LISZT'S VENEZIA E NAPOLI : A HISTORICAL STUDY AND MUSICAL ANALYSIS
Venezia e Napoli is a set of pieces published in 1861 as a supplement to the Italian volume of the Années de Pèlerinage , a monumental work of Romantic piano composition that embraces some of the finest and most rewarding pieces of Liszt's piano writing. Inspired by his first visit to Italy 1837-39, Liszt composed Venezia e Napoli around 1840. A revised version appeared in 1859. Virtually all pieces are based on Italian music. The work as a whole is little known, with the exception of Tarantella . The purpose of this study is to explore the significance of the work by revealing Liszt's originality and characteristics through the lens of history and detailed musical analysis. Chapter I addresses the Italian influence on Liszt, focusing on the inspiration drawn from his first Italian experience. Chapter II provides an overview of Années de Pèlerinage , with special emphasis on its extra-musical influence and innovative compositional traits. Chapter III is a historical study of Venezia e Napoli , including its genesis, the history of its composition and publication, and origins of the pieces. Chapter IV presents a detailed analysis of both versions as individual pieces and coherent sets, concentrating on formal structure, thematic transformation, harmonic design, and comparison of the two versions. The more-than-twenty-years span of composing and rewriting Venezia e Napoli witnessed the evolution of Liszt's pianistic writing from his early virtuosic style to a more effective yet still brilliant style of the Weimar years. Chapter V focuses on Liszt's pianistic devices applied in the work, followed by a conclusion. Appendices contain a list of Liszt's piano solo compositions based on Italian music, and a list of quotations and/or art works used as the basis for some of the pieces in Années de Pèlerinage .
School:University of Cincinnati
School Location:USA - Ohio
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:liszt venezia e napoli annee de pelerinage
Date of Publication:01/01/2001