Everyone seems to mention the B minor sonata in defense of Liszt's greatness as a composer. They admit that most of his output is crowd-pleasing surface music, but they hail the B minor sonata as the continuation of Beethoven’s tradition in the genre. I’ve never understood this argument, since the B minor sonata has never seemed ingenious to me in any way. It certainly doesn't have the Romantic originality of Chopin or Schumann, and where craftsmanship is concerned, one might generously equate it to Beethoven's Op. 14 Sonatas (the worst ones). What does it have? I don't even hear the virtuosic flair that seems to have been Liszt's sole talent. I know it's devilishly difficult to play, but the perceived difficulty is much less than usual for this silly type of flashy music. The time he spent transcribing the Beethoven symphonies was much more productive -- maybe instead of composing such mediocrities as the Faust Symphony, he should have transcribed the Haydn and Mozart symphonies as well.
Beethoven's Op. 14 Sonatas (the worst ones)
But am I the only one who likes Beethoven op. 14?
But perhaps the two of us are the only ones...although i hope not!
This will probably spawn a big argument and infuriate many people.
No, we are three!
Of course I like op. 14!
I really like this post:
But do you like the op.14?
I fail to see where Beethoven's Op. 14 has anything to do with this, but whatever...
Me too, but i thought it would distract from that absolutely meaningless article So....you like the op.14 i hope!
I love the Op. 14 sonatas!
No, we are three! Beautiful and charming sonatas