Mazeppa S. 100 By Franz Liszt

The symphonic poem composed Mazeppa S. 100 (1851) composed by Franz Liszt is the sixth in the cycle of thirteen symphonic poems written during his time in Weimar. The composition was inspired by the tale of Ivan Mazeppa. During his studies in Paris, Franz Liszt became familiar with the works of Victor Hugo and Lord Byron, both of whom wrote poems also inspired by the legend of Ivan Mazeppa. There were many attractions for the composer it that story, like human suffering, disaster, and triumph (Godfrey 2014), which he could recreate with music. Mazeppa, who was born in Lithuania in 1639 was of noble birth, and according to the legend, he had a love affair with a married Polish princess. As a punishment he was tied naked to a wild horse that
In the Radio 3 programme Music Matters (2015), she shares a dream that had inspired her Concerto for Orchestra (1967), compose for the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In her dream Musgrave conducts an orchestra when one of the players stands up and refuses to follow the beat. In the third quarter of her Concerto for Orchestra (1967), the clarinet player stands, disturbs everything and encourages some of the other players to join in the rebellion. After this one, another similar composition follows, which Musgrave name with the collective name Dramatic Abstract, as there is not a particular story, pictures or poems. In this piece, the players take on more dramatic roles, like those of the clarinet player in her Concerto for Orchestra (1967). Later on in her work Thea Musgrave uses poetry or pictures as inspiration. One example is Turbulent Landscapes (2003), which she composed for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. This composition is inspired by different paintings by the English Romantic landscape painter J. M. W. Turner. One of the paintings is Sunrise with Sea Monsters (c.1845) (Fig 3). In the composition inspired by this painting, the see monster is represented by a musical theme played by
This is obviously made easier by de fact that the listeners can read the story and see the images that they had inspired the musical pieces. What if the listener were offered a different story or differed image with the same music, is it going to be as believable as the original sources of inspiration? Is possible for the listeners to be deceived? It seems to be possible and it has been done, however, a very important condition for this to work is for the new story to try to convey similar mood emotions as the original one. Some examples in films using classical programme music as part of its soundtrack. The same piece of program music might have a different meaning for different listeners and could even change its meaning over time, depending on where or in what situation the listeners had heard it and what narrative or images the listeners were offered at the time of hearing the