The many second and third versions of Liszt's piano works were often the result of a desire by the composer to provide an alternate way to hear the music, not an attempt to improve on the original. Such was the case with Schlaflos, Frage und Antwort (Sleeplessness—Question and Answer), the two versions of which Liszt composed at the same time, apparently satisfied that each presented a viable rendition of the source music. In this work, the main, or restless section (Sleeplessness), is much the same in each piece in its dark, anxious theme, though the conclusions in both somewhat differ. The first sounds more vehement in its repetitions, the second less threatening but quite blunt in its closing chord. While the second (Question and Answer) sections of each piece are also similar, they feature some quite noticeable differences: the first is a bit less consoling, seeming to end in doubt with sparse and skeletal writing; the second version, while barely having more flesh on its bones, imparts a sleepy, if somewhat creepy, sense to the conclusion. In the end, both versions work well and casual listeners will not notice significant differences in either. Typically, each has a duration of two minutes.

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