Liszt - St Francis of Paolo Walks on the Waters

[andhow04]

the second legend (the first is st francis of assisi preaching to the birds) and for some reason one of my favorite liszt pieces.  in a way it is reflective of the religious kitsch he apparently found inspiration in, but it has such a sweeping feeling and picturesque pianism that i find it irresistible!
i suppose i am doing my part for the bicentennial, later in the year will post the spanish rhapsody and the fantasie and fugue on bach.

[rachfan]

Hi anyhow,

Bravo!  This is truly a magisterial and inspiring performance.  You have all of the technical demands well in hand.  One of the things I especially liked was your marvelous shading of the dynamics that contributes so much to the drama and spectacle of the scene being depicted.  I believe that as time goes on, your artistry only gets better and better.

David

[ronde_des_sylphes]

A powerful performance. Unlike you, I'm not very fond of this piece of Liszt as I think his manipulation of the chorale theme is rather one-dimensional and not especially inspired. There were some interesting pedalling decisions which resulted in me hearing some left hand bass details rather more clearly than I'm used to. Fine playing, thanks for the upload.

[krystellle]

That was great!  I don't particularly like  this piece either, but you played it so convincingly! It wasn't just a virtuoso showcase - I really imagined the painting that Liszt was supposed to have been inspired by!  There are really good pianists on pianostreet.com! 

[andhow04]

dang!  too bad people don't like this one.  personally i am not fond of the other legend, st francis of assis preaches to the birds.  that one just doesnt do it for me.. but this one i think has a powerful arc to it and offers lots of opportunities for the pianist.  in any case thanks for listening!

[pianoman53]

Music is a funny thing - I, too, adore this piece. For me, it has got everything that is great with Liszt, without having the cliché "Let's play super many notes, just because I can"-kind of thing.

Great performance, but I kind of miss some sort of depth in the big chords. For me, you to too much top voice, and too little of the rest. Now they sound like a melody with some very unimportant second voices, and not really as a chord. Some parts were also a notch too fast for me. But still, well done!

[pianowolfi]

A great performance! At the moment I am quite a bit into Liszt, I'm looking forward to your Spanish Rhapsody!

[andhow04]

Music is a funny thing - I, too, adore this piece. For me, it has got everything that is great with Liszt, without having the cliché "Let's play super many notes, just because I can"-kind of thing.

Great performance, but I kind of miss some sort of depth in the big chords. For me, you to too much top voice, and too little of the rest. Now they sound like a melody with some very unimportant second voices, and not really as a chord. Some parts were also a notch too fast for me. But still, well done!

tanks for those comments.  yes, i think this legend has a more concentrated style than some of the sprawling virtuoso show pieces... and i have always loved the key of E major for whatever reason. every time i improvise i end up in e  major...
if i have any reservation about it it would be that it came from basically catholic kitsch, which has never really interested me or inspired me.  i read that liszt kept very romantic and kitschy portraits of saints on his writing desk, and was no doubt inspired by the theatricality of the church. but i think he rises above any kitsch elements in this legend..