Exposition

Man's struggle for salvation: A programmatic interpretation of Franz Liszt's B minor Sonata (2023)

Leone Monaco
open exposition

About this exposition

Research question: “What can be learned about the programmatic relationship between Franz Liszt’s B Minor Piano Sonata and its programs?” My research started as an investigation of the traditional programmatic relationship between Franz Liszt B minor Piano Sonata and Goethe’s Faust, but it had an unexpected outcome: Liszt B minor Sonata can be programmatically connected to multiple programs at the same time. Through the study of symbols behind themes and harmonies used by the composer, connections with other compositions, and the composer’s notes and letters, my research explains why and how the Sonata is programmatically inspired by Goethe’s Faust, Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Bible not only in its structure, but also from a philosophical and spiritual point of view. I propose to look at the Sonata in a different way, considering a more general and Christian “leading thought” which connects all its possible programs and permeates the whole work: Liszt’s Sonata tells the story of every man and his lifetime struggle against temptations and damnation to reach salvation. At the end, I give practical suggestions on the interpretation of specific passages of the Sonata based on the considered symbolic connections with its programs and composer’s notes. The chosen format of presentation is the exposition, because it gives me the possibility not only to include explanatory pictures and score excerpts, but also to use my own recordings to explain better the symbolism of themes or harmonies in certain passages and to show the practical and interpretive outcomes of my research.
typeresearch exposition
keywordsclassical music, Art of Interpretation, leading thought, piano, program music, romanticism, Religion, symbolism, Franz Liszt, John Milton, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Faust, poetry, 19th century
date16/11/2022
published16/05/2023
last modified16/05/2023
statuspublished
share statusprivate
copyrightLeone Monaco
licenseCC BY-NC-ND
languageEnglish
urlhttps://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/1816062/1816063
doihttps://doi.org/10.22501/koncon.1816062
published inKC Research Portal
portal issue1. Master Research Projects


Copyrights

nameJoseph Fay, Faust und Mephisto im Kerker, 1848
copyrightJoseph Fay
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
namePortrait of Ferenc Liszt
copyrightWilhelm von Kaulbach
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
namePortrait de Félicité Robert de Lamennais (1782-1854)
copyrightL. D. Lancome
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameDe_Lamennais_-_Paroles_d'un_croyant,_1838.djvu
copyrightFélicité de Lamennais
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameDie Hunnenschlacht
copyrightWilhelm von Kaulbach
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB bars 1-7
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB bars 8-17
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameCrux fidelis notazione quadrata_page-0001
copyrightSchola Gregoriana Mediolanensis
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB Grandioso bars 105-109
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt Sonata in B minor Faith theme
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB Recitativo bars 301-306
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB Presto bars 700-703
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt Consolation 4 theme
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameFaust and Mephistopheles
copyrightEugène Delacroix
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameFaust and Marguerite in the garden
copyrightEugene Von Blaas
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameMarguerite at the Church
copyrightEugène Delacroix
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameGretchen is saved
copyrightWilhelm Hensel
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameWitches Sabbath
copyrightFrancisco de Goya
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameBachmann Chorus Mysticus
copyrightOtto Bachmann
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB prima pagina_page-0001
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt Faust Symphony-7 - Esempio tema Faust_page-0001
copyrightBreitkopf und Haertel
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt Faust Symphony Inizio Mephisto_page-0001
copyrightBreitkopf und Haertel
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt B minor Sonata EMB bars 13-17
copyrightEditio Musica Budapest
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameLiszt Sonata Manoscritto Intro, good one
copyrightHenle Verlag
licensePublic domain
usagespdf
nameWilliam Blake - The Temptation and Fall of Eve
copyrightWilliam Blake
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameGustave Dore The fall of Lucifer
copyrightGustave Doré
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameGustave Dore Satan descends upon Earth
copyrightGustave Doré
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameWilliam Blake Christ and God
copyrightWilliam Blake
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameGustave Dore God with His Son
copyrightGustave Doré
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameGiotto Crucifixion
copyrightGiotto
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameMichelangelo Giudizio Universale
copyrightMichelangelo Buonarroti
licensePublic domain
usagespicture
nameInizio Sonata
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio
nameInizio Sonata Erard
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio
nameGrandioso
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio
nameCrocifissione
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio
nameFinale Sonata 3
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio
nameFine Sonata Erard 2 buona
copyrightLeone Monaco
licensePublic domain
usagesaudio

comments: 1 (last entry by Bart van Oort - 20/02/2023 at 21:22)
Bart van Oort 20/02/2023 at 21:22

Approved on February 20, 2023

Bart van Oort, supervisor

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