What are Franz Liszt's "licks"?

[cuberdrift]

For lack of a better term. 

I enjoy playing around and creating some 'virtuoso'-sounding improvisations. I'd like to know what are some of Liszt's widely-used technical devices? I mean the technical cliches that can be found on many of his works.

For instance, the second cadenza on Liebestraume no. 3, or the leaps found in 'La Campanella'?

Many thanks!
cuberdrift

[thorn]

The octave passages in the Second Ballade are something I'd count as "very Liszt" if that's the sort of thing you're after.

Bar 96 onwards in the accompaniment.
Bar 199-214 for a much more typical Liszt octave thing. Same idea bar 280-283. Also bar 300-301.

[awesom_o]

Let's see:

Profound knowledge of harmony, unsurpassed technical command of every conceivable musical passage or figuration, and absolute control of the rhythm in everything that he played. His touch had an indescribable charm, and this lent greater focus and clarity to his tone than any previous pianist had been able to harness, in everything from pp-ff, legggiero to cantabile, sotto-voce to bravura.

These were his signature moves. Get them all down and you'll be able to sound like Liszt.

 

[thorn]

I wasn't aware there was a person alive who had heard Liszt's playing first hand. I envy you 

[awesom_o]

Liszt and I are pretty tight.  


We bro out together all the time.

[dima_76557]

What are Franz Liszt's "licks"?

Liszt uses traditional scales, arpeggios, tremolos, octaves, double notes (thirds, sixths), repeated notes.

One should be able to play full chords and four-voice triads in all inversions very well with both hands, especially in chromatic fashion down- and upward. The second cadenza in the Liebestraum no 3, for example, is actually not a chromatically descending formula in thirds for both hands, but a cascade of chromatically descending second inversions of dominant 7th chords, divided over 2 hands. Skips of all kinds are also very typical.

Two things unique to Liszt are:
Interlocking scales (one scale played with the fingers of alternating hands). The challenge is mental, not physical. Liszt does not think in 2 hands with 5 fingers each, but in one single interlocked hand of 10 fingers.

Interlocking octaves, played with alternating hands, thumbs overlapping, creating the ILLUSION of usual double octaves, but at impossible speeds. The challenge again is mental, not physical (you may find the way the thumbs interlock confusing in the beginning). Think of two whole-tone scales you have to know with each hand, that are then combined into one chromatic scale.

You can find all of his favorite formulas in the so-called "Technical Exercises", published under his name, which Thalbermad posted in 2007 already:
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php?topic=26608.msg304911#msg304911

[awesom_o]

Two things unique to Liszt are:
Interlocking scales (one scale played with the fingers of alternating hands). The challenge is mental, not physical. Liszt does not think in 2 hands with 5 fingers each, but in one single interlocked hand of 10 fingers.

The challenge again is mental, not physical (you may find the way the thumbs interlock confusing in the beginning). Think of two whole-tone scales you have to know with each hand, that are then combined into one chromatic scale.

Very good post! Improvising creatively is all about having not two units of five, but one unit of ten!

[cuberdrift]

Liszt uses traditional scales, arpeggios, tremolos, octaves, double notes (thirds, sixths), repeated notes.

One should be able to play full chords and four-voice triads in all inversions very well with both hands, especially in chromatic fashion down- and upward. The second cadenza in the Liebestraum no 3, for example, is actually not a chromatically descending formula in thirds for both hands, but a cascade of chromatically descending second inversions of dominant 7th chords, divided over 2 hands. Skips of all kinds are also very typical.

Thank you. This is very helpful 

Two things unique to Liszt are:
Interlocking scales (one scale played with the fingers of alternating hands). The challenge is mental, not physical. Liszt does not think in 2 hands with 5 fingers each, but in one single interlocked hand of 10 fingers.

So does this mean that one hand plays white keys, while the other plays black? He then must have done this to create some extremely fast chromatic scales?

Interlocking octaves, played with alternating hands, thumbs overlapping, creating the ILLUSION of usual double octaves, but at impossible speeds. The challenge again is mental, not physical (you may find the way the thumbs interlock confusing in the beginning). Think of two whole-tone scales you have to know with each hand, that are then combined into one chromatic scale.

This reminded me strongly of Cziffra's rendition of "Flight of the Bumblebee". It is INSANE. 

How about the huge leaps in 'La Campanella'? Are those his, or are they traditional devices? I also notice that Liszt favored playing double notes in a very fast manner.

[dima_76557]

So does this mean that one hand plays white keys, while the other plays black? He then must have done this to create some extremely fast chromatic scales?

They're usual diatonic scales, sometimes in double-notes (thirds) too, divided over two hands. Left-Right-Left-Right, etc. to be played rapidly and smootly. Get the book from the link I gave you and see for yourself. Such scales in thirds, sixths and first inversion chords, for example, are in Exercise 66, page 126. "Usual" scales with alternating hands, sometimes combining one, two, three or four notes in a row for each hand are in Exercise 52, page 59.

How about the huge leaps in 'La Campanella'? Are those his, or are they traditional devices?

Yes, his own, but Liszt doesn't seem to think of distance as a real problem, since the structure of white and black repeats itself unaltered. You are simply there, and you have more than enough time if you don't get paralyzed by the fear of missing the notes. As long as you have to use your eyes to know for sure where you are on the keyboard, though, you have to work very hard against yourself to be able to do those leaps.

I also notice that Liszt favored playing double notes in a very fast manner.

As virtually all virtuoso Romantics do.