Franz Liszt's personality was complex: the wildest possible extremes of both behavior and philosophy were as natural as breathing to this man who lived as a flamboyant virtuoso, sired a number of illegitimate children, and yet took minor orders in the Catholic hierarchy. His intense devotion to the Christian faith was perhaps the cause (or more appropriately, the foil) for Liszt's preoccupation with the legend of Faust, and the character of Mephistopheles in particular (whom he seems to have revered). Perhaps this is because of his boyhood idol, the great virtuoso Nicolo Paganini, who was popularly rumored to be in league with the devil; however, motivations aside, "Mephisto" provided Liszt with a great deal of musical inspiration. In all, he composed four Mephisto Waltzes (the fourth of which was left incomplete), as well as a Mephisto Polka which is of less interest.

The third Mephisto Waltz (1883) is perhaps the best of the group, despite the fact that is played less frequently than the first two. It was originally conceived on the piano; indeed, no other instrument could provide the sheer percussive violence which seems to be so integral an element of the work. A composition with six sharps (probably just to make it seem more demonic!), this work opens with a five measure phrase which is surely the most extraordinary thing in tonal music up to that point: the tetrachord C sharp-E sharp-A sharp-D sharp is hammered out in fortissimo arpeggiated figures, only to immediately be stalled on a sustained D sharp, after which the real motion of the piece begins. Unlike the first Mephisto Waltz (which has a seductive, syncopated lyric middle section), the third Waltz provides the listener little respite from its unrelenting violence—here Liszt's demonic fury is at its most potent.

© All Music Guide

Portions of Content Provided by All Music Guide.
© 2008 All Media Guide, LLC. All Music Guide is a registered trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.