The Collected Writings of Franz Liszt. Vol. 1: F. Chopin

310 Pages·2011·19.52 MB·English

by  Janita R. Hall-Swadley (transl., ed.), Jolanta T. Pekacz (foreword)

The Collected Writings
of Franz Liszt
Volume 1
F. Chopin
Edited and Translated by
}anita R. Hall-Swadley
I
THE SCARECROW PRESS, INC.
Lanham • Toronto • Plymouth, UK
2011
Published by Scarecrow Press, Inc.
A wholly owned subsidiary of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Estover Road, Plymouth PL6 7PY, United Kingdom
Copyright © 2011 by }anita R. Hall-Swadley
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval
systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who
may quote passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Liszt, Franz, 1811-1886.
[Literary works. English]
The collected writings of Franz Liszt I edited and translated by }anita R. Hall
Swadley.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-o-8xo8-8101-3 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Music. 2. Chopin, Frederic, xSxo-1849· I. Hall-Swadley, }anita R., 1963- II. Title.
ML410.L7A113 2011
780-dc22 2011003030
eTM
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39·48-1992. Printed in the United States of
America
To
Alan Walker and Michael Saffle
Without your help, this project could not have been completed.
!thank you

Contents
List of Figures vii
Foreword by Jolanta T. Pekacz ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
Liszt as Author 4
Publishing F. Chopin 17
Liszt's Research Methodology 23
Liszt and Chopin: A Monumental Admiration 31
Translator's Notes 41
2 General Remarks about Chopin's Works 53
3 The Polonaises 73
4 The Mazurkas 93
5 Chopin's Virtuosity 125
6 Chopin's Character 155
7 Chopin's Youth 187
8 Lelia 211
9 Final Days and Hours 231
Appendix: Allegretto and Mazurka by Chopin 253
Bibliography 261
Index 279
About the Editor/Translator 293
v

Figures
Autograph draft ofLiszt's early article De Ia situation des artistes
(1835), page 4 I2
2 Facsimile page from Liszt's introduction to his piano transcriptions
of nos. 5, 6, and 7 ofBeethoven's symphonies, written ca. 1838,
page 10 13
3 Excerpt from Paganini: A Eulogy (ca. I840), pages I-2 14
4 Chopin excerpt. Autograph by Liszt with corrections by
Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein. Private possession, page I 15
5 "Publications pour le Piano (Kroll, Reinecke)." Manuscript in
Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein's hand and title and
outline in Liszt' s hand, page I I6
6 "Publications pour le Piano (Kroll, Reinecke)." Page 7 of
manuscript in Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wittgenstein's hand
with si~nature and corrections by Liszt I7
7 Liszt, Etude en douze exercises, no. IO, mm. I-9 34-35
8 Chopin, Douze grandes etudes, op. IO no. 9, mm. I-6 35
9 Liszt, Douze grande etudes, no. IO, mm. 22-27 36
IO Liszt, Douze grande etudes, no. IO, mm. I-9 36-37
11 Liszt, Etudes d'execution transcendante, no. 10, mm. 22-27 37-38
I2 Traditional tarantella rhythm I45
13 Rhythmic pattern of the Krakowiak 207
14 Liszt, Melodies polonaises, measures 1-9 254
15 Liszt, second motive from Duo Sonata, excerpt 254
16 Chopin, Allegretto and Mazurka holograph 256
17 Chopin/Hall-Swadley, Allegretto in A Major, music score 257
18 Chopin/Hall-Swadley, Mazurka in D Minor, music score 258
vii

Foreword
Jolanta T. Pekacz
Franz Liszt's F. Chopin occupies an ambiguous place in the vast literature on
Frederick Chopin. On the one hand, it is recognized as a unique work written by
a fellow musician of comparable stature, containing valuable observations about
Chopin's music and his personality, and historically the first biographical work
on Chopin. On the other hand, however, it began attracting criticism even before
it was published, and its lambasting has continued until this day. A detailed
questionnaire which Liszt sent to Chopin's sister Ludwika Jc;drzejewicz on 14
November 1849, just two weeks after Chopin's funeral, turned out to be a bone
of contention. Ludwika likely considered the questionnaire insensitive, espe
cially the questions regarding her brother's relationship with George Sand, and
handed it over to Chopin's Scottish pupil and friend Jane Stirling, who answered
some of its questions, albeit incompletely and cautiously, and evaded others.
There is no evidence that Liszt used Stirling's answers. His sources consisted of
his personal recollections, other people's memoirs, anecdotes without a clear
provenance, and the current opinions, perceptions, and stereotypes about Poland
and the Poles. It is widely agreed that a manuscript produced within a short time
was the result of literary cooperation between Liszt and his companion at the
time, Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein, an aristocrat of Polish origin. Uncer
tain of its quality, Liszt sent the manuscript for assessment, first to his friend, the
music writer Joseph d'Ortigue (who apparently offered an overall positive opin
ion), and then to the prominent literary critic Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve
(who advised a complete rewriting but refused to get involved in the project).
Liszt was not discouraged by Sainte-Beuve's thinly disguised criticism, nor did
he undertake a thorough rewriting as far as scholars can tell. When the biogra
phy appeared in Paris, first in installments in La France musicale in 1851 and
then in book form in 1852, it was received with mixed feelings. Critics noted its
factual errors, verbosity, and bombastic prose. Chopin's family was offended
with Liszt's inaccurate statement that young Frederick's education was fmanced
ix