Ex. 8-12: Не брани меня, мой друг

Не брани меня, мой друг (Do Not Reproach Me, My Friend) is Liszt's only song in Russian. He wrote it in 1866, when he was living in Rome. He was 54 or 55. The words are by the Russian poet Aleksey Tolstoy.

Aleksey Tolstoy (1817–1875) was a poet and playwright, and a distant cousin of the famous writer Leo Tolstoy. He loved Liszt's playing. According to a book about his life, Tolstoy and his wife spent the winter of 1863–64 in Rome, and Liszt often came to their home and played the piano for them.

The poem is only eight lines long. The poet asks a friend not to scold him. Angry words from this friend only sound sweet to him, and when they pour out all at once, they are like pearls falling onto a silver dish.

From the album Liszt - Roots & Routes by Elisabeth Kulman and Eduard Kutrowatz (2011). Both musicians grew up near Raiding, and the album was recorded there, next to the house where Liszt was born.
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