Liszt: Grandes études de Paganini (No. 6)

Why not? We talked last week about Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 that had inspired other composers, so we might as well see how that works.

Franz Liszt had been inspired by Paganini’s successful virtuosity on the violin to do much the same thing on piano. Liszt achieved the status of matinée idol with women fainting and all the rest.

I hesitate to say too much about Liszt because Professor Carol is something of Liszt scholar, so her criticisms can be, um . . . rigorous. Our home in Weimar (where I am writing this) is just about 100 yards from Liszt’s house. His first house in Weimar, the Altenburg, is a 10-minute walk up the hill. You pass the Liszt Conservatory on the way. So naturally anyone in this town with an interest in music soaks up a lot of his influences and history.

If you haven’t listened to the Paganini Caprice No. 24 from last week, do that first. Then listen to what Liszt does with it. The theme should be relatively easy to hear throughout. Liszt also makes variations on Paganini’s variations. But turning it into a virtuosic work for piano requires very different idioms and techniques.