Cast in a single, monumental movement, Franz Liszt’s Piano Sonata in B minor unfolds as a mysterious, passionate reverie. Its blazing Romanticism encompasses the widest emotional spectrum—from ghostly terror and quiet melancholy to spiritual ecstasy, heroic virtuosity and soaring, grandiose triumph.
This acute sense of drama has led listeners to search for programmatic associations. For some, the themes paint characters from the “Faust” legend. (Liszt was composing his epic “Faust” Symphony during the same time). There are autobiographical hints of the struggles of the heroic artist. German composer and conductor Peter Raabe wrote, “Hardly anywhere else in the whole of [Liszt’s] works has he so uncompromisingly laid bare the sorrow of struggle as in this psalm that cries out towards enlightenment and salvation, in this poem that speaks with the same intimacy of jubilation and lament, of defiance and humility.” Uncharacteristically, Liszt, the composer of numerous programmatic orchestral tone poems, provided no explanation, this time allowing the music to speak for itself.
Harmonically and formally, the B minor Sonata, completed in Weimar in 1853, was so progressive that it was met with dismay. While Wagner reacted enthusiastically, the influential critic Eduard Hanslick insisted that “anyone who has heard it and finds it beautiful is beyond help.” When Liszt gave a private performance, the 20-year-old Brahms reputedly fell asleep in his armchair, rendering Liszt furious and offended. The Sonata was dedicated to Robert Schumann in reciprocation of Schumann’s dedication to Liszt of his Fantasy in C Major, Op. 17. But Schumann had already entered the asylum in Endenich, and never heard it. Clara Schumann, who fell into the conservative camp with Brahms, lamented that the ear-stretching Sonata was “merely a blind noise…and yet I must thank him for it…It really is too awful.”
For all of its apparent dreamy fluidity, the sections of Liszt’s B minor Sonata outline four traditional movements (Allegro, Andante sostenuto, Scherzo, and Finale). At the same time, taken as a whole, the work suggests the exposition, development, and recapitulation of Sonata form. Through a process of thematic transformation, the motifs introduced in the first bars return in various guises, and undergo continuous development. An early example of this technique, used frequently by Liszt, can be found in Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy.
The Sonata begins with ghostly offbeats and an ominous descending scale, marked Lento assai and sotto voce. As with the opening of the “Faust” Symphony, the tonality is at first ambiguous. The second theme (Allegro energico) erupts suddenly in octaves, and establishes B minor. The third theme is made up of hammer blows (Hammerschlag). A fourth theme (Grandioso) arrives at a euphoric D major. The contours of this theme outline the three-note “Cross-motif” found in the liturgical chant Vexilla regis prodeunt.
Moving to F-sharp major, the middle section (Andante sostenuto) begins as an intimate soliloquy and grows in passion. Bridging the development and recapitulation is a Scherzo in the form of a fiery fugue in B-flat minor. We are reminded of the wild, demonic fugue in the third movement (Mephistopheles) of Liszt’s “Faust” Symphony. “At one point the fugato subject is turned upside down and presented in counterpoint against itself.” (Buechner and Searle)
In the final moments, the music reaches a feverish climax before falling back. The Sonata ends as it began, with a quiet prayer, and a descent into the ghostly shadows.
Recordings
- Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, S. 178, Arnaldo Cohen Amazon
Featured Image: Portrait of Franz Liszt (1839), Henri Lehmann
Lovely article, thanks Tim. I saw an interview recently with Liszt biographer and scholar Alan Walker, in which he remarked there is so much vitality and colour in Liszt’s music he does not need a virtuosic interpreter so much as one who faithfully reproduces his intentions.
His comment caught my attention because my current favourite interpreters are Yulia Avdeeva and Nelson Goerner. Excellent pianists, but since EVERYONE has recorded this piece, a surprise that they are the standouts.
I would love to hear your views on why Brahms and Clara disliked it. Particularly Brahms, who was not as doctrinaire as Clara. I cannot imagine anyone falling asleep in the midst of it unless it was a deliberate provocation!
… And, of course, you have chosen Arnaldo Cohen rather than Horowitz, Argerich, et. al.