Liszt: Six Consolations, S. 172
6 consolations, free to read, hear and print, in the composer's own order.
Open the sheet music libraryLiszt wrote his six Consolations around 1850 and published them in their final form that year. They show a side of him far from the virtuoso showpieces: short, quiet, inward pieces, named after a book of poems by Sainte-Beuve.
They are in order here. No. 3 in D-flat major is the famous one; all six are within reach of a good intermediate player, and every one plays back so you can hear it before you start.
About the pieces
Consolation No. 1 in E major, S. 172
The first of Liszt's six Consolations is a short, quiet chorale in E major: soft chords that rise into a simple melody. The whole set shows a gentle, inward Liszt, far from his showpieces.
Consolation No. 2 in E major, S. 172
Consolation No. 2 is a flowing song in E major over broken chords, with a turn to G major and a more passionate middle section before the melody returns, calmer than before.
Consolation No. 3 in D Flat Major S 172
The best known of the six Consolations, and about as far from the showman as Liszt gets: a quiet nocturne with an accompaniment that never rises above a murmur.
Consolation No. 4 in D-flat major
Six quiet pieces from the opposite end of Liszt's temperament to the showpieces, written around the time he gave up touring to concentrate on composing.
Consolation No. 5 in E major, S. 172
Consolation No. 5 is a gentle Andantino in 3/4 with a dotted, singing melody over a moving accompaniment, a brief turn to G major, and a close where the melody sinks into the bass.
Consolation No. 6 in E major, S. 172
The last of Liszt's six Consolations starts as a calm hymn in E major and builds to a grand climax of rolled chords across the whole keyboard before fading to a quiet close.