Music Battle

It is a deeply emotional piece that shows us the inner world of a heartbroken female protagonist during her mental breakdown, just after her mistaken rediscovery of hope. For the final round, however, I would like to conclude our debate with a piece where hope is lost and subsequently regained, tragedies are forgotten and subsequently relived, joy is indulged and subsequently overwhelmed by sorrow, dispair and regret. The work is Liszt's Piano Sonata in B Minor, his only work in the genre (the Dante sonata was actually a fantasia quasi sonata). It is arguably the greatest post-Beethovenian sonata, often compared to the B minor sonata of his friend Chopin. It faded into obscurity when Liszt stopped playing it public because of poor public reception, but was rediscovered in the 20th century. Contrary to his usual habits (but in line with those of Chopin), Liszt bestowed no programmatic title upon the single-movement sonata - evidence of Liszt's attachment to the work, whose plot he hopes to remain a mystery. It spins a curious tale, variously identified as Dante's Divine Comedy, the damnation of Faust and Liszt's own life. It carefully weaves four simple themes, or leitmotifs, into a single narrative, with the themes given each time a new life. The Faust theory will be used. The pieces starts off with a two soft octaves and two descending scales, our first theme, or the H-theme. It gives the piece a mysterious air and prepares us for the story about to unfold. All of a sudden, our second theme, the A1 or Faust theme, jumps into our ears with an allegro energico, followed by A2, or the Mephistopheles theme, with its strong repeated notes. It is followed by a speedy transition, after which we plunge into the real action of the piece with rapid arpeggios interwoven with our A themes. We then hear our first theme, several times in rapid succession and each time more intense than the last. We then hear for the first time our third theme, the famed grandioso theme. It is a harmonically rich variation of Liszt's crux fidelis motif, which he uses to symbolise the Christian cross. Our A-theme reappears, this time much weaker, and is followed by gentle, dreamlike version of the A2 theme. A1 sneaks quietly in as the left hand, after which a broken variation of A2 appears several times, propelling the piece into an energetic fortissimo before briefly returning to our reverie. A dark, stormy version of A2 ensues, followed by more RH remolos with the H-theme in the left hand, and a transition to the a diabolical variation on the grandioso theme. After a transition with the A themes, we get to know our C-theme in what seems to be the slow movement of a sonata, an andate sostenuto, or the Gretchen theme in the context of Faust. We hear the gentle version of A2 again, followed by a reappearance of the crux fidelis, this time gay in character. After a transition, we face another sombre version of the cross theme, this time less aggressive than the first, before a stormy transition using the A-themes to a passionate yet brief C-theme, after which the piece transitions into its softest section with descending scales and the gentle A2 theme again, eventually turning into a pianississimo. The soft section is followed by a brief return to the H-themes at the beginning, followed by a playful fughetta, the only contrapuntal part of the piece, with three voices intertwined at the end. It incorporates the Faust and Mephisto themes, and is followed by a crescendo into the most agitated, turbulent part of the piece. With intense fury, blazing virtuosity and the frequent appearances of the A1, A2 and H themes, it abruptly ends with the re-exposition of the crux fidelis theme. Like the first time, it is followed by the more subtle, delicate version of the A2 theme. Just as we are about to get a feeling of déjà vu, we get to another tumultuous section, full of twists and turns and the A themes, followed by crux fidelis, this time as passionate as the first time. At this point, the piece dies down with the return of the andante sostenuto, and subsequently the A1, A2 and H themes, with far less spirit than before. The piece ends quietly - an ending Liszt put in hastily before publication, for he had written a loud, flashy ending at the beginning. Yes, unlike the flashy Liszt playing the Grand galop chromatique, this Liszt reined in his technique-flashing tendencies to perfect his magnum opus. Regardless of programmatic intentions, the piece is sure to stay in the piano repertoire, immortal, for centuries to come. The interpretation I used here is Yundi Li's. It retains the emotional turmoil of the piece, and the camera often showcases the virtuosity required for the piece (which, unlike in Liszt's earlier works, was not for its own sake). However, I encourage that the reader also listen to the interpretations of the masters - Argerich and Zimerman, in particular. . http://www.youtube.com...;