Transcendental Étude No. 8 (Liszt)

Liszt removed the final recapitulation of the first subject in the 1851 version of the piece, along with an extended bravura passage preceding it.

The piece starts with a furious quick main theme, left hand playing the melody in octaves and the right hand playing the same melody one octave higher alternatively, quickly followed with chords.

The furious main theme flows into the playful melody of the secondary subject.

When actually played at the original speed that Liszt indicated ("Presto furioso", or fast and furious; at around 4+1⁄2 minutes), the piece quickly becomes formidable.

The lyrical middle section involves some difficult left-hand jumps rapidly spanning over two octaves.