against some beautifully placed arabesque figures in the upper
register of the instrument—the whole to be played una corda,
dolce con grazia. It really is a poetic picture, in terms of music,
of the delicious murmur of the woods. In the 15th measure the
theme is transferred to the right hand, in octaves, over sonorous,
widely extended groups below. The theme is expanded through
a series of striking modulations and then returns, in measure
30, to the left hand in a single melodic line. This middle por-
tion, measures 30-50, is very beautiful in its genuine atmospheric
treatment. Towards its close, however, Liszt’s fondness for sen-
sational effect rather runs away with him and there is a good
deal, in measures 50-60 (marked martellato, strepitoso andfff),
which is rather difficult to reconcile with the poetic subject.
Perhaps a mighty wind is roaring through the trees! In mea-
sure 61 the theme is once more presented in amplified form by
the right hand, più mosso and molto appassionata, and worked
up to a brilliant climax—ending with an interlocking trill and a
long, descending passage of delightful sensuous effect. The clos-
ing measures, una corda and dolcissimo, afford a reminiscence
of the haunting appeal of the chief melody. All in all, in spite
of a certain admixture of alloy, here is a poetic composition, a
real tone-picture of the woods and of the effects implied by the
title. Certainly a piece which, in its picturesque suggestiveness
and pianistic treatment, may fairly be called the ancestor of
much that is beautiful in such modern composers as Debussy
and Ravel.
As a final estimate of Liszt and as a suggestion for the student’s
attitude we cite from Niecks the following quotation, since, in
our opinion, it is true and forcibly expressed:
“Liszt’s works are too full of originality and striking expressive-
ness to deserve permanently the neglect that has been their lot.
Be, however, the ultimate fate of these works what it may, there
will always remain to Liszt the fame of a daring striver, a fruitful
originator and a wide-ranging quickener.”