Franz Liszt - 2 Polonaises, S.223

Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s 2 Polonaises are a pair of virtuosic piano pieces written between 1850 and 1851. They make some light and superficial references to Chopin’s style, but vastly retain Liszt’s own musical language. As concert pieces, the Polonaises have shed much of their dance origins and have taken on a life of their own in favor of large and elaborate flourishes in addition to near-meterless cadenzas.
The first Polonaise, given the subtitle “Mélancolique” by Liszt, is rather neglected compared to the more popular second Polonaise. The listener is immediately greeted by an unfamiliar B dominant 7th, which surprisingly resolves well into the intended C Minor key, as testament to Liszt’s harmonic inventiveness. Here in the theme and in its incarnations, Chopin’s lyricism and melodic influences feature most prominently. With each appearance of the main theme, the notes are altered and decorated with more and more ornaments and embellishments. With this in mind, one later occurrence of the main theme has it appear in quadruple meter, which is anathema to the Polonaise form. The third theme, first appearing in E-flat Major and later in C Major, contains an instance of Sigismond Thalberg’s three-hand technique that Liszt once criticized, but toward which he eventually converted. The coda reprises the main theme in a melancholy and subdued form, before finishing with a ferocious series of Picardy thirds presaged by a Neapolitan chord.
The second Polonaise is a popular piece and concert staple. Its vigor and vitality evokes the bold Sarmatian spirit of a healthy young male Pole at the height of the Romantic era (as observed through the eyes of the composer who is German by blood and Hungarian by heart). The main theme stands proud, resolute, and defiant. But after the Trio section, it returns in a nimble, dainty, and feminine but no less captivating manner like that of a winsome Polish maiden, as the distaff counterpart to the dashing youth mentioned before. On the spot of the bridge as it transitions back to the main theme before the Trio, Liszt dwells on the dominant key via an elongated run before the main tonic chord of the main theme reenters. The Trio commences in a lower register, and though largely keeps to the original tempo, contains more unrestrained rubato compared to before. A painstakingly extravagant cadenza, as is Liszt’s tendency, delivers the Trio back to the main theme, with the recapitulation presented in the aforementioned spritely and demure fashion. Following the debut of a new bridge section, the manly incarnation of the main theme enters yet again. The Trio section makes a reappearance in the coda, and it directly precedes the ultimate finale, in which a chain of minor plagal cadential chords in different registers drive the point of triumph home.
Date: 1850-1851
Catalogue:
Searle 223
Thematisches Verzeichnis der Werke Franz Liszts [LW] A171
R**be 44
Order:
No. 1 - Polonaise Mélancolique: Moderato in C Minor: 0:08
No. 2 - Allegro pomposo con brio in E Major: 13:27
Performer: Kseniya Nosikova on piano
Note: This channel does not own the score or audio, and they are used for non-commercial purposes.

[@gergelykiss]

Fantastic performances! Kseniya Nosikova pays such close attention to Liszt's performance directions that I have not encountered before. Sure, Cziffra's recordings of these works are absolutely exhilirating and listening to them makes one's heart race - but Nosikova here is just as good for me. Different, but equally amazing. So many beautiful, subtle and nuanced details are shown here that are often drowned out by stormier interpretations. After googling her it comes as no surprise that she is a member of the American Liszt Society's National Board of Directors - her dedication to this music really shows!

[@c4speen316]

good song

[@yagiz885]

3:40 so beautiful

[@alistair-on-kaikhosruyaoie6810]

I like it too Mr. Yagiz

[@Ludwig142]

Agreed yağız .d

[@patrickloiseleur]

Quand Liszt joue à imiter le style Chopin... l'hommage d'un maître à un autre ! Je ne me souviens plus du critique musical qui avait dit après les avoir entendus tous les deux le meme soir à Paris: "Chopin est le meilleur des pianistes; Liszt est le seul".

[@gergelykiss]

Hi! I believe the quotation is from Princess Belgiojoso - it doesn't refer to Chopin and Liszt, however. She said it after the famous "piano duel" between Thalberg and Liszt in 1837. Chopin and Liszt definitely played at the same soirées, though. And Liszt played a lot of Chopin's works (in soirées as well as in recitals, in Paris as well as all over Europe) - which delighted Chopin for the most part. He was loving the way Liszt played his Op. 10 & 25 etudes, but he also famously chided Liszt once for adding embellishments to one of his Nocturnes. We don't know whether Chopin played any of Liszt works, he barely gave public concerts as an adult, he preferred the private setting of the soirées. Also, Chopin might not have been a good fit for Liszt's more technical works. Very different personalities - and Chopin was less of a chameleon than Liszt, who seemed to have been able to channel every composer from Bach to Saint-Saens.

[@patrickloiseleur]

@@gergelykiss thank you very much for providing the exact quote :) indeed the ability of Liszt to feed his inspiration with so many different composers and style it staggering - and it's one of the things I really love about his music.