Liszt: Sonata

Study the Franz Liszt Sonata in B-minor through this video series. This course covers both the technical aspects, interpretation and the structural analysis needed to play this piece.

Content Covered

Technique & Mechanics

1. Octaves: How to build endurance and stay relaxed during the heavy octave passages.
2. Arpeggios: Achieving smooth hand-to-hand transitions across the keyboard.
3. Fingering: Practical choices to make difficult passages more secure and reliable.

Course Structure

The course breaks down the Sonata into its main formal sections:

1. Exposition: Handling the opening themes and the first major energy shifts.
2. Development: Managing the fast pacing development and the variation of the main ideas with recitatives.
3. Central Andante Sostenuto: Working on the slow, quiet middle section.
4. Recapitulation and Fugue: Tackling the fast, three-voice fugue section.
5. Coda: Bringing the piece to its quiet final choice of notes.

Sound & Interpretation

1. Soft but Powerful Sound: Using arm weight instead of pure force to get a deep tone without harshness, and a quiet sound that still carries.
2. Singing Playing: How to connect notes smoothly to mimic a vocal line.
3. Faust Narrative: Looking at the story behind the music—the contrast between the Faust, Gretchen, and Mephistopheles characters—and how it shapes your playing.

Musical Analysis

1. Thematic Transformation: Understanding how Liszt uses a few short ideas to build the entire piece, which helps with memorization and pacing.