Individual Character Pieces I

Volume I/11-12 of the New Liszt Edition contains character pieces. The period in which the pieces in volume 11 were written spans some forty years, and includes works both sacred and profane in inspiration, as the titles indicate. They are most varied in mood and subject. The Allegro di bravura was written when Liszt was only 14 years old, and he dedicated the work to Count Tádé Amadé (1783-1845, was also a composer and pianist). Liszt wrote Les morts to the memory of his deceased son, Daniel. The basis for the Berceuse is a sketch that the composer wrote in an album compiled for the wedding of Elisabeth (Sisi), Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. One interesting feature of this volume is that La Notte was published here in print for the first time (1979). As far as possible, the pieces are given in chronological order. As customary, there are two versions of the publication: a blue clothbound edition and a grey softcover edition. The preface, which gives the most important information on the contents and technical details, is identical in both versions, but only the former includes an English description of the sources and a critical commentary. Both versions include facsimiles of pages from Liszt's original autograph manuscript.Works marked by an asterisk in the Contents are published here for the first time in print.