Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.4, S216b (Andsnes)

The 4th Mephisto Waltz is a very interesting piece. Like the 3rd, it possesses far weaker ties to Lenau’s work when compared with the first two (although the demonic temper remains) and is almost entirely dependent on intriguing structural and tonal features (in particular a long delayed tonic arrival) for the source of compelling drama. Typical-of-late-Liszt thin, almost stark textures are made use of, and of the four it is the most compressed and economically written (albeit it was left unfinished—we can be certain the final product would be longer had Liszt completed the sketches for a contrasting section).

0:00 – Introduction. The dominant scale degree C-sharp is prolonged through the initial 8 bars by repetition of the C-sharp minor scale. Unlike the earlier more programmatic waltzes, the distinctive introductory measures here do not mimic the tuning of a violin. Instead, the dance gets under way immediately, but with a footing far from assured; a metrical subterfuge is instantly established as nothing falls on the downbeats of the first 8 bars save for quaver rests, allowing for the meter to be perceived as 6/4.
0:07 – Thematic unit 1 (T1) and
0:15 – Thematic unit 2 (T2). The first statement of T1 sets in motion the tonal game which occupies much of this work: setting up expectations for the arrival of the tonic (F-sharp), thwarting them, then unexpectedly fulfilling them. From 0:07 to 0:42, there is a sequence in the RH involving three half-step rises from D to E-sharp—in parallel, the LH has a gradual chromatic rise from F-sharp to G-sharp, then a drop to the C-sharp of 0:43. This bass part, if viewed in isolation, is perfectly syntactic in F-sharp major, implying a I-ii progression passing through a chromatic passing-tone then proceeding to V, however the bass F-sharp is harmonized as the third of a D-major chord, the bass G as the third of an E-flat harmony, and the G-sharp as the middle member of an E triad, so really they are pedal tones which underpin the unstable harmonic content.
0:43 – Introductory motif, now outlining dominant 7th harmony in F-sharp major. Combined with the long chromatic climb already undertaken in the RH from C-sharp to E-sharp, the goal of F-sharp is strongly implied, but...
0:49 – Thematic unit 3 (T3) appears; the surprising D-natural here acts as a deceptive cadence and leaves no doubt that the tonic will not be heard at this point. Notice how the entire C-sharp to E-sharp chromatic rise originally heard from 0:00 to 0:42 is then echoed in miniature from the two C-sharps at 0:56, the only deviation being that the E-sharp is now spelled as an F-natural so as to fit with the B-flat harmony of these measures. Naturally, this F prolongs the leading tone E-sharp of F-sharp major.
1:04 – The entire 64-bar process (from 0:07 to 1:04) is repeated in a slightly modified form. Although the 4th Waltz possesses fewer evocative attributes than the 1st or 2nd, the extended trills of 1:16, 1:30 and the series of tremolos from 1:33 are clear Mephistophelean gestures. In the B-flat segment (1:47) however, the compressed renditions of the C-sharp to E-sharp ascent gain in intensity, then at 2:01 plunge unexpectedly into a root position F-sharp major chord, at last reaching the twice-delayed goal. It’s worth noting here that T3's prolonged B-flat of 0:49 and 1:47 was not random but actually part of a larger bass arpeggiation of the tonic triad C-sharp—A-sharp (B-flat!)—F-sharp.
2:01 – Now on the tonic chord, Liszt maintains an F-sharp pedal point for 24 bars; above this constant bass T1 appears again, followed by a modified T2 (T2a) which is underpinned by repeated triads starting on B-flat and descending chromatically to the tonic. T1 is then heard in the LH but F-sharp major is interrupted by a furious climb to E-flat with T2a, all prolonged for 16 bars.
2:41 – The final dominant pitch, C-sharp, is reached by way of a descent from E-flat through D, harmonized by a Neapolitan (G-major) harmony. At 2:53, the G-natural is raised to a G-sharp in order to better prepare and emphasize the final C-sharp, which bitterly concludes the work.

Видео Liszt - Mephisto Waltz No.4, S216b (Andsnes) канала Andrei Cristian Anghel