The Mephisto Polka (S. 217) is a piece of

program music Program music or programatic music is a type of instrumental art music that attempts to musically render an extramusical narrative. The narrative itself might be offered to the audience through the piece's title, or in the form of program notes ...

written in folk-dance style for solo piano by Franz Liszt in 1882–83. The work's program is the same as that of the same composer's four ''

Mephisto Waltzes The ''Mephisto Waltzes'' (german: Mephisto-Walzer, link=no) are four waltzes composed by Franz Liszt from 1859 to 1862, from 1880 to 1881, and in 1883 and 1885. Nos. 1 and 2 were composed for orchestra, and later arranged for piano, piano duet an ...

'', written respectively in 1859–60, 1880–81, 1882 and 1885 and based on the legend of ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

'', not by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

but by

Nikolaus Lenau Nikolaus Lenau was the pen name of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau (13 August 1802 – 22 August 1850), a German-language Austrian poet. Biography He was born at Csatád (Schadat), Kingdom of Hungary, now Lenauheim, Banat, then p ...

(1802–50). The following program note, which Liszt took from Lenau, appears in the printed score of the Mephisto Waltz No. 1:

There is a wedding feast in progress in the village inn, with music, dancing, carousing.
Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...
and Faust pass by, and Mephistopheles induces Faust to enter and take part in the festivities. Mephistopheles snatches the fiddle from the hands of a lethargic fiddler and draws from it indescribably seductive and intoxicating strains. The amorous Faust whirls about with a full-blooded village beauty in a wild dance; they waltz in mad abandon out of the room, into the open, away into the woods. The sounds of the fiddle grow softer and softer, and the nightingale warbles his love-laden song.

The first recording of this piece was by France Clidat in her traversal of Liszt's works for Decca.

Dedication

The Mephisto Polka was dedicated to Lina Schmalhausen, one of Liszt's "inner-circle" piano students. However, she is remembered more as one among the closest and most ardently devoted of Liszt's followers, frequently attending to and assisting in the many needs of the aged master whose health was in rapid decline.

Form

This work appears the simplest and technically least challenging of all the Mephisto dances; except for the

Bagatelle sans tonalité ''Bagatelle sans tonalité'' ("Bagatelle without tonality", S.216a) is a piece for solo piano written by Franz Liszt in 1885. The manuscript bears the title "Fourth Mephisto Waltz" and may have been intended to replace the piece now known as the ...

, it is also the shortest. Tonally, it is also mildest and can appear to be a fully tonal composition, with chromaticism limited to neighboring-tone and chordal sonority varieties. These passages are usually realized on the left hand in chordal or arpeggiated figures. However, the simplicity in notation disguises the true character of the music. There is no functional harmony to clearly create the relational behavior of tonic, dominant, and subdominant harmonic functions. If anything, the general impression of the music is modal, with the piece constantly in flux. Any suggested tonality is quickly undermined by the following sonority, which may in turn vaguely (and now even more weakly) suggest another tonal focus. The most haunting touch is at the end, when the piece simply stops without explanation. with a solitary F natural above middle C sounding, then dying out.Howard, Dances'', 4-5.

References

Bibliography

* ed. Ewen, David, ''The Complete Book of Classical Music'' (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965).

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Catalog Card Number 65-11033 * ed. Hamilton, Kenneth, '' The Cambridge Companion to Liszt'' (Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005). (paperback). **Baker, James M., "A survey of the late piano works" **Hamilton, Kenneth, "Early and Weimar piano works" * Howard, Leslie, Notes for Hyperion CDA66201, ''Liszt Waltzes'', Leslie Howard, piano. * Howard, Leslie, Notes for Hyperion CDA68011/2, ''Liszt Dances and Marches'', Leslie Howard, piano. * Walker, Alan, ''Liszt: The Final Years, 1861-1886'' (Cornell University Press, 1997). * Searle, Humphrey, ed. Stankey Sadie, "Liszt, Franz," ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', 20 vols. (London: MacMillan, 1980). .
Searle, Humphrey, "Liszt's Final Period," ''Oxford Journals'' 1 April 1952.
{{Franz Liszt Compositions by Franz Liszt Music based on the Faust legend The Devil in classical music Compositions for solo piano 1883 compositions Polkas

Dedication

Form

See also

References

Bibliography