The bridge to modernism : Franz Lizst and the late piano music

Abstract

A celebrated pianist, composer, teacher, and writer, Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was the leading figure in 19th century classical music. Known for his virtuosity and technical finesse on the piano, Liszt marked the beginning of the Romantic piano virtuosi in the early 19th century. A champion of the solo piano recital, Liszt’s extensive touring career brought him to major European cities from Vienna to Paris and as far as London and St. Petersburg. His popularity drew large crowds into concert halls where he performed music of the past and present. Liszt’s mastery in arranging and transcribing works of his own and others further contributed to the revival of old masters and promotion of living composers during his time.

As a composer, many of Liszt’s piano compositions showcased pianistic flare and pushed the boundaries of technique, texture, and sonority of the piano and the pianist. Many of these creative innovations have remained revolutionary till this day. A pianist’s repertoire would not be comprehensive without studying the piano works of Liszt.

The evolution of Liszt’s compositional style is often divided into three periods: the early years, the middle years, and the late years. The music of the early and middle years saw a trend of virtuosity, thematic transformation, and inspiration from the elements of nature and literature. The later years saw a sharp shift in Liszt’s compositional style, most notably in his “modern” application of harmony, tonality, and form. Liszt scholar Alan Walker claims Liszt as “one of the most revolutionary personalities in the entire history of music” and “the true father of modern music.” Considered futuristic at the time, the late works appeared visually simpler in music notation, often with dense chromaticism, harmonic dissonance, and tonally unresolved endings. With multiple editions of Liszt’s earlier works published during his lifetime, most of the piano music from the late period remained unpublished until the end of the first quarter of the 20th century.

One of Europe’s celebrated virtuosos, Liszt’s radical stylistic shift and the poor reception of the late works raise an interesting topic for further study. The connection of Liszt to the music of the 20th century is apparent, and this study aims to discover Liszt’s innovations through the solo piano works of the late period.

“The Bridge to Modernism” is a study in three parts: part one will provide an overview of Liszt’s life and inspiration in the late years; part two will break down the various styles and technical explorations in the late works foreshadowing the music of the future; and finally, to encourage wider appreciation to Liszt’s late music, the study will include a level-graded sample guide to selected solo piano works from the late period for the use of performance and pedagogy.

A creative innovator, Liszt’s compositions reflected various experimental techniques uncommon during the 19th century. Liszt is often credited for his influence on the development of harmony in the early 20th century. The use of non-functional harmonies, augmented chords, exotic scales such as the whole-tone and Hungarian scales point to the musical languages of Claude Debussy, Arnold Schoenberg, and Béla Bartók. Other techniques of late Liszt included experiments in formal tonal structures, usage of chromaticism and dissonances, and explorations in formal design and textural layers.

This document focuses primarily on the last two decades of Liszt’s life, the years more commonly referred to the three-fold life where Liszt traveled back and forth among three major cities, Weimar, Budapest, and Rome. Although Liszt primarily taught masterclasses at Weimar and Budapest, he frequently traveled to other cities including London, Tivoli, and Bayreuth. Despite his old age and declining health, Liszt continued music composition. The late works from the 1860s onwards reflected a sharp shift in compositional style. Many of these pieces were written for solo piano; Liszt was now composing for himself, and not for the public. These works reflected Liszt’s current state of mind in this period of depression with frequent thoughts of death, despair, and retrospection. Noticeable characteristics in these works included a predominance of stark and austere styles, smaller and unconventional form structures, avoidance of cadence resolutions, augmented and diminished harmonies, and long passages only containing single notes.

This shift from romanticism and its ideals formed a bridge to a new era, “modernism.” Scholars often refer to this musical aesthetic movement as “post-romanticism,” championed primarily by composers Wagner, Strauss, and Bruckner. However, Liszt’s late works and associations with the New German School proved to be too “cutting-edge” for many music conservatives. Controversies were associated with Liszt throughout his life: his early virtuoso years of “over-sensational” piano playing, his adulterous relationships with Countess Marie d’Agoult and Princess Carolyne zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, the criticism for his “unconventional” composition style, the question of Liszt’s national identity and allegiance—he was often in the spotlight. Even his close musical ally Wagner later dismissed Liszt’s “modern” style and called it a symptom of “budding insanity.” The turmoil and public dismissal of Liszt’s late music surely had a significant impact on the composer who, at a point, turned to faith and composed several compositions with sacred sentiments.

This study places Liszt as an influential figure in the development of 20th century classical music, a period that sparked the beginning of several aesthetic movements including music of French Impressionism, atonal and serial music of the Second Viennese School, and music of Hungarian Nationalism. By understanding Liszt’s life and his vision on the future of music, this study will further justify his role in “the bridge to modernism” by placing examples from his work alongside selected works by 20th century composers. Although Liszt did not live on to witness these foundations flourish decades later, it is fascinating to see Liszt’s innovative ingenuity reflected in several musical aesthetics of the future.

The final chapter of this document will conclude with a performance study guide of selected late solo piano works by Liszt organized according to level of difficulty with short descriptions on each work. The endeavor to create a performance guide for the late solo piano works is the first of its kind. This guide aims to encourage performance and pedagogical study on the late piano music where pianists will discover musical gems and unveil a glimpse on Liszt’s perspective on the future of music.