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Előadja: Ránki Fülöp
Performed by: Fülöp Ránki
A felvétel a miskolci Bartók teremben (Zenepalota) készült.
The concert recorded at Bartók Hall/Palace of Music, Miskolc, Hungary
he Consolations (German: Tröstungen) are a set of six solo piano works by Franz Liszt. The compositions take the musical style of Nocturnes with each having its own distinctive style.Each Consolation is composed in either the key of E major or D♭ major. E major is a key regularly used by Liszt for religious themes.
There exist two versions of the Consolations. The first (S.171a) was composed by Liszt between 1844 and 1849 and published in 1992 by G. Henle Verlag. The second (S.172) was composed between 1849 and 1850 and published in 1850 by Breitkopf & Härtel, containing the familiar Consolation No. 3, Lento placido, in D♭ major.The source of the title Consolations may have been Lamartine’s poem “Une larme, ou Consolation” from the poetry collection Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (Poetic and Religious Harmonies). Liszt’s piano cycle Harmonies poétiques et religieuses is based on Lamartine’s collection of poems.Another possible inspiration for the title are the Consolations of the French literary historian Charles Sainte-Beuve.Sainte-Beuve’s Consolations, published in 1830, is a collection of Romantic era poetry where friendship is extolled as a consolation for the loss of religious faith.
The Consolations are also referred to as Six pensées poétiques (Six poetic thoughts), a title not used for Breitkopf’s 1850 publication but for a set published shortly thereafter, in the same year, by the Bureau Central de Musique in Paris.Composed between 1849 and 1850, they are Liszt’s second version of the Consolations. This version of the Consolations is better known than the first version and was published in 1850 in Leipzig by Breitkopf & Härtel. In comparison to the first version of the Consolations, the original third Consolation (S.171a/3) was replaced with a new Consolation (Lento placido in D♭ major) and the remaining Consolations were simplified.
The first of the Consolations is in E major and initially marked Andante con moto. The shortest of the set, consisting of just 25 measures, it has an identical opening to another of Liszt’s works, the Album-Leaf (Première Consolation), S.171b. Consolation No. 2 is also in E major and is initially marked Un poco più mosso. It is often played directly after the first, without a break.The third Consolation is in D♭ major and initially marked as Lento placido. It is the most popular of the Consolations[3][8][9] and also a favorite encore piece.
Its style is similar to Chopin’s Nocturnes; in particular, it seems to have been inspired by Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 27 No. 2.The similarity between the two works has been interpreted as a tribute to Chopin who died in 1849, a year before the Consolations were published.This third Consolation is however one of several of Liszt’s works that take a style reminiscent of Chopin; some examples include Liszt’s Polonaises, Berceuse, Mazurka brillante, and his Ballades.
In 1883, years after composing the Consolation, Liszt received a Grand piano from the Steinway Company with a design that included a sostenuto pedal. Liszt began transcribing this Consolation for the new sostenuto pedal and in a letter to Steinway he wrote:
In relation to the use of your welcome tone-sustaining pedal I inclose two examples: Danse des Sylphes, by Berlioz, and No. 3 of my Consolations. I have today noted down only the introductory bars of both pieces, with this proviso, that, if you desire it, I shall gladly complete the whole transcription, with exact adaptation of your tone-sustaining pedal.
Liszt recommended sparing usage of the sostenuto pedal in the interpretation of this Consolation and opined on the positive effect it would have on the more tranquil passages.Consolation No. 4 is in D♭ major and is initially marked Quasi adagio. Composed in 1849, it is also known as the Stern-Consolation (Star Consolation) because of the six-pointed white star that appears on the printed score.The Consolation was inspired by a Lied written by Maria Pavlovna, the Grand Duchess of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. The mood of the composition has been described as “churchly-religious”and “prayerlike”.
Liszt later re-used the Consolation’s theme in the Andante sostenuto / quasi adagio section of his Piano Sonata in B Minor.Consolation No. 5 is in E major. It is initially marked Andantino. The Consolation has a cantilena vocal style.This Consolation has the oldest genealogy having been reworked from the “Madrigal” of the earlier fifth version of the Consolations.The sixth and final Consolation is in E major. It is initially marked Allegretto sempre cantabile and is the longest of the Consolations with a total of 100 measures.
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