Elegy No. 2, S. 131 Cover Image

Elegy No. 2, S. 131: Cello, Solo with Piano, Solo and Piano

$6.99 USD
$6.99 USD
Skip to product information
Elegy No. 2, S. 131 Cover Image
Elegy No. 2, S. 131: Cello, Solo with Piano, Solo and Piano

Elegy No. 2, S. 131: Cello, Solo with Piano, Solo and Piano

By Franz Liszt

Item: 36-M111291VC
$6.99
Shipped

One moment…

Description
Franz Liszt's (1811-1886) ELEGY No. 2 (ZWEITE ELEGIE; SECOND ELEGIE), S. 197 was written originally for piano in 1877. The following year, the composer arranged the work first for cello and piano as S. 131, then violin and piano as S. 131bis. Both the cello and violin versions are available separately from the publisher.

Elegy No. 2, S. 131: Cello, Solo with Piano, Solo and Piano isn't in MakeMusic Cloud just yet...but it could be. Let us know you'd like to see it, and you'll help shape what comes next. In the meantime, start a free trial and dive into thousands of interactive titles your students can play along with today.

Request This Title

Tell us you want it.

Start Your Free Trial

Explore everything that's ready to play right now.
Sample Pages

No sample pages found.
Sample Audio
No sample audio found.
Sample Video
No sample videos found.
Additional Details
Series: Master String Series - LudwigMasters
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
ISBN10: 8-895635-30-2
ISBN13: 979-8-895635-30-8
UPC: 612735893644
SKU: 36-M111291VC
Instrumentation: Cello and Piano

More about this title

About the Composer: Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt (1811, 1886) transformed the piano from a drawing-room instrument into a vehicle for orchestral color and virtuosic expression. His technical innovations and harmonic boldness influenced generations of composers, yet his later works reveal a more introspective side, one preoccupied with spiritual questions and emotional restraint. The Elegies represent this mature phase of his creativity, written when he had stepped back from the concert stage to reflect on loss, faith, and the passage of time.

Listzt's gift for transcription was as significant as his original compositions. He arranged his own works across multiple instruments not as an afterthought but as a compositional act, rethinking orchestration and texture for each medium. The Cello Elegy No. 2 is a prime example: what reads as a whispered confession at the piano becomes something more corporeal and human when sung through the voice of the cello.

Why we love this

This arrangement captures Liszt's late-period introspection in a work that sits perfectly between lyrical accessibility and genuine harmonic sophistication. The piano part provides warm, impressionistic color without overwhelming the soloist, making it an ideal encore or recital piece for cellists seeking something beyond the standard Romantic repertoire.

What to expect

Haunted and intimate. The cello enters a gray, contemplative soundscape where the piano's chords feel like memories surfacing. There's profound beauty here, but it emerges slowly and without sentimentality.

Who it's for

Cello students and teachers seeking serious solo repertoire that develops musical maturity without requiring the technical fireworks of a Piazzolla or Popper showpiece. This work rewards musicians ready to explore Romantic-era harmony and emotional subtlety.

How to get the most out of it

  • Honor the piece's funeral origins by resisting the urge to romanticize; restraint in vibrato and phrase shape will let Liszt's harmony speak for itself.
  • Balance the cello's line with the piano's ambient textures rather than accompanying; the two voices should feel like separate but equal conversations.
  • Shape the melodic arc across entire phrases instead of moment-to-moment, particularly where Liszt repeats harmonic material at different registers.

How to use it

Position this as a deeply felt recital closer, especially paired with other late-Romantic works that embrace simplicity and harmonic color. It also works as a concert encore that lingers with audiences, a reflective bridge between the virtuosity of a main program and the journey home.

Skills your students will build

  • Singing through sparse textures where fewer notes demand greater musical intention
  • Harmonic awareness in Liszt's late tonal language, including chromatic voice-leading and unresolved sonorities
  • Collaborative listening with a pianist, responding to chamber-music textures rather than pure accompaniment
  • Sustaining emotional focus across an extended single-movement form without narrative or cadential milestones

You May Also Like