Transcendental Etude in Cm No.8 'Wilde Jagd' ~ Liszt

Please list your critiques!

Best,

Brett

Liszt - Transcendental Etude No.8 'Wilde Jagd' ( 06:02 )

 

Good job ! Couple of wrong notes but nothing intolerable. The middle bit sags a bit, especially an the start. Overall this could do with a bit more giddy excitement - it's just a touch cautious. Sonically, I would wish for more depth and weight.
This one is up, well done.

 

Cautious, certainly. When I looked at the music and played around with it a bit, it seemed to be pretty easy in comparison to many of the others from the final set, yet trying to get the tempo up actually turned out to be a little rough. As well, I don't like how I handle a lot of the rhythms; it's pretty inconsistent. Regardless, it was a good learning experience!

Thanks for the comments on the other postings as well! I'll try and get the last two parts of the Prokofiev Op.4 set up by late April, hopefully much sooner; they're pretty short, it's just about finding the time to sit down with them!

Brett

 

Sort of a late reply, I know, but still: I had fun listening to this recording (hearing somebody else's take on the piece). I like how the melody comes out in the middle section (well, semi-middle). It really fit the "espressivo" markings and continues through the appassionato very convincingly IMO.

Something interesting I noticed was the pedaling you employed. I was wondering, mostly for 2:00 and at 4:45, if there was any particular reason why you left out the marked pedaling? The reason I ask is because many pianists tend to overdo their pedaling. Here, I find the pedaling somewhat reserved (which is not a bad thing, I'm just curious). Is it for clarity or was it an artistic interpretation of the music?

Definitely a good learning experience (it was much the same way for me). The only thing I would have changed is what's already mentioned, which would the be the rhythms at the beginning of the piece. However, I have yet to hear anybody play it right (even myself). Even if people play it accurately, I still think it sounds wrong. So I dunno if there's a solution there, at least for these ears.

However, something that could be improved are situations like the beginning of measure 17 (i.e. the end of measure 19), where there's the four sixteenth-note octaves being played together, as the other Chris noted they do sound a bit cautious. While close inspection shows there are accents on each of the notes in that figure, I think they could sound to a little more connected to give more of a sense of musical line.

Also places similar to measure 13 (like measure 44), you tend to jump the gun on that eighth-rest at the end of the measure and skip almost directly into the next measure. Let it take the full-count, short as it is.

Other than that, very clean playing all around. Don't you feel so cool playing the last page? It's a very fun song.

 

Hi Escort,

You've produced a fine rendition here. The only thing I would mention is the contrasting romantic theme. Right now, because of your cautiousness, it seems, well... reserved. I'd like to hear more romantic freedom, rubato, and powerful surge there--more expressivo, and in the second appearance, even more appassionato assai. After all, this is Liszt! Just my opinion though.

David

 

Thanks for the replies!

Organictechnic,
Yes, the passage that occurs at 2:00, and then again transposed in 4:45 was one that I had difficulty keeping clear. Particularly, if I missed a note (as often happened in that segment) it sounded like a total mess. I felt that it keeps it from sounding to heavy there as well; it's a pretty bombastic piece, but I feel these sections, especially with the rapid leaps, sound a bit more flashy and less 'overpowering' with less pedal. I changed quite a bit of the pedaling in the piece; the intro is different as well, for example.

I'm glad you liked the espressive section, but like David mentions, I think it's a bit dry outside of bringing out the melody. I was relieved that I was able to bring the melody line out and shape it in a decent manner, but I definitely felt like there was something 'missing' there; it just didn't have the 'life' it could!

Yes, the rhythms drove me nuts! Listening to other recordings and going back and trying to read the score, as well as considering different ways to stress the beats (especially in the bit at the beginning with the hemiola rhythm) made the rhythm much more confusing than it needed to be! With more confidence in what I was doing for the rhythm, perhaps much of it would have come across better than it did!

David,
I agree about the espressivo section; I always felt like I was exaggerating, but when listening back on it realized it was a bit monotonous. I feel it's a combination of trying to bring out that melody line, while trying to bring out all the interesting bits in the left hand that gave me the sensation that I was really stressing certain things, however the nature of the section, with the differing rhythms between the hands, seems encourage you to stay steady to keep in control.

Definitely an enjoyable piece to play, and I'm glad to see the comments and critiques!

Brett