“Even though one might presume that pianists would employ the pedal correctly,
nevertheless, because of so many aurally offensive experiences, I have returned to the
practice of indicating pedal markings with utmost care.” ’ (Winklhofer, pagers 74, 75)
Sustaining pedal
The autograph manuscript of the Liszt Sonata contains no indications for the use of the
sustaining pedal. The original edition contains pedal indications for the Grandioso theme
(bars 105-110) which state the obvious. It also contains pedal indications for bars 555-
568 of the Più mosso designed for the descending motif and its accompanying chords to
have a full pedal sonority. One assumes these were approved by Liszt. Otherwise, there
is no guidance as to when rests and staccatos are physiological or acoustic.
As an example, bars 29 7-300 and 3 02-305 have staccato marks on the chords. Ernest
Schelling (on piano roll) and Claudio Arrau (on disc) treated these literally, as did Alfred
Brendel when he performed the Sonata in the Sydney Town Hall, although on his disc
Brendel pedalled through the staccatos as did Eugen d’Albert (on piano roll). Sauer’s
Peters edition inserted editorially ‘Col Ped’.
The question of whether the final note of the Sonata, the quaver ‘B’ in bar 760, should be
cut off as a quaver literally or sustained by the pedal for some period of time is
controversial. Many pianists take the first approach which suggests a single drumbeat
and hence a cynical, mocking conclusion to the Sonata. The second complements a more
fulfilled ecstatic conclusion. The piano roll performance by Ernest Schelling does the
latter, as well as similarly sustaining the dominant seventh harmony just before the final
Andante sostenuto. This treatment is indicated by Joseffy in the Schirmer edition but is
contra-indicated by Sauer in the Peters edition. As the last note is not recorded on
d’Albert’s roll we have no way of knowing what d’Albert’s practice was, but we do know
from his roll that he did not sustain the dominant seventh harmony. Hamilton reports
(page 63) that as a student he ‘once heard Jorge Bolet [1914-1990], an eminent
interpreter of the Sonata, give a masterclass in which he berated an unfortunate victim for
clipping the last note too sharply. He was convinced that it could only be played with a
fairly long pedal.’
There is another reference to prolonging a chord through the rests by means of the pedal
in a soft, slow passage. It concerns Liebestraum no. 3, in Chapter 2 of ‘Aspects of the
Liszt Tradition’ by Tilly Fleischmann, edited by Michael O’Neill (Adare Press, Magazine
Road, Cork, 1986). That book deals with the Liszt tradition, through his pupils Bernhard
Stavenhagen and Berthold Kellermann, as expounded by their pupil Tilly Fleischmann.
‘In bars 8, 7, 6, 5, from the end, a strict observance of the rests would cause undue
suspense, whereas with a slight curtailment, the continuity is more successfully
maintained.’ In the final bar of the Sonata, of course, the continuity is towards finality
and nothingness. The whole effect is enhanced in a live performance if the pianist
remains motionless and does not breathe for several seconds after the pedals have been
lifted.