No. 3

The technical difficulties of this No. 3 are not particularly challenging. Rather, it is a piece that invites discussion regarding its musical interpretation. It is unclear why Liszt marked “Allegro” in the tempo indication, but for the atmosphere and sense of tempo of the piece, listening to the 3rd edition would be advisable. It is rather a piece that flows leisurely and unhurriedly. The metronome marking is 80 for a half note, which would result in a quite fast tempo. Perhaps Liszt initially intended to increase the difficulty as an etude. Ultimately, the tempo is left to the performer, but when the author performed it, the tempo was approximately 80 for a quarter note, which is half the prescribed tempo.

Looking at measures 48-51, it is clear that the orchestration is influenced by Beethoven and Czerny, but if played at half note = 80, it would undoubtedly become a rather chaotic piece. Since the only difference between a half note and a quarter note is whether it is black or white, one can only hope that this is a printing or notation error. Learners should decide the tempo in consultation with their teacher.

The Key to This Piece: The Treatment of “Three Notes”

By looking at the score, one can easily distinguish between the melody and other notes. Let’s look at measure 1. The notes on the off-beat of beat 1 (right: A, left: F) and the off-beat of beat 3 (right: F, left: F) are part of a chord, serving as accompaniment or bass notes. Therefore, it is natural to consider the melody line in measure 1 as AGF FED. It is safe to assume that the strength of these three notes diminishes as they progress to the right (G is weaker than A, and F is weaker than G).

Another Perspective

Please look at measures 56-57. In this case, the melody line is in the upper voice of the right hand. This is also a possible interpretation. However, the author prefers the former. This is due to the existence of the 3rd edition. Reading the 3rd edition reveals that the three notes, while somewhat accompanying, have another melody line above them and are clearly present.

Descending “Three Notes” and Their Succession

And when these three notes descend, at least one more set of three notes always follows (e.g., melody in measures 1-2). In measures 1-2, there are four sets of “three notes,” and these also diminish as they progress to the right. In other words, the three notes themselves diminish as they move to the right (AGF), but while maintaining that order, each of the four groups is made to diminish one by one.

Ascending “Three Notes”

These descending “three notes” sometimes ascend. Please look at measure 20. In this case, the three notes ascend, reaching F-sharp on the third beat of measure 22, but when the notes are ascending, they do not diminish; instead, a crescendo is applied. To be more precise, although the first set of three notes (ABC) in measure 20 is smaller than the next set of three notes (BCD), harmonically it becomes a resolution note, resolving to the tonic of B-flat major, so do not forget that there is also the idea that BCD is weaker.

Applying This Principle to Interpretation

Keeping this rule in mind makes the interpretation very clear. For example, in measures 18-19, there are two forte markings, and when wondering which forte is stronger, it can be seen that the first forte has the three notes attempting to descend at their highest position. Therefore, it is clear that the first forte is stronger. Of course, these examples are merely one perspective, and exceptions may arise depending on the nature of the chords.

It goes without saying that accompaniment notes should be soft, and the melody line almost always maintains a 10th interval relationship with the voice below it. Naturally, the lower voice should be played softly.