Hi, I am starting work on the Liszt consolation for grade 8 exam and wondered if anyone out there could help with a couple of queries. I am using the Peters edition, grade 8 anthology version and am not sure what to do regards pedalling for bars 3, 4 and 5. The pedal Dflat is tied for the whole three bars, yet if I change it to suit the chord changes in the right hand triplet quavers I will lose the Dflat. Anyone know what to do here? The same applies in bar 20/21 and 28.
Also, any advice on playing (fitting in accurately) the semis in the RH of bars 22 and 26 would be greatly appreciated, and the RH fingering in the 2nd two beats of bar 30.
THanks in anticipation.

Flip the pedal up and down quickly (experiment to find out exactly how quickly). It clears the notes in the treble, but the Db continues to sound.

Thanks. I will give it a try first thing tomorrow. Hope i can flip it fast enough!

I have an old Hungarian edition of this piece which states that the tied Dflats are actually played and they are indicated merely as a caution against playing them too loudly ie... keep them as soft as possible. This is the way i've always played it.

Hi gards,

I performed this in concert last summer, and, like Chopinzee, I also re-struck the low Db's, but very gently, while also flipping the pedal, as MT suggested (belt and braces approach...! )

Good luck.

denmark

I've played and performed this, and hopefully I can help. The edition I've got is from ABRSM, edited by a Ferguson.

But in all the bars you've mentioned, it's pedal for the whole bar then just half pedal quickly on the next, (as Mad Tom has said), should clear the remaining treble but keep the bass going.

And I tended to play the D flats firmly and with enough sound to carry over the bars, like a mp/mf but lightly accented. This is all about personal interpretation though, some people prefer quiet Dflats whereas some don't etc

For rhythm in bars 22 etc, just do slow practice between the hands, and keep in mind that the Aflat in the right hand matches at the same time with the Aflat in the left.

Fingering in bar 30 for me went (2,1), (3,1), (4,2), (5,3)

Hope that helps!

That certainly does help - as do the earlier contributions - many thanks ArchedEdge. I will work on the fingering you suggest. I am not having much joy with the quick/half pedal so far (I seem to lose the pedal note Dflat completely when I flip the pedal on MOST occasions!) but I will persevere!

Yeah, that's why the Dflat would need to be played a bit more heavily and louder than you might think. You'll need to mess around with the pedals on your piano to make sure you get the hang of it, try just doing a simple low note with high notes, then half-pedal (and literally take it up only halfway before putting it back down).

Good luck!