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Romantic · arrangement

Erlkönig: Liszt piano transcription S.558 No. 4 after Schubert

Franz Schubert · Level 10, estimated · With Maestro

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The short answer

A song travelled into print and into a pianist's hands. Erlkönig: Liszt piano transcription S.558 No. 4 after Schubert is a piece by Franz Schubert from the Romantic era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 10, an estimate.

On this page
  • arrangement
  • Romantic
  • Key of G minor
  • stormy

History

The Library of Congress catalogues Liszt's piano-solo Erlkönig with a Vienna Diabelli imprint dated approximately 1838. A different object, Schubert's third-version song autograph at the Morgan, bears an inscription recording its gift to Clara Wieck on 15 January 1838. These parallel survivals show distinct transmission routes; they do not prove that Liszt used that autograph.

Sources

What to listen for

  1. Repeated chords create a driving layer

    Driving repeated chords sit alongside lower movement. Hear the continuing foundation without inventing a dramatic character for each musical layer.

  2. A singing contrast emerges over eighths

    The tranquillo-marked region places a singing gesture above lower eighths. Compare its broader line with the earlier repeated chord texture.

  3. Upper movement meets held lower replies

    Renewed upper figures move against longer lower responses. Listen for their contrasting lengths within the increasingly active texture.

  4. Recitative interrupts the final drive

    Recitative wording and held punctuation lead into Andante words and final chords. Hear the texture change without assigning unsupported words from the original song.

How to practise it

Separate the repeated upper triplet pulse from the moving lower line.

  1. Repeated octave pulse
  2. Independent lower contour

How hard is it

Level 10, estimated

The Liszt piano transcription combines persistent rapid repeated-note textures with differentiated vocal characters, requiring exceptional endurance and voicing.

About this piece

Interpretive sketch of Franz Schubert, an illustration and not a verified likeness
An illustration, not a portrait
Licence
CC0
Source
musescore.com

More by Franz Schubert

  1. German Dance in A-flat major, D. 365 No. 1Level 3, estimatedWith Maestro
  2. Moments Musicaux No. 3 in F MinorLevel 5, estimatedWith Maestro
  3. Impromptu No. 4 in F minor, D. 935 (Op. 142)Level 9, estimatedWith Maestro

With Maestro

Play it, slow it down, hear where you land

Separate the repeated upper triplet pulse from the moving lower line.

Practise it in PlayPiano