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Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt's Six Concert Etudes

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Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt's Six Concert Etudes Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports 2015 Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt's Six Concert Etudes Zhiwei Zheng Follow this and additional works at: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Zheng, Zhiwei, "Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt's Six Concert Etudes" (2015). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 7044. https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/7044 This Dissertation is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by the The Research Repository @ WVU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Dissertation in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you must obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This Dissertation has been accepted for inclusion in WVU Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports collection by an authorized administrator of The Research Repository @ WVU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt’s Six Concert Etudes Zhiwei Zheng Dissertation submitted to the College of Creative Arts at West Virginia University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance Peter Amstutz, D.M.A., Chair and Research Advisor Mitchell Arnold, D.M.A. Dengliang Gao, Ph.D. William Haller, D.M.A. Lucy Mauro, D.M.A. School of Music Morgantown, West Virginia 2015 Keywords: Franz Liszt; Concert Etudes; Ab irato; Il lamento; La leggierezza; Un sospiro; Waldesrauschen; Gnomenreigen Copyright 2015 Zhiwei Zheng ABSTRACT Pedagogical Thoughts on Liszt’s Six Concert Etudes Zhiwei Zheng This research project presents a pedagogical analysis of Franz Liszt’s Six Concert Etudes for piano, which are grouped in three sets: Ab irato, S. 143 Trois Études de concert, S. 144 Il lamento La leggierezza Un sospiro Zwei Konzertetüden, S. 145 Waldesrauschen Gnomenreigen This paper focuses on suggestions for learning or teaching each of these concert etudes, dealing with the structure of themes, keys, dynamics, programmatic interpretation, and specific technical issues. Several performing elements are discussed in detail, including melody and bass lines, musical phrasing, rhythmic pulse, tempo rubato, layered dynamics, and pedaling. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Dr. Peter Amstutz for his assistance and insights during this learning experience. To my family go my thanks for their understanding and support. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................................................................. iv List of Musical Examples ............................................................................................................... v List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ x CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Overview .................................................................................................................................... 2 Scope .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Purpose ....................................................................................................................................... 9 CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF LITERATURE .......................................................................... 10 CHAPTER III: THE YEARS IN WEIMAR AND ROME ..................................................... 20 CHAPTER IV: PEDAGOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SIX CONCERT ETUDES ............. 30 Elements of Performing Liszt’s Music ..................................................................................... 31 Technique ............................................................................................................................. 31 Phrasing ................................................................................................................................ 33 Tempo rubato ....................................................................................................................... 34 Layered Dynamics ................................................................................................................ 35 Pedaling ................................................................................................................................ 36 Imagination .......................................................................................................................... 39 Characteristics of Liszt’s Compositional Techniques ............................................................... 40 Thematic Transformation and Innovative Form ................................................................... 41 Chromaticism ....................................................................................................................... 42 Other Compositional Techniques ......................................................................................... 45 Pedagogical Analysis ................................................................................................................ 49 Ab irato ................................................................................................................................ 50 Il lamento ............................................................................................................................. 74 La leggierezza .................................................................................................................... 107 Un sospiro .......................................................................................................................... 143 Waldesrauschen ................................................................................................................. 169 Gnomenreigen .................................................................................................................... 203 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................... 232 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 236 iv List of Musical Examples Musical Example 4.1, “Il lamento”: Chromaticism in T1 (mm. 4-8) ............................................ 43 Musical Example 4.2, “Ab irato”: Chromatic accompaniment (mm. 31-34) ................................ 43 Musical Example 4.3, “Un sospiro”: Cadenza (m. 37) ................................................................. 44 Musical Example 4.4, “La leggierezza”: Chromaticism (mm. 31-33) .......................................... 44 Musical Example 4.5, “La leggierezza”: Descending-third relationship (mm. 76-78) .................. 46 Musical Example 4.6, “Un sospiro”: Descending-third relationship (mm. 70-71) ........................ 46 Musical Example 4.7, “Un sospiro”: Octatonic scale and descending-minor-third relationship in bass (mm. 66-71) .......................................................................................................................... 47 Ab irato Musical Example 4.8.1, “Morceau de salon”: The ending before the lyrical section in E major (mm. 54-62).................................................................................................................................. 51 Musical Example 4.8.2, “Ab irato”: The ending before the lyrical section in E major (mm. 58-86) ..................................................................................................................................................... 52 Musical Example 4.9.1, “Morceau de salon”: Opening phrase (mm. 1-8) .................................... 53 Musical Example 4.9.2, “Ab irato”: Opening phrase (mm. 1-9) ................................................... 53 Musical Example 4.10.1: Original motif ..................................................................................... 55 Musical Example 4.10.2: Various materials based on the motif (mm. 1-3, 12-13, 21-23, 65-66, 73-76, and 104-105) .................................................................................................................... 55 Musical Example 4.10.3: Different accompaniment textures for the motif (mm. 7-9, 31-32, 39-40, 44-45, and 55-57) ........................................................................................................................ 55 Musical Example 4.11: Three peaks in material “a” ..................................................................... 59 Musical Example 4.12: Damper pedals in the third phrase of material “a” (mm. 21-30) .............. 61 Musical Example 4.13.1: Five-note scale in material “a1” from Busoni edition (mm. 35-39) .....
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