Grosses Konzertsolo, Sonate, B-A-C-H (I/5)

Liszt wrote the Grosses Konzertsolo in 1849-50 for a piano competition at the Paris Conservatoire, and dedicated it to Adolf Henselt. In this work Liszt was experimenting with new means of expression. According to his memoirs, the work was so difficult that even Henselt could not manage it, and the premiere was given by Tausig. The dedication of the Sonata (Liszt's only extant work with this title and form) is to Schumann, who had, long beforehand, dedicated his C major Fantasy to Liszt.

The Sonata forms a pair to the Faust symphony, and thematic similarities can be detected between the two works. The B-A-C-H Fantasy and Fugue was originally written for organ. The work was intended to be played at the inauguration of the new organ in the Merseburg Cathedral, but Liszt did not complete it in time, so the premiere did not take place until half a year later. Liszt also transcribed the work for piano, then later revised both the piano and the organ versions. The main part of the volume contains the second version for piano, and in the appendix can be found the first version for piano.

As customary, there are two versions of the publication: a blue clothbound edition and a grey softcover edition. The preface, which gives the most important information on the contents and technical details, is identical in both versions, but only the former includes an English description of the sources and a critical commentary. Both versions include facsimiles of pages from Liszt's original autograph manuscript.

Works marked by an asterisk in the Contents are published here for the first time in print.