Liebesträume


Liebesträume is a set of three solo piano works by Franz Liszt, published in 1850. Originally the three Liebesträume were conceived as lieder after poems by Ludwig Uhland and Ferdinand Freiligrath. In 1850, two versions appeared simultaneously as a set of songs for high voice and piano, and as transcriptions for piano two-hands.
The two poems by Uhland and the one by Freiligrath depict three different forms of love. Uhland's "Hohe Liebe" is saintly or religious love: the "martyr" renounces worldly love and "heaven has opened its gates". The second song "Seliger Tod" is often known by its first line, and evokes erotic love;. Freiligrath's poem for the famous third Notturno is about unconditional mature love.

Liebestraum No. 3

Liebestraum No. 3 in A-flat major is the last of the three that Liszt wrote and the most popular.
It can be considered as split into three sections, each divided by a fast cadenza requiring dexterous finger work and a very high degree of technical ability.
The same melody is used throughout the piece, each time varied, especially near the middle of the work, where the climax is reached. In that section, the melody is played by a series of octaves, followed by arpeggios. A sample of this melody from the opening bars, adapted from an engraving by Kistner, is as follows:
\header
tempoMark =
global =
\parallelMusic #'
right =
left =
\score