Liszt's 'A Hundred Years Ago'

[Jonathan]

Very many thanks Mark for making this available - I'm abroad at the moment so missed the broadcast!

[TerraEpon]

Huh interesting, I'm actually more interested in S 114 which I don't have a recording of (if there are any).

[TerraEpon]

Ok so it turns out there are two versions of it for piano and I have both of them.....still a nice piece though.

[Christopher]

Am going to its performance this evening in Cadogan Hall.....

[Christopher]

Well, it just finished, now it's the interval. I really liked what must (presumably) have been the overture. But then I think they should have stopped there. Most of the rest of it is spoken - a pretty third-rate piece of interminable angsty German poetry (in translation) lamenting, on and on, poor "Germania". Most of the music throughout the remainder was not really Liszt's bar a few plucks for sound effect here and there - it was Beethoven's Ode to Joy and Gaudeamus Igitur (whoever wrote that...). Some of the words of the poem are quite uncomfortable from this end of history "Our Fatherland must be bigger!"... etc - ouch.

But yes, I will take the MP3 and cut out the overtire as a stand-alone piece and add that to my Liszt collection and enjoy it.

[Alan Howe]

Is it too soon to say that this was an example of over-hyping an unknown minor piece by a major composer and that instead more time should have been spent putting on the unknown masterpieces by forgotten composers of which the so-called experts are completely unaware?

[Mark Thomas]

No, it isn't too soon. Vor hundert Jahren is, as I mentioned above, an Occasion piece and we don't normally expect profundity from such works, but even setting the bar that low I must admit I've found it pretty thin gruel. As Christopher says, several of its short episodes borrow from other musical material, to reflect episodes in Schiller's life, but even then that material (like Gaudeamus Igitur etc) isn't developed with much imagination because Liszt doesn't have long to do so before he has to stop for another long stretch of interminable mono/dialogue. I can't say I enjoy the melodrama form much anyway, but I am a Liszt enthusiast and did want this to be something special. It really isn't. The text doesn't bother me, it's of its time certainly but just has to be taken in context. The "Overture" section of Vor hundert Jahren by the way lasts only just over a minute, I suspect what Christopher thought was the Overture is the separate work Kunsterlerfestzug, itself an Occasion piece, which immediately preceded the main work that followed without a break.

Continuing to answer Alan's question, what a shame that the time and effort put into this wasn't spent on reviving the original version of Der entfesselte Prometheus, another pièce d'occaision but a much more balanced mix of melodrama and choral music, preceded by a fine overture which Liszt later reworked as the familiar symphonic poem. Prometheus also has the added attraction of being a truly joint effort by Liszt and the young Raff.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Mark. It's just that I thought I heard the bottom of a barrel being scraped...

[Christopher]

several of its short episodes borrow from other musical material, to reflect episodes in Schiller's life,

I wouldn't even say borrow, rather copy-paste...!

[tpaloj]

I'm in agreement with your sentiments regarding the piece. Vor hundert Jahren will probably only ever appeal to true Liszt enthusiasts. Upon first hearing the selection of material might appear inconsequential, but I think some credit should be given to the fitting choice of pieces and there are some interesting details to be appreciated.


The music in the first section after the Overture ("The Appearance of Poesie") Liszt would later include in the "March of the Three Kings" of his Oratorio Christus.

The ending of the "Parzenlied" section closes with the familiar "cross" motive of Liszt's (often quoted in Via crucis, Christus etc).

In the first Tableaux, the tune we commonly associate as a student song (Gaudeamus igitur), appears because a song in Schiller's play "Robbers" was set and popularly sung to this melody. Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulHd38GCNhc.

The second Tableaux, "Wallenstein's Camp", is a trilogy of plays by Schiller. Liszt arranges a popular tune "Wohlauf Kameraden", to which a song in Schiller's play was commonly sung to. Here is an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MciCKJDF-l0.

In the Third, Swiss-associated Tableaux there is no song in Schiller's Wilhelm Tell from which to draw (or copy-paste  ) material from, but instead we can hear the fitting Le mal du pays from Liszt's Swiss years of pilgrimage.


All in all, Liszt chose not (or was not allowed) to take too many liberties in this work. His librettist Halm had clearly indicated sections in the text where music were to be inserted, and Liszt followed this instruction almost to the letter. Liszt's autograph seems somewhat hurriedly composed. That whole part with Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" blazing as Schiller's statue is revealed, is not even in the autograph! Liszt probably just told his copyist to look up the Beethoven score and copy-paste something in that section.


EDIT: Also my great thanks to Mark for creating the download and your kind words about the score.

[Mark Thomas]

That's really illuminating, tpaloj, thanks again. I for one did appreciate that the borrowings weren't random but, as you say, the score has all the hallmarks of being put together in haste. Still, as a completist I'm pleased to have the recording, although I doubt that I'll listen to it very often.