Franz Liszt - 2 Polonaises,

Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s 2 Polonaises are a pair of virtuosic piano pieces written between 1850 and 1851. They make some light and superficial references to Chopin’s style, but vastly retain Liszt’s own musical language. As concert pieces, the Polonaises have shed much of their dance origins and have taken on a life of their own in favor of large and elaborate flourishes in addition to near-meterless cadenzas. The first Polonaise, given the subtitle “Mélancolique” by Liszt, is rather neglected compared to the more popular second Polonaise. The listener is immediately greeted by an unfamiliar B dominant 7th, which surprisingly resolves well into the intended C Minor key, as testament to Liszt’s harmonic inventiveness. Here in the theme and in its incarnations, Chopin’s lyricism and melodic influences feature most prominently. With each appearance of the main theme, the notes are altered and decorated with more and more ornaments and embellishments. With this in mind, one later occurre