Piano Sonata in B minor (Liszt)
Franz Liszt's piano sonata in B minor is considered to be one of the most important, technically demanding piano works of the Romantic period and a highlight in the composer's oeuvre.
It is dedicated to Robert Schumann and was composed between 1849 and 1853. The premiere by Hans von Bülow took place on January 22, 1857 in Berlin. The dedication to Schumann is a counter-dedication, because in 1836 he dedicated his C major Fantasy to Liszt.
structure
Similar to his work “Großes Konzertsolo” for solo piano, which was published a few years earlier and is now relatively unknown, in which Liszt already tried a “multiple movement within a one movement”, the movements in the sonata in B minor are also effective without longer pauses or any caesuras merge into one another. The work can be roughly divided into three parts, which also allow the sonata to be interpreted as a large sonata movement :
- a kind of exposition in which the topics are presented and processed
- a slow middle section (bars 331 to 460)
- a recapitulation that ultimately leads to a coda .
One can also use the concept of “multiple proposition in one proposition”. The slow middle section from bars 331 to 460, viewed individually, also has features of a sonata main movement. Heinemann (see literature ) uses the term inland sonata . This term describes that within this sonata there is a section that also has a sonata form.
The reduction to a few core motifs is characteristic of the work:
- At the beginning a gloomy descending scale that appears in different registers and often chromatically changed, especially at the end of the work, where it takes up the opening motif like an epilogue. It appears within the sonata as a frame that separates different sections from one another, for example between the exposition of the main theme and that of the secondary theme (bars 84-104).
- The "main theme": an ascending octave motif followed by abruptly falling octave parallels in both hands, once as a seventh jump, then as a seventh descent, and then a descent over a reduced octave. The motif is at the beginning of the Allegro . The motif also appears in a different form, for example unanimously at the beginning of the recapitulation and a semitone lower (from bar 460).
- A knocking staccato motif appears in the bass as an “answer” . It is referred to in the literature as the hammer blow motif. It starts with upbeat 32nd note triplets , which sounds like a suggestion . This is followed by four staccato eighth notes, one eighth note, two 16th notes down to the lower tarter, and another two staccato eighth notes. This motif appears in the middle of the exposition (bar 153) in song-like form ( cantabile ). In order to achieve this sound character, the note values of the motif are doubled there. The note example is the basic form of the motif. The fact that there are no staccato points here is taken from the New Liszt Edition.
- A chorale-like theme that appears in forte-fortissimo after a virtuoso cadenza-like transition with broken chord jumps. Liszt's expression is Grandioso . It is here in D major, i.e. the major parallel to B minor. This key progression is common practice in sonatas. This topic is mostly quoted in the middle section.
- In the middle part there is another topic that is not related to the previous ones. If one applies the term of the inland sonata, it is the main theme of the inland sonata. It is in F sharp major and has a calm, melodic character. There are no repetitions in the melody for ten bars. The associated secondary theme (in A major, C sharp major would be common, but A major would correspond to the traditional convention if this main theme were in F sharp minor) is the cantabile hammer blow.
The recapitulation is introduced by a fugato processing of the main theme, which increases furiously. The coda takes up the calm character of the introduction.
Kenneth Hamilton divides the sonata into four sections. In doing so, he interprets the work as an ordinary sonata form .
- Exposition: the section up to bar 330 must be meant here.
- Slow movement: bars 331–459
- Scherzo: bars 460–530 (one possible demarcation: there is a caesura in bar 531 in that the key of B minor is mapped out again.)
- Recapitulation: bars 531–760. In the course of the recapitulation, the (pre-drawn) key changes from B minor to B major (this corresponds to the classical sonata form)
The somewhat unclear demarcation between the scherzo and the recapitulation is set by William Newman at bar 533, the re-entry of the tonic (after Heinemann). The interpretation of the form based on a four-movement form cannot adequately describe this work of the Romantic period. Too many features, such as the frame formation already mentioned, find no place in this interpretation. The many virtuoso solo cadences are also not the usual components of piano sonatas. They come from the concert genre. Liszt's inspiration for this may possibly come from Robert Schumann , who described his Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor (op.14) as a concerto without an orchestra . There is no doubt that Liszt knew this work: Liszt even wrote a review about it in the article Compositions pour piano, de M. Robert Schumann .
procedure
The sequence of the work can be described in more detail based on the explained motifs and their functions:
bars
- 1-7: frame
- 8–13: jump motif
- 13-17: hammer blow
- 18–29: Elements of the jump motif
- 30–39: Jump motif elements and hammer blows alternated in cycles
- 40–44: Elements of the jump motif
- 45–54: Free increase
- 55–81: Jump motif with continuations
- 82–104: frame (in bass)
From there the sub-theme begins
- 105–119: Grandioso - motif (in 3/2 time, first motif of the page set)
- 120–140: jump motif (again in 4/4 time)
- 141–152: hammer blow
- 153–170: Double hammer blow (second motif of the secondary theme)
- 170–190: elements of the jump motif (in the bass)
- 190–196: Double hammered stroke and frame
- 197–204: short solo cadenza
- 205–231: jump motif and countermovement
- 232-238: solo cadenza
- 239–254: cadenza with accompaniment
- 255–269: hammer blow - elements with cadence elements
- 270-277: jumps
- 278-286: frame
- 286–296: Jump motif with continuation
- 297–300: Grandioso motif (in 3/2 time)
- 301: Recitativo (free time signature)
- 302–305: Grandioso motif (in 3/2 time)
- 306-310: Recitativo
- 310-314: hammer blow
- 315–318: elements of the jump motif
- 319–330: hammer blow with jump motif (right hand, in enlarged note values)
From here the slow middle movement begins
- 331–348: Lyric Andante sostenuto - melody theme (3/4 time)
- 349–362: Double hammer blow with cadence elements
- 363–380: Grandioso motif in halved note values
- 381–384: Approaching the jump motif
- 385–394: jump motif
- 395–415: Variant Andante sostenuto - melody theme
- 415–432: transition with frame elements (downward sequences in the bass)
- 433–445: Double hammer blow
- 446-459: frame
From here the recapitulation begins
- 460–523: Fugato from a jump motif and hammer blow
- 524–530: Jump motif followed by virtuoso 16th-note runs
- 531–540: Jump motif alternated with hammer blow, plus 16th-note runs
- 541–554: 16th runs
- 555–569: chords and 16th note runs
- 569–581: Jump motif in the bass alternated with downward scales
- 582–599: transition and hammer blow
- 600–615: Grandioso motif returns, from bar 600 B major is drawn.
- 616–650: Double hammer blow followed by a solo cadenza
The area from here can be classified as a coda : all relevant motifs appear in reverse order
- 650–672: Stretta: doubled hammer blow , jump motif elements
- 673–681: Presto: downward sequences in quarters
- 682–699: Prestissimo: chords and eighth note chains
- 700–710: Grandioso motif ( 3/2 time) with variation (9 quarter triplets instead of 12 eighth notes per measure in the accompaniment)
- 711–728: Lyric Andante sostenuto - melody theme returns (3/4 time)
- 729–736: "Original" - hammer blow in bass (B)
- 737–743: Jump motif distributed over both hands, but no parallel eighth runs
- 743-749: chords
- 750-754: frame
- 755–760: final chords
literature
- Michael Heinemann : Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor. Wilhelm Fink Verlag, Munich 1993, ISBN 3-7705-2782-8 , ( Masterpieces of Music 61).
- Kenneth Hamilton (Ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Liszt . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 2005, ISBN 0-521-64462-3 , ( Cambridge Companions to Music ).
- Alan Walker : Reflections on Liszt . Cornell University Press, Ithaca NY et al. 2005, ISBN 0-8014-4363-6 .
- Tibor Szász : Liszt's Symbols for the Divine and Diabolical. Their Revelation of a Program in the B Minor Sonata. In: Journal of the American Liszt Society 15, 1984, ISSN 0147-4413 , pp. 39-95.
Web links
- Piano Sonata in B minor : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- www.kreusch-sheet-music.net - Sheet music in the public domain for the complete work "Piano Sonata in B Minor"
- www.tiborszasz.de - some basic analyzes by Tibor Szász
Individual evidence
- ^ Gerard Carter, Martin Adler: Liszt Piano Sonata Monographs. Franz Liszt's Precursor Sonata of 1849: a trial run in the Master's inner circle . Wensleydale Press, Sydney, 2011, ISBN 978-3-8442-0842-9 .
- ↑ Mária Eckhardt, Foreword to Piano Sonata in B minor. Facsimile of the manuscript . Henle, Munich, revised edition 2015.