Playing Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

[azbroolah]

I've been working on the Hungarian Rhapsody for several months now, and I'm getting close to having it reasonably well-mastered. I am, however, having trouble with the section near the end where the right hand plays rapid ascending scales in A major and F sharp major (see below); is there a particular strategy that should be employed to play them? In the recordings I have heard, the scales are so fast they seem almost like glissandos, but obviously they can't be given that they hit the black keys.

Also, is there a good cadenza anyone could recommend? I've not been able to come up with one of my own and I'm considering just using someone else's.

[thesixthsensemusic]

Haven't studied the piece yet, but here is a cadenza for you:
https://www.free-scores.com/download-sheet-music.php?pdf=23704

Good old Rachmaninoff also wrote one of his own;
https://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/2/20/IMSLP30621-PMLP69100-hungarian_rhapsody_2_cadenza.pdf

, and I do know Alfred Cortot did an edition of the Liszt Rhapsodies, he might have included one or more cadenzas, and Marc André Hamelin has been playing a very jazzy cadenza he did, I couldn't find it through Google but maybe one of his recordings might inspire you to write your own, based on his.

Nah, really, may I suggest you try writing one of your own as wel? Just write down the chord progression during some of the melody parts and include them when you build a nice series of arpeggios and scales, add in some big octaved versions of some of Liszt's melodic elements in between, perhaps with a few chromatic bits in between because after all, it's Liszt and in ornamental parts of his works he does like dissonants too, and loves chromatic keys throughout his entire oeuvre... imagine the morale boost after writing an impressively sounding, but tailor-made for your own skills, addition to this great work would be!

[j_menz]

Cortot did indeed write one, which I hava attached.

Also attached is the Marc-Andre Hamelin one.

[j_menz]

Alfred Brendel, Eugene D'Albert and Earl Wild also wrote ones.

[j_menz]

And Vladimir Horowitz did a complete transcription of the HR2.  If you scroll to the last few pages, the cadenza he offers could be used as one to the regular version, I think.

[j_menz]

I might add that I agree with the6thsensemusic that you should try writing your own.

A cadenza is a real opportunity to showcase your talents, and the ones I have posted no doubt do a great job of showcasing the talents of their authors. Have a look at them, consider how they have approached the task. Think about those things you are particularly good at and write something that incorporates lots of those things. Think about what you're not so good at - leave those things out.

[azbroolah]

Would it be inappropriate or anachronistic to utilize a glissando? I'm a little tempted to glissando down from the C natural just beneath the C sharp that marks the beginning of the cadenza down and end it by hitting the middle C sharp and then transitioning into a reiteration of the main theme. I'm not sure if a glissando is appropriate, though; is it too "poppy," would you think?

[matt_walker]

I would love to be able to play any of this piece, let alone the cadenza! 

[azbroolah]

I would love to be able to play any of this piece, let alone the cadenza! 

That's how I felt when I first started the piece! It's definitely the most difficult I've played, but you'll be able to play it sooner than you think, I'm sure.

[asuhayda]

I saw an 8th grader play the Friska section of this Rhapsody and it made me want to BARF!

Ya, unfortunately,  I too had trouble playing those ascending scales at tempo.  I know that people "cheat" and just play glissandos.  Of course it doesn't sound right because it's not!.  Reality is, you just have to rip through those scales as quickly as you can (if you want to do it right).

Good luck with this piece.  If you've got it even close to mastered, that's great.  It's an accomplishment that most people have not even attempted, let alone accomplished.