Aida Marc

Franz Liszt - the Dante Sonata: the Origin, the Form and the Significance of the Dante Sonata Aida Marc

The present document is a reflection upon Liszt'smost important piece, the Dante Sonata from the cycleAnnées de Pelèrinage. It represents the pinnacleachievement of the Italian Years and it is consideredone of the most difficult pieces to play from thestandard repertoire. The first chapter, A Foray through Liszt?s Années dePelèrinage, is a brief description of all piecescomprised in all volumes of the cycle. The second chapter, The Origin of the Dante Sonata,clarifies the circumstances of the compositionalinspiration and explains the controversy of the pieceas related to Victor Hugo's poem. The third chapter, The Form and its Significance,emphasizes the fantasy elementscontained in the sonata. The fourth chapter, A Selective Musical Analysis, isa detailed analysis of four major musical components:the triton motive, the thematic transformations ofthe themes, the rhythmical pattern and the harmonicstructure. The commentary in the Afterword defends mypersonal opinion that the piece possesses anon-programmatic character despite its allusive titleAprés une lecture du Dante.