Noctave
The piece
Liszt starts here from the closing rondo of Paganini's Second Violin Concerto, whose theme evokes a little bell. He first drew a study from it in 1838, then reworked it and published it in 1851 in his Grandes études de Paganini; that later version is the one played here. The theme returns several times, more ornate each time, much like a set of variations, leading to an Animato conclusion.
The bell is a high note that the right hand keeps reaching for, often more than an octave away: 611 right-hand leaps. The secret is to look at the landing note rather than the starting one, letting the arm travel sideways with a low, supple wrist. The 309 repeated notes are played with changing fingers to keep the sound clean. In the variations, trills and tremolos peak at almost 29 attacks per second: they are rotations of the wrist, not finger strikes. With five sharps in the key signature, begin by reading hands separately, tackling the leaps first, slowly and accurately.