La campanella

"La campanella" (Italian for "The little bell") is the nickname given to the third of Franz Liszt's six "Grandes études de Paganini", S. 141 (1851). It is in the key of G-sharp minor. This piece is a revision of an earlier version from 1838, the "Études d'exécution transcendente d'après Paganini", S. 140. Its melody comes from the final movement of Niccolò Paganini's Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, where the tune was reinforced metaphorically by a 'little handbell'. This is illustrated by the large intervals of sixteenth notes in the right hand.
 \new PianoStaff «
 \new Staff {
 \tempo "Allegretto"
 \clef treble \time 6/8 \key gis \minor
 \relative d {
 r r8 r8 \ottava #1 <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-.
 <dis dis'>-. r r r <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-.
 <dis dis'>-. r <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-. r <dis dis'>-.
 <dis dis'>-. r \fermata \bar "||"
 dis,16-. \p dis'-. -"ma sempre ben marcato il tema" dis-. dis'-. dis,-. dis'-. cis,-. dis'-.
 b,16-. dis'-. b,-. dis'-. ais,-. dis'-. gis,-. dis"-. fisis,-. dis"-. gis,-. dis"-.
 ais,-. dis'-. dis,-. dis"-. \ottava #0 dis,-. dis'-. e,-. dis'-. dis,-. dis'-. cis,-. dis'-.
 b,16-. dis'-. b,-. dis'-. ais,-. dis'-. gis,-. dis"-. fisis,-. dis"-. gis,-. dis"-.
 ais,-.[ dis'-.] dis,-. dis'-. dis-. dis'-. \ottava #1 dis-. dis'-. dis,-. dis'-. cis,-. dis'-.
 b,16-. dis'-. b,-. dis'-. ais,-. dis'-. gis,-. dis"-. fisis,-. dis"-. gis,-. dis"-.
 ais,-. dis'-. dis,-. dis"-. \ottava #0 dis,-.[ dis'-.] e,-. dis'-. dis,-. dis'-. <cis, dis-.> dis'-.
 \ottava #1 dis,-.[ dis'-.] gis,-.[ b-.] dis-.->[ dis'-.]
 dis,-.[ dis'-.] fisis,-.[ ais-.] dis-.->[ dis'-.]
 \ottava #0 r4 \ottava #1 dis="16 -"sempre staccato" dis' dis' dis, dis' dis, dis' cis,
 \new Staff {
 \clef bass \time 6/8 \key gis \minor
 \relative d' {
 \clef treble
 r8 <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-. r r
 r <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-. <dis dis'>-. r r
 r <dis dis'>-. r r <dis dis'>-. r
 r4 \fermata \bar "||" r8 r4 r8
 <gis= dis' b'>8-.\arpeggio r r -.\arpeggio r r
 <dis=' ais' fisis'>-.\arpeggio r r <fisis=' ais>-.\arpeggio r r
 gis-. r r -.\arpeggio r r
 <dis fisis>-.\arpeggio r r r4 r8
 <gis= dis' b'>8-.\arpeggio r r -.\arpeggio r r
 <dis=' ais' fisis'>-.\arpeggio r r <fisis=' ais>-.\arpeggio r r
 <gis b>-.\arpeggio r r <dis=' fisis cis'>-.\arpeggio r r
 gis=16-. dis'-. b'-. gis'-. r8 r4 r8
</score>
The étude is famous for being one of the most difficult pieces ever written for piano. It is played at a brisk "allegretto" tempo and features right hand jumps between intervals larger than one octave, sometimes even stretching for two whole octaves within the time of a sixteenth note. As a whole, the étude can be practiced to increase dexterity and accuracy at large jumps on the piano, along with agility of the weaker fingers of the hand. The largest intervals reached by the right hand are fifteenths (two octaves) and sixteenths (two octaves and a second). Sixteenth notes are played between the two notes, and the same note is played two octaves or two octaves and a second higher with no rest. Little time is provided for the pianist to move the hand, thus forcing the pianist to avoid tension within the muscles. Fifteenth intervals are quite common in the beginning of the étude, while the sixteenth intervals appear twice, at the thirtieth and thirty-second measures.
However, the left hand studies about four extremely large intervals, larger than those in the right hand. For example, in bar 101, the left hand makes a sixteenth-note jump of just a half-step below three octaves. The étude also involves other technical difficulties, e.g. trills with the fourth and fifth fingers starting on measure 80 and lasting for 4 bars, and fast chromatic scales starting on measure 73.
The work has been arranged by other composers and pianists, most notably Ferruccio Busoni and Marc-André Hamelin.