Liszt: Héroïde funèbre
In 1830, inspired by the unrest in Paris, Liszt planned a multi-movement Revolutionary Symphony, of which he completed only a first draft. In 1849, as the revolution against the Austrian Empire flared up in Hungary (a revolution that failed and was smothered in blood), Liszt revisited his now 20-year-old sketch of the Revolutionary Symphony and formed the first movement into the commemorative Héroïde funèbre.
[Hungarian Revolution]
The work is an immense funeral march, drenched in the tears and blood of war in general, a hymn to the memory of the dead of all countries, but also with a Hungarian flavor to lament the defeat in the Hungarian War of Independence. Percussion and military instruments have the most important place; a trumpet briefly suggests La Marseillaise. The march is repeated throughout the symphonic poem, each time increasing in intensity until Héroïde funèbre reaches its climax. However, the work ends in a quiet final section marked by deep sadness, symbolizing the negation of the cult of the hero and the glorification of war.
In 1851, Liszt commissioned Joachim Raff to orchestrate the work. However, Raff was only involved in the early Weimar version of the work, and the final version, composed between 1854 and 1856, was the work of Liszt alone, who by then had mastered orchestral instrumentation. The premiere took place in Breslau on November 10, 1857.
Symphonic Poems