Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody

[monkeydudexd]

Hello everyone, this is Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 17 in D Minor. Not very well known. but I've always wanted to learn a not-impossible Liszt piece. It wasn't very hard to learn, but sounds (in my opinion) pretty impressive with the continuous octaves. Only downside is that it's over before you expect it :/

Anyway, tell me what you think. This is after about a week of practicing. I find it hard sometimes to make the end sound musical, so advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[monkeydudexd]

Hellooooo can I get some comments please? I'm playing this for a recital in three weeks and my teacher is in another country right now so I won't have a lesson until then.

[oxy60]

Much of Liszt's music is based on Hungarian folk themes/dances. If it were you I would look for the folk themes in the piece and base my phrasing on those. The ending is bombastic like it was written but you still need to find the phrasing.

Otherwise you've got it right. Watch out for the pedaling and keep it from blurring the sound.

Good luck!

[monkeydudexd]

Thanks for the advice - I emailed the recording to my teacher so she can make some comments. I find it hard to make phrases with the continuous pounding and this piece is harder to play musically than, say, a nocturne or sonata. It confuses me because I feel the hungarian-ness, but it's just hard to express it.