The Pädagogium says this about the Lento assai (bar 754):
‘The C in the bass should be held on with the pedal until the entry of the B major chord in
the treble, that is, through the treble chords of A minor and F major.’
Teresa Carreño (1853-1917) performed in London in the Summer of 1866 where she met
Anton Rubinstein. ‘His sincere admiration for her playing initiated a warm and enduring
friendship between the two artists. In time, however, their meetings became rare,
although she had occasional lessons from him. When she gave concerts in Russia in
1891, they met once again, apparently for the last time.’ Source: Page xiii of the
introduction by Brian Mann ‘The Walkure of the piano’ to ‘Possibilities of Tone Color by
Artistic Use of Pedals’ by Teresa Carreño contained in ‘The Art of Pedaling: Two
Classic Guides: Anton Rubinstein and Teresa Carreño’, Dover, 2003.
Carreño’s contact with the Anton Rubinstein school of playing, and through that
indirectly with the Liszt school, may render the following comments relevant to the
performance of Liszt’s piano works in general and his Sonata in particular. Liszt greatly
admired Anton Rubinstein’s performances of Liszt’s piano works.
Teresa Carreño wrote:
‘From the above example [the repetition of the opening cadenza in the first movement of
Beethoven’s Piano Concerto in E flat major opus 73 (“Emperor”)] it is clearly shown that
in passages of such character during which the greatest amount of sonority is the chief
requirement toward the accomplishment of the tonal effect, the interruption of the sound
would miscarry the intentions that one feels that Beethoven must have had. The rests
therefore must not be considered or treated in their true significance in a passage of this
nature and the pedal must continue through them and in spite of them.
Another example in which rests should be treated as the above imply is to be found in the
three last measures of Liszt’s “Don Juan” Reminiscences (generally called the “Don
Juan” Fantasie). [Actually the last four bars are quoted. The third and fourth last bars
contain quaver chords separated by quaver rests and the second last bar contains crotchet
chords separated by crotchet rests.]
Similar musical phrases to the above example present themselves continually in our piano
literature and it is absolutely clear to the pianist that, were he to interpret the sound by
lifting the pedal as well as the hands (as the written rests would indicate) the climax of
tone effect would be lost entirely, and the closing of his performance would be
meaningless and the effect of it completely marred.
In all phrases of the same character, as the given examples show, the treatment of the
pedal is invariably the same as heretofore explained.’