[Video] Liszt Impromptu in F# major

[unicorn1276]

Greetings, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Piano Street,

Below please find a video link of my playing of Liszt Impromptu in F-sharp major...Not often played, but I think it is an absolutely enchanting work of art.

Much thanks!

Very cordially yours,

Quentin Kim

[ramseytheii]

What a spectacular setting!  Looks vaguely diplomatic.

And most lovely playing - although I don't know the details of the piece, your performance communicates much and the sound is brilliant.

Didn't you originally post this along with a Saint-Saens piece?

Indeed this is rarely heard, and it occurs to me how pianists have the power to create an image of a composer as they see him, purely by their repertoire choices.  This piece strikes me as more substantial than the oft-played "Un sospiro" with which it appears to have some similarities.

Bravo.

Walter Ramsey

[rachfan]

This is certainly a most atmospheric and charming piece of Liszt, very beautifully played.  Thanks for sharing it!

[furtwaengler]

Quentin Kim! Welcome to the forum. I have very much enjoyed your compositions which have been uploaded to the site by the user, andhow04...the Sonata in G-sharp minor and the  Variations on an Ancient Korean Melody. Ah, you are a very accomplished pianist as well!

And the Liszt is a gem, and very well done. I am glad to hear your own playing of your sonata as well, and Schumann's F-sharp minor, which is a favorite of mine.

I hope you enjoy it here at pianostreet.

Dave

 

[unicorn1276]

What a spectacular setting!  Looks vaguely diplomatic.

And most lovely playing - although I don't know the details of the piece, your performance communicates much and the sound is brilliant.

Didn't you originally post this along with a Saint-Saens piece?

Indeed this is rarely heard, and it occurs to me how pianists have the power to create an image of a composer as they see him, purely by their repertoire choices.  This piece strikes me as more substantial than the oft-played "Un sospiro" with which it appears to have some similarities.

Bravo.

Walter Ramsey

Thank you Mr. Ramsey (or do you go by Walter?) for your kind words and for remembering my Saint-Saens post as well, you certainly have a good memory!  I took SS off thinking that to post one thing at a time would be better, less confusing.  As for the "diplomatic" setting: you probably meant those flags, they were for the members of various countries who were participating in this particular event at that time.

And I agree with your take on Impromptu vs "Un sospiro [a sigh]," very keen of you!  Somehow there is more bewitching, attractive quality about the impromptu than in the sigh-piece (perhaps due to subconscious effect of "sigh"?)  Partly the "sigh" has been overused and lost its effect on the lister?

As well, your comment about how pianists have the power to create an image of a composer as they see him, purely by their repertoire choices, it is certainly true, as the below shows my take on Liszt (used as my CD liner notes):

Franz Liszt, a Byronic colossus whose ultimate fascination lay in the divine, reveals the very essence of his art—ecstatic piety joining with sensuous decadence—in this gem, the Impromptu in F-sharp major. This key has often been associated with the supernatural in Liszt's music. As a glimpse of heaven is granted amid the intoxicating perfume and smoke of opium, the sound of distant church bells restores the purity of soul.

Very cordially yours,

Quentin

[unicorn1276]

This is certainly a most atmospheric and charming piece of Liszt, very beautifully played.  Thanks for sharing it!

Yes it is, indeed, and my pleasure!

[unicorn1276]

Quentin Kim! Welcome to the forum. I have very much enjoyed your compositions which have been uploaded to the sight by the user, andhow04...the Sonata in G-sharp minor and the  Variations on an Ancient Korean Melody. Ah, you are a very accomplished pianist as well!

And the Liszt is a gem, and very well done. I am glad to hear your own playing of your sonata as well, and Schumann's F-sharp minor, which is a favorite of mine.

I hope you enjoy it here at pianostreet.

Dave

 

Greetings, Dave, thank you very much for your kind welcome and comments!  And I am happy to hear that you already enjoyed my music (and much thanks to Nathan)!  And the Schumann F-sharp-minor sonata is your favorite as well?  You certainly have a good taste in music!  Seriously, it is a grand masterpiece, I do not agree with the criticism we hear often about the piece--that it is weak structurally, etc.  Sure, it may not have the impeccable order found in some other masterpieces, but it stands on its own perfectly as a work of a mad genius.  Besides, why corrupt the genius of the insane Romantic endowed with the greatest blessings from the Muses, with "some nice structures"?  Structural strength is only one of many virtues . . .

In any case, I think pianostreet is a fascinating place--I even like the name!

With many good wishes,

Quentin

[ronde_des_sylphes]

I've had a soft spot for this piece of Liszt for a while. As you say, it's rarely played. so it was a pleasure to find this. Fine playing, thanks for the upload.

[andhow04]

Greetings, Dave, thank you very much for your kind welcome and comments!  And I am happy to hear that you already enjoyed my music (and much thanks to Nathan)!  

With many good wishes,

Quentin

[unicorn1276]

I've had a soft spot for this piece of Liszt for a while. As you say, it's rarely played. so it was a pleasure to find this. Fine playing, thanks for the upload.

My pleasure, glad to meet another lover of the impromptu!

[andhow04]

by the way, since id idn't say it already, BEAUTIFUL!

[unicorn1276]

by the way, since id idn't say it already, BEAUTIFUL!

Thank you so much!  I am very happy to hear that.