Liszt on the piano

In its span of seven octaves [the piano] embraces the range of an orchestra; the ten fingers of a single man suffice to render the harmonies produced by the combined forces of more than 100 concerted instruments. We make arpeggios like the harp, prolonged notes like wind instruments, staccatos, and a thousand other effects which once seemed the special prerogative of such and such an instrument.

— Franz Liszt

P. Kildea, Chopin’s Piano, London, Allen Lane, 2018, p.22.

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