Emil von Sauer (1862-1942): Liszt - Valse Oubliée no.1 

Lol all comments are 10 years ago

When the trill goes so smoothly into the beautiful melody...god it's divine!

How much I would have desired to hear a rendition of the Mephisto by Sauer....!

Thanks for uploading this fascinating historical recording. The ending [ouch!!!!!]

Superb! Bravo! TY. P.S.-Has Cziffra become the forgotten man? He was once referred to as the reincarnation of Franz Liszt! Is he now being ostracized for his personal life,or is it simply a case of-how soon they forget.Who better plays the Rhapsody#6 etc?

Well, we have Arrau in Les Jeux d'Eaux à la Villa d'Este, his recording from 1928, and Horowitz playing this piece Valse Oubliée in 1930; and those are among the finest ever Liszt recordings, no doubt. Personally I like very much the recordings of Ervin Nyiregyhazi in late Liszt, they capture the demonic, erratic and depressive atmosphere very well. But this was an excentric, isolated figure who also took many liberties with the score.

There is a big difference between merely altering a the surface or the substance of a work though. The late works are very much *about* not being self-contained. To append closure to work that is deliberately left open is a huge difference from merely decorating a passage differently, or cutting a section of a variation-style work.

If you mean of his very late and experimental works such as his atonal pieces, I am having trouble finding them also...Keep me posted if any news... Thanks, Jordan.

Very surprising that he adds those chords in the final bars! O_0

@d60944 But no one of them could play Liszt in such authentically kind like Emil von Sauer. He was one of Liszt's favourite pupil. Have a look to Emil von Sauers brilliante Touch. Ist fast enough, strong enough and undescripable clear! Emil von Sauer worked until his death in Vienna and some of his pupil learned to touch like he did.

Would anyone know of any CD's that are out of Liszt's later works that you'd recommend?

@d60944 If you haven't come across it already, listen to Leonid Brumberg's performances of the 2nd Mephisto Waltz- actually any of Brumberg's Liszt- the Saint-Saens/Liszt Danse Macabre, B minor sonata...astounding playing.

parkour: Yes, those are the ones. I did find one, 'Nuages Gris' I believe it's called. I'll find the link for it.

I never heard about this episode, and I read many books about both composers. Can you tell me the source of it, please? L

d609: Well it doesn't matter to me if it's modern, I actually like listening to some of the older recordings. But are there any well-done older recordings that have been copied onto CDs?

Are the "arpeggios" in the last beats original or Sauer's interpretation?

I don't know of any early 20th C recordings of ANY of Liszt's late works though (except for this Valse Oubliee). Can you point me to some? Then we can compare. Kentner maybe?

@gerardbedecarter Not too fast, most of others are to slow because of the difficulties of this composition.

That's a little harsh. The chords are still "in style". Liszt, when he was younger, used to add notes and embellish the Nocturnes of his friend Chopin. The latter complained about it when he heard it.

Alfred Cortot, In Search of Chopin.

Apart from this work, and the Jeux d'eau, the late works are generally ill-served on record. Leslie Howard has recorded the complete Liszt, but he is not - in my opinion - any more than a serviceable interpreter. Zoltan Kocsis could rise to greatness in this repertoire and is widely available and is probably the best modern choice for the works. A favourite interpreter of mine is Kentner, who left a few recordings of late Liszt.

I've always loved Sauer's sensitive, right-on-the-money interpretation of this piece. But that ending! It sounds like something a recording engineer might suggest: "Listen, Emil, can't you give it a better ending? Something's missing." Or maybe... something's forgotten...

...I head a mistake at the end of the scale, before the beginning of the "FF" section...did you too?

I agree that the final chords actually diminish the quality of the piece - as a composition - given that we know better now what late Liszt is all about. Certainly pianists in the early 20th just had no idea what Liszt was up to in his late works: many (most?) of the works just drift away with no closure at all - this all part of the style as we now appreciate it. Sauer is reflecting the understanding of his time. Ignoring that issue, it *is* wonderful playing nonetheless. Just go with it... :-)

I don't agree with you. If we hear pianists like e.g. Brendel play the late pieces, it's fair to say that pianists in the early 20s had a MUCH better idea what Liszt's (late) style was about. It's interlinked with a style and tradition of pianism that's simply lost. The written score is only part of it. All of Liszt's pupils had their own musical personalities. There's little resemblance between Friedheim, Rosenthal, D'Albert and Sauer.

Too fast??

Creepy 1:50-2:17

parkour: parkour: Here it is: watch?v=6objDnNYGCQ