topic from a week or so ago, but it's still useful. Most/all of my romantic repertoire is from either Chopin or Rachmaninoff and I'd like to expand into Liszt. I was thinking an easy etude, but I'm open to any suggestions. I was thinking of Un Sosprio perhaps?

My 'big' Chopin is the B-flat Minor Scherzo and the Aeolian Harp Etude and my 'big' Rachmaninoff is the 1st movement of the 2nd Concerto, if that helps.

[cloches_de_geneve]

An easy Liszt Etude sounds a bit like a contradiction, but among the "easier" ones you might want to have a look at "Waldesrauschen", brilliant, sparkling composition, or "Au Bord d'une Source" from Annees de Pelerinage, Vol.1, also highly effective. Both are technically more demanding than 25/1 though.

[liszt1022]

If you're looking for Liszt the romantic more than Liszt the virtuoso, check out the Annees de pelerinage set, there's lots of good music in there. Also the religious works (Consolations, Harmonies poetiques et religiouses) as well as the Liebestraume.

Un Sospiro is very nice too, if you like it, go for it.

[stevie]

petrarch sonnet thingies

moist panties right?

also TE9

[donjuan]

wow, someone with the opposite problem as me.  Well, I started that thread because I was concerned about the increased difficulty of Chopin from Liszt.  But I feel that Liszt was a better pianist, and composed music that was more user friendly than Chopin (hence my difficulty in keeping Chopin pieces for any length of time). 
That said, I think Stevie's suggestions are pretty good, as transition pieces to adjust from one style to another.  But really, I think Chopin is so much more difficult than Liszt, so you should have no problem playing whatever you want.  Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 is a monumental achievement in itself.

[Kassaa]

I am/was also more a Chopin guy, now I am working on my first Liszt piece, the second ballade. It's beautiful, fun to practice, technically demanding, but never too demanding .

[tompilk]

TE 8 isnt that difficult COMPARED to the rest... i dont think by looking at score and vid...
Tom

[bennom]

But really, I think Chopin is so much more difficult than Liszt, so you should have no problem playing whatever you want.  Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 2 is a monumental achievement in itself.

Have to agree totally with don giovanni here. If you are great in Chopin, don't worry about Liszt. Have some fun, pick some really superficial stuff, like the hungarian rhapsodies and perhaps Totentanz, world's worst piece of music . Liszt's more chopin-like pieces are not going to satisfy a chopin guy. I think. (But I am/was a Liszt guy.)

BennoM

[kriskicksass]

My concerns with trying some Liszt is the way it has to be performed. In my opinion, Liszt just isn't convincing unless the performer tosses it off like it's Mary Had a Little Lamb or something like that. The idea of (ideally) flawless and effortless virtuosity in music as difficult as Liszt's is bothers me. It's not that I'm saying I don't think I have the fingers to do it, it's just that I've always placed more emphasis on making great music than on being a perfect virtuoso, and switching modes is going to be unsettling for me.

[maxy]

a Chopin guy wanting to try some Liszt?  I would recommend Funérailles, that piece is so obviously inspired by Chopin.  The piano of Chopin on Liszt's harmony.   It's clearly overplayed, but it's a great piece.

hey, if you like sospiro, it's not a bad choice.

What's the worry with "switching modes"?  Chopin is actually generally trickier than Liszt.

[tompilk]

Chopin is actually generally trickier than Liszt.

ahem... may i ask how? i suppose once you have mastered technique, thats it with liszt, but theres always room for improvement on chopin...
Tom

[pianote]

Transcendental Etude No.11, "Harmonies du Soir"

[e60m5]

ahem... may i ask how? i suppose once you have mastered technique, thats it with liszt, but theres always room for improvement on chopin...
Tom

Whoa there. Maybe I wouldn't want to hear your Liszt Sonata...

[tompilk]

Whoa there. Maybe I wouldn't want to hear your Liszt Sonata...

why?

[bennom]

My concerns with trying some Liszt is the way it has to be performed. In my opinion, Liszt just isn't convincing unless the performer tosses it off like it's Mary Had a Little Lamb or something like that. The idea of (ideally) flawless and effortless virtuosity in music as difficult as Liszt's is bothers me. It's not that I'm saying I don't think I have the fingers to do it, it's just that I've always placed more emphasis on making great music than on being a perfect virtuoso, and switching modes is going to be unsettling for me.

So why do you want to play Liszt then? If you don't like the way it should be performed, then perhaps...leave it?

[kriskicksass]

So why do you want to play Liszt then? If you don't like the way it should be performed, then perhaps...leave it?

It's not that I don't like the way it's supposed to be played. If anything, it's that I'm sort of afraid I won't be able to do it. Anyways, my teacher gave me a choice of either part of the Years of Pilgrimage or Un Sospiro, so I took the etude.

I've been working on it a little and it's just beautiful.  Everything fits under the hand so well-it's perfect!