Evening star., 1954-09-05
News Of Music
Lost Liszt WoItz Found
News Of Music
Fourth Of Masters forgotten Works
Now in Libruy Of Congress Music
BY Day Thorpe

A first edition Of Q piece Of
music Of interest to those who
fancy the three forgotten
Waltzes" Of Franz Liszt has
appeared this week. It is the
"Quatrieme Valse Oubliee". the
fourth and last of the series.
the existence Of which has
been known. but which has
never before been published.
In 1886. the year of his death.
Liszt gave the manuscript to
q pupil. v. May Hoeltze. whose
son, Arthur Hauser is now
president Of the well-known
American music publishing
firm Of Theodore Presser. Why
Mr.. Hauser has not before now
published the delightful bag
atelle he does not say. but the
edition, though tardy, is a
handsome one. beautifully
printed and uncluttered with
those editorial markings that
so often make q page Of good
music uninviting.
Signature Verified
The Manuscript is now in the
Library of Congress collection
Of Lisztiana. Edward Waters,
Assistant Chief of the Music
Division, verified the handwrit-
ing by comparison with other
authenticated autographs Of
the famous composer.
This is not the time for the
music Of Franz List to regain
the high public esteem that it
once had, but that time may
come once again. Liszt was the
greatest Of the salon pianists,
and much Of his music reflects
the trashy transformers of an
idols slight tinge of contempt
for his idolators. It is too bad
that List cannot now erase the
impression that discredits him
in the eyes of an age that is
familiar with only one aspect
Of his genius. for there is much
in the man that Is highly origi-
nal and far ahead Of his time.
In the first place. Liszt was
the last Of the great composers
for piano in whose best works
every note counts and its func-
ton both as melody and
rhythm is precise and econom-
ical. In this respect he was
Of the company which includes
Bach and Mozart. He was In
one aspect an artist in line
etching, not in his own work
sympathetic to the romantic
color OF his contemporaries.
The Genius Touch
His mastery Of piano play
ing Is by now legendary. and
therefore not susceptible Of
direct evaluation or compare
son. That he had an un-
canny sense for the various
personalities Of the pianoforte
we can tell not only from his
original works but from the
extremely sensitive transcript
tions Of orchestral pieces that
HE made all his life. His ar
rangements Of the Beethoven
symphonies and the orches-
trail works Of his friends Wag- )
ner and Berlioz are typically
orchestral and works Of art
in their own right. hardly in
ferior technically to Bach's
arrangements Of his own
works and those Of Vivaldi.
That he. knew the greatest
resources of the piano is evi-
dent. and that he knew its
limitations is also clear from
his insistence that although
something was easily playable
it was not therefore neces-
sarily feasible. He was asked
by friend ESQ the story goes)
why he has never made an
arrangement of Mozart's late
q minor symphony. "It would
be impossible" answered the
man for whom the keyboard
held no terrors at all, for
whom the simple broken
chords of Mozart anyone
would consider child's play.
Impossible" he said. "One
would need three hands for
the divided violas In the first
measure"
= 4 d
70 uov,arA ARl&nl, ~Y1,. 1890.