Liszt's beautifully tranquil (second) set of Consolations, played with incredible tenderness by Zilberstein. Liszt's approach to these pieces is consciously maximalist -- in the sense that every single note is made to matter, and its individual sound exalted. For most people familiar with the Liszt who tosses off huge swathes notes with abandon, this should be a fascinating change. This particular set of consolations is in fact a highly stripped-down iteration of a previous version. It is also worth noting that all the consolations are in either E major of D-flat major, and that E major was a key that held particular religious significance for Liszt.
00:00 -- No.1, Andante con moto. Note the harmonic richness of the opening, with its dominant 9th + minor 7th + 11th chords. The ending segues directly to the next consolation.
01:36 -- No.2, Un poco più mosso. Liszt does something here which he is quite fond of in this set: modulating suddenly by a third.
04:50* -- No.3, Lento placido. The famous encore piece. Zilberstein takes this at a true lento pace, and the effect is lovely: the LH is more than a mere gauzy harmonic haze, and engages in muted dialogue with the RH. Note also how touchingly Zilberstein handles the modulations.
10:12 -- No.4, Quasi Adagio. The most prayerlike of the consolations. The original score had a six-pointed star right above the piece, for reasons not clear to me. If you are observant you'll notice that Liszt uses the theme of this consolation in the andante sostenuto/quasi adagio section of his B minor sonata (or comes close to it, at the very least.)
13:27 -- No.5, Andantino. A beautiful, cantilena vocal line.
15:37 -- No.6, Allegretto sempre cantabile. A tricky one to interpret, since it (on face) violates the meditative tone of the set. Note that the 16-bar coda returns to the more muted tones of the rest of the set, and that the two final bars return to the 4/4 meter of the first consolation, bringing the cycle full circle.
5 июн 2024
