Overview
Introduction
Richard Wagner, a good friend of Liszt's, died on February 13, 1883, in Venice. The great composer's death deeply affected Liszt, and in that year he composed two pieces in Wagner's memory, Am Grabe Richard Wagners (At the Grave of Richard Wagner) and R. W.-Venezia (R. W.-Venice). Most likely, R. W.-Venezia was the first composed of the two; the piece was first published in the multi-volume F. Liszt: Musikalische Werke, printed in Leipzig between 1907 and 1936.
Liszt begins R. W.-Venezia with a lugubrious bass line that outlines an augmented triad; the resultant lack of tonal direction pervades the piece. Chords begin to rise over this recurring bass pattern; these, too, come to rest on augmented triads. A slow crescendo builds to a fanfare, with repeated chords, that appears on three different harmonies. The consecutive appearances of these three harmonies -- B flat major, D flat major and E major -- outlines a diminished triad and may be Liszt's reference to Wagner's harmonic style. After this outburst, a falling line outlines the same augmented triad that opens the piece; however, now Liszt includes a B flat that slides chromatically down to A natural, mingling anguish with the unsettling lack of direction.
Unlike most of Liszt's works with foreboding, pensive beginnings, R. W.-Venezia does not proceed toward triumph, and makes no attempt to do so. Its ends without a sense of closure -- the music simply stops, on a C sharp played pp, and we are left to ponder where we have been.
