Tarantella from Venezia e Napoli

Venezia e Napoli is a set of three short pieces written as a supplement to Franz Liszt’s second book of his famous Années de pèlerinage (Years of Pilgrimage). All three are concert paraphrases of popular tunes from Venice or Naples. The Tarantella is the dazzling final movement, a fine example of the kind of virtuosic showpiece that drew enthusiastic crowds to his recitals and caused audience members to literally swoon in the face of such unfathomable talent.

Based on “Fenesta vascia,” a popular Neapolitan song by Guillaume Louis Cottrau, the piece begins with a dizzyingly fast and energetic tarantella, a southern Italian couples’ dance in 6/8 time that derives its name from the ancient belief that frantic dancing could help one sweat out a tarantula’s venom. (Dancing to Liszt’s interpretation of the tarantella would most certainly do the trick!) After an initial, relatively unadorned statement of the melody, Liszt takes us through a series of increasingly virtuosic variations, each seemingly more breathtaking than the last before one final, breathtaking flourish provides a rousing conclusion to the work.

— Michael Strasser