Soloist 4/41

The piece is based on a theme from the last movement of the 2nd Violin Concerto in B minor by violinist Niccolò Paganini, a rondo in which the harmonies are supported by the ringing of a hand bell. Liszt had already used the theme for piano in his Variations Grande Fantaisie de Bravoure sur 'La Clochette' de Paganini in B minor. He then reworked the piece in the third etude of the 12 Études d'exécution transcendante in A flat minor. The final version of the Grandes Etudes de Paganin is written in G sharp minor. It is now the most popular and frequently played version. The etude is played at Allegretto and is basically a sequence of different finger exercises for the right hand. At the beginning there are huge staccato jumps of the right hand for which the piece is notorious. This is followed by exercises for the tension of the right hand , octave finger change exercises, trills, runs with almost exclusive participation of the weaker fingers, ascending sequences of fourth sex chords and finally chromatic octave runs. Since the difficulties are limited to the right hand, the piece is not as difficult for large, trained hands as it is commonly portrayed.